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By
Kevin
Duffy
NBADraft.net
3/18/08
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Herb
Sendek
Icon SMI |
10. Clemson
vs. Villanova
It's not often you'll find two high-major schools
with such contrasting styles of play matched up in the 5 vs. 12
game. Clemson clearly has the edge on the interior, but Scottie
Reynolds, Corey Fisher, and Corey Stokes can shoot Villanova past
just about anyone. It will be interesting to see which style prevails.
9. Dick Vitale's reaction to the ACC games
Wait, Dicky V picked North Carolina to win the National
Championship? No way! Sometimes I wish Vitale was the head of the
selection committee. If that were the case this year, Virginia Tech
wouldn't have worried about being on the bubble. The Hokies would
have been a No. 2 seed.
8. Can Georgia Keep Winning?
After an improbable SEC tournament championship,
the 16-16 (4-12 SEC) Bulldogs drew a nice match-up vs. Xavier as
the No. 14 seed. Usually in the 3/14 match-up, the SEC team would
be the higher seed and the A-10 team would be playing for the upset,
so the role reversal makes this an intriguing first-round contest.
7. Herb Sendek's Grieving Process
Sorry to sound
like Dick Vitale here, but Arizona State got a “raw deal.”
At times, the committee can get too caught up with numbers and RPI
and this and that. The Sun Devils were .500 in the best conference
in the nation, and beat Arizona twice, they beat Stanford, they
beat Xavier, and they beat USC. To me, any team capable of those
wins is one of the top 65 in the country.
If Arizona State
dropped the “state” in its name, it would have been
a lock. Arizona's reputation got it into the field, and AZ State's
lack of history kept it out. Freshman sensation James Harden announced
he would return next year, so expect the Sun Devils to be even better
in 2008.
6. Mason's back
After a one-year absence from the NCAA tournament,
George Mason returns as a No. 12 seed. Seniors Will Thomas and Falorin
Campbell, who were both starters on the 2006 Final Four squad, have
the ability and leadership to lead the Patriots to a first-round
upset over Notre Dame. Many analysts are high on the Irish, but
then again, they were last year as well, when Notre Dame lost to
No. 11 seed Winthrop in the first-round.
Note: If Notre Dame does beat George Mason, it could
run into Winthrop in the second round.
5. Butler as a 7?
The Bulldogs have made the Sweet 16 two years in
a row, posted a 26-3 overall record this year, and were ranked near
the top ten for most of the year. And they get a No. 7 seed? That's
the equivalent of being the 25-28 best team in the country. If I
were South Alabama, I'd be very scared because Butler will come
into this tournament with a chip on its shoulder.
4. Pitt
The Panthers
won the Big East tournament, are completely healthy, and are extremely
dangerous. Remember, before Levance Fields hurt his ankle, this
was the No. 6 team in the country. I won't go as far as Bobby Knight
did and say Pitt will win the national championship, but the Panthers
will be a very, very tough out. They'd potentially have to go through
Michigan State, Memphis, and Texas to get to the Final Four, but
I wouldn't put it past Jamie Dixon's crew.
3. West Virginia vs. Arizona
An absolute dynamite 7/10 game. West Virginia's
Joe Alexander may be the hottest player in the nation right now.
At 6-foot-8 230 lbs with a 40+ inch vertical leap, Alexander possesses
a smooth mid-range jumper and can shoot effectively on pull-ups
and turn-arounds. One more game like he had in the Big East tournament
(34 points vs. UConn), and Alexander may be looking at a lottery
pick in the 2008 draft. Oh yeah, Jerryd Bayless is playing in this
game too.
2. The No. 1 overall seed, huh?
I bet the Tar
Heels regret earning the top seed in the tournament. For whatever
reason, they were paired with the best No. 2, Tennessee, and arguably
the best No. 3 in Louisville. Throw in a dangerous Washington State
team, Notre Dame, a seventh-seeded Butler, and a possible match-up
with Indiana in the second round, and UNC has a very difficult road
to the Final Four, despite an all in State bracket.
1. OJ Mayo vs. Michael Beasley (or, for those of
you who are formal--USC vs. Kansas State)
The committee
did this for two reasons: 1. America will want to see the two freshman
phenoms square off and 2. At least one of them will play more than
one game. Kansas State is a dangerous No. 11 seed, but USC is even
more dangerous. The Trojans, who will be a trendy pick to knock
off Wisconsin and reach the Sweet 16, have the better supporting
cast and thus should be able to survive 35 points from Beasley.
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