2011 NCAA Tournament Picks:
Sweet 16 Redo | East | West | Southwest | Southeast | Final Four | Winning Tips | 2011 NCAA Tournament Home
2011 NCAA Tournament Bracket Breakdowns:
West | East | Southwest | Southeast | Final Four | Schedule
2011 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 Breakdowns:
West | Southeast |
2011 NCAA Tournament Preview:
ACC | Atlantic 10 | Big 12 | Big East | Big Ten | Mid-Majors | Mountain West | Pac 10 | SEC
2011 NCAA Tournament: East Bracket Picks
2011 NCAA Tournament: East Bracket First Round
No. 1 Ohio State vs. No. 16 Texas-San Antonio
As good as Texas-San Antonio looked against Alabama State, they stand no chance against the Buckeyes.
2011 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 1 Ohio State
No. 8 George Mason vs. No. 9 Villanova
Villanova stinks. The Wildcats finished their season on a 2-7 slump. A similar thing happened last year, and they nearly lost to Robert Morris before falling to Saint Mary’s.
George Mason has a better defense than Villanova. The Patriots have balanced scoring, great three-point shooting and a head coach who knows how to win in March.
2011 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 8 George Mason
No. 5 West Virginia vs. No. 12 Clemson
Aside from last year, Bob Huggins always struggles in the NCAA Tournament (11-11 record since 1997 with many great teams). The Mountaineers struggled on the road this year (5-6) and lost their opening conference tournament game. Plus, I think playing on Tuesday will help Clemson.
2011 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 12 Clemson
No. 4 Kentucky vs. No. 13 Princeton
Kentucky has a freshman point guard, but they have too much talent for Princeton. The Tigers have a poor defense that ranks 78th. Their offense is even worse than that (103rd).
2011 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 4 Kentucky
No. 6 Xavier vs. No. 11 Marquette
Xavier always gets to the Sweet 16. I’m not sure if that’ll happen this year, but they should beat Marquette. The Golden Eagles have a pretty bad defense (71st) and have struggled to win on the road all year (4-7).
2011 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 6 Xavier
No. 3 Syracuse vs. No. 14 Indiana State
No. 14 Ohio beat No. 3 Georgetown last year. Can No. 14 Indiana State knock off another third-seeded Big East team? Nah.
2011 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 3 Syracuse
No. 7 Washington vs. No. 10 Georgia
I really like this Washington team. Lorenzo Romar is a great NCAA Tournament coach; he’s taken the Huskies to the Sweet 16 three times. The Huskies have balanced scoring and an elite offense ranked ninth. Isaiah Thomas has shown us that he can hit a clutch shot.
2011 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 7 Washington
No. 2 North Carolina vs. No. 15 Long Island
Can Long Island get the North Carolina players drunk off Long Island Iced Teas? That’s the only chance they have.
2011 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 2 North Carolina
2011 NCAA Tournament: East Bracket Second Round
No. 1 Ohio State vs. No. 8 George Mason
If you watched ESPN’s Bracketology, you heard Jay Bilas say that Ohio State could “easily lose” to George Mason. I completely agree with that. George Mason’s a fantastic team, but I’m not going to predict a No. 1 upset in the second round. Not a Buckeyes upset anyway. They’re just way too talented (of course I said this last year in my Kansas-Northern Iowa matchup).
2011 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 1 Ohio State
No. 4 Kentucky vs. No. 12 Clemson
Kentucky just has too much talent to lose to UAB, Clemson and West Virginia. They’re pretty fortunate to get this sort of a draw, despite their low seeding.
2011 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 4 Kentucky
No. 3 Syracuse vs. No. 6 Xavier
As I said before, Xavier always makes it to the Sweet 16. They also always won at least one conference tournament game, but that didn’t happen this year. Syracuse is a really good team, both offensively and defensively. They’ve proven they can win on the road, and they have experience. Plus, I trust Jim Boeheim.
2011 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 3 Syracuse
No. 2 North Carolina vs. No. 7 Washington
Very tough call. This is a pretty even matchup, but I’m making this my big upset in the East bracket. North Carolina has great talent, but they’re so young. I don’t trust freshmen point guards even though Kendall Marshall is a terrific player. I’m a big fan of Washington, particularly Lorenzo Romar’s coaching and Isaiah Thomas’ point guard play.
2011 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 7 Washington
2011 NCAA Tournament: East Bracket Sweet 16
No. 1 Ohio State vs. No. 4 Kentucky
I actually like George Mason’s chances against Ohio State better than Kentucky’s chances against the Buckeyes. The Wildcats have too much youth, a freshman point guard and a poor road resume (4-7 outside of Lexington).
2011 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 1 Ohio State
No. 3 Syracuse vs. No. 7 Washington
Based on the odds alone, you’d have to take Syracuse in this matchup because there’s a better chance that they make it here rather than Washington. The Orange Men don’t really have any glaring weaknesses, so I’ll be pretty surprised if they lose prior to the Elite Eight.
2011 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 3 Syracuse
2011 NCAA Tournament: East Bracket Elite Eight
No. 1 Ohio State vs. No. 3 Syracuse
The Buckeyes have a better offense (1st) than Syracuse (17th). They also have a superior defense (10th) compared to the Orange Men (16th). Ohio State had more conference blowouts (7) than Syracuse (4).
There is also a better chance the Buckeyes will make it to the Elite Eight. They’re arguably the top team in the country, so it’ll be an upset if they don’t make it to the Final Four.
2011 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 1 Ohio State
2011 NCAA Tournament Picks:
Sweet 16 Redo | East | West | Southwest | Southeast | Final Four | Winning Tips | 2011 NCAA Tournament Home
2011 NCAA Tournament Bracket Breakdowns:
West | East | Southwest | Southeast | Final Four | Schedule
2011 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 Breakdowns:
West | Southeast |
2011 NCAA Tournament Preview:
ACC | Atlantic 10 | Big 12 | Big East | Big Ten | Mid-Majors | Mountain West | Pac 10 | SEC
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