2011 NCAA Tournament Picks: Southwest

No. 1 Kansas vs. No. 16 Boston University
“Rock Chalk Jay Hawk K-U” chants will begin with 12 minutes to go in the second half.

2011 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 1 Kansas

No. 8 UNLV vs. No. 9 Illinois
Illinois is one of the worst teams to receive an at-large bid. They suck on the road (4-7), they’ve dropped six of 10 going into the NCAA Tournament, and Bruce Weber isn’t to be trusted in March.

2011 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 8 UNLV

No. 5 Vanderbilt vs. No. 12 Richmond
Richmond is one of the top three-point shooting teams in the country (40.7%). I like their chances against a Vanderbilt squad that seems to get upset in the first round every year. Vanderbilt’s defense (73rd) is going to have issues containing the Spiders’ offense.

2011 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 12 Richmond

No. 4 Louisville vs. No. 13 Morehead State
Morehead State has NCAA Tournament experience, and Kenneth Faried is one of the top players in the country. However, the rest of Faried’s team isn’t very good; the defense is 90th and the offense is 110th. Plus, I can’t really see Rick Pitino suffering an upset to a 13-seed in the first round.

2011 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 4 Louisville

No. 6 Georgetown vs. No. 11 Virginia-Commonwealth
Like UAB, I expect Virginia-Commonwealth to make all the analysts eat their words by winning the first-four and first-round games.

I don’t trust Georgetown. John Thompson III is a very pedestrian coach; despite all the great teams he’s been in charge of, he’s only 7-6 in the NCAA Tournament.

The Hoyas are 1-5 in their final six games heading into the NCAA Tournament. Sure, they were missing point guard Chris Wright, but there’s no guarantee he’ll be anywhere close to 100 percent for the Big Dance. Remember the Syracuse situation last year?

2011 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 11 Virginia-Commonwealth

No. 3 Purdue vs. No. 14 Saint Peter’s
I’ll never understand what Saint Peter’s was thinking by making their mascot a peacock. It’s a freaking peacock. No one is scared of a peacock. What a disgrace.

2011 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 3 Purdue

No. 7 Texas A&M vs. No. 10 Florida State
Florida State can’t score. The Seminoles are ranked 154th offensively, and they have just one player who averages double digits. Head coach Leonard Hamilton has never made it out of the first round with Florida State.

As for A&M, Mark Turgeon is an excellent NCAA Tournament head coach. Despite never leading a team into the Big Dance with a record better than 26-9, he’s never lost in the first round. He even took Wichita State to the Sweet 16 in 2006.

2011 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 7 Texas A&M

No. 2 Notre Dame vs. No. 15 Akron
Akron’s defense is 103rd and their offense is 157th. I wouldn’t like their chances if they were given a 15-0 lead to start this game.

2011 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 2 Notre Dame

2011 NCAA Tournament: Southwest Bracket Second Round

No. 1 Kansas vs. No. 8 UNLV
As I wrote in the Duke-Michigan matchup, it’s very rare that a No. 1 seed loses in Round 2. I like UNLV, but Kansas is probably going to the Sweet 16 this time.

2011 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 1 Kansas

No. 4 Louisville vs. No. 12 Richmond
Richmond took advantage of a mediocre Vanderbilt team in Round 1, but I doubt they get past Louisville. Besides, the odds are much greater than the Cardinals will reach the second round.

2011 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 4 Louisville

No. 3 Purdue vs. No. 11 Virginia-Commonwealth
Like Richmond, Virginia-Commonwealth beat a weak first-round opponent. But the Rams have an awful, 143rd-ranked defense, so they’re not going to get very far this March.

2011 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 3 Purdue

No. 2 Notre Dame vs. No. 7 Texas A&M
I’m not a fan of Notre Dame for two reasons. First, their defense isn’t very good (63rd). And second, head coach Mike Brey has a poor NCAA Tournament track record. With that said though, it’ll be a surprise if the Fighting Irish don’t make it to the Sweet 16.

2011 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 2 Notre Dame

2011 NCAA Tournament: Southwest Bracket Sweet 16

No. 1 Kansas vs. No. 4 Louisville
I’ve made it known that I’m a fan of Rick Pitino, but I don’t think Louisville will make it past the Sweet 16. They had a 4-6 road record this year. No team seeded 1-4 with a losing road record has even made it past the second round since 2007. Teams seeded 5-9, by the way, are just 10-16.

2011 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 1 Kansas

No. 2 Notre Dame vs. No. 3 Purdue
I pointed out Notre Dame’s flaws in my Round 2 write-up. While it wouldn’t surprise me to see the Fighting Irish shoot their way into the Elite Eight, I believe that their defense will be their undoing before then.

Unlike Mike Brey, Matt Painter is a great NCAA Tournament coach who always gets his team further than expected. Purdue is eighth defensively and 18th offensively, so I like them over Notre Dame.

2011 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 3 Purdue

2011 NCAA Tournament: Southwest Bracket Elite Eight

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