March Madness: East and Southwest Regional Semifinals

EAST REGIONAL- #2 North Carolina vs. #11 Marquette (7:15, CBS)

This matchup brings back memories of Marquette’s only national championship over Phil Ford and the Tar Heels in 1977. This year, North Carolina has been, how do we put it nicely, indifferent on defense, but very explosive on offense with Kendall Marshall running the point. Tyler Zeller will be a key player for North Carolina, as he has a significant height advantage.

Marquette and fiery head coach Buzz Williams will try to slow Carolina down and limit easy points, and force them to shoot from outside. Marquette’s weakness is their 3-point defense, but Carolina is not the best outside shooting team, so the Golden Eagles will be collapsing on North Carolina’s height and taking their chances.

The Pick: North Carolina

SOUTHWEST REGIONAL- #1 Kansas vs. #12 Richmond (7:27, TBS)

Northern Iowa. Bucknell. Rhode Island, these results scare Kansas fans, along with Sweet 16 losses to Virginia and Arizona when Kansas was heavily favored. This game, though, is all about whether Kansas plays their game. Richmond can provide some challenges to the Jayhawks defensively because everyone can shoot, and Justin Harper’s outside game creates mismatches on the perimeter. But Kansas is too deep, and as long as they don’t go absolutely cold from outside and get significantly outpointed there, they win.

The Pick: Kansas

EAST REGIONAL- #1 Ohio State vs. #4 Kentucky (9:45, CBS)

Kentucky is a dangerous opponent for Ohio State, as they have bodies to throw at Jared Sullinger inside, starting with Josh Harrelson, and perimeter athletes who can defend the Buckeyes’ myriad of shooters. Both teams are pretty good from the outside, so it is going to come down to whether Kentucky can match Diebler and company from outside. Terrence Jones, Kentucky’s star freshman, is the x-factor.

The Pick: I wouldn’t be stunned with a Kentucky upset (may be Ohio State’s toughest matchup before the championship game) but I think Ohio State is a little better at everything that both teams do well, so I’ll go with Ohio State.

SOUTHWEST REGIONAL- #10 Florida State vs. #11 Virginia Commonwealth (7:27, TBS)

Florida State is one of the best defensive teams in the tournament, and VCU will need to generate easy points. However, FSU turns the ball over. VCU is good at forcing turnovers. Can they get those easy baskets in transition of steals and turnovers? If FSU can get shots up, they will have a huge advantage on the glass. Because of the differing styles and strengths, just about anything could happen. I would expect lots of runs.

The Pick: I’ll go with VCU in the slight upset.

[photo via Getty]