NCAA Tournament, A to Z
By Jason McIntyre
Overrated: San Diego State, momentum in March, Temple.
Peyton Siva, point guard, Louisvlle. Can’t quite explain why, but the flashy kid with hops is one of my five favorite players in college basketball. I picked Louisville to get to the Final Four last year and it lost in the 1st round. Davidson is no joke in the opener this year, either. Still, I like Louisville. A lot.
Quincy Acy and Quincy Miller, forwards, Baylor. Which Bears team will show up, the one that faded in February, or the one that beat Kansas last week? Acy, the team’s leading shot blocker, probably craves a rematch with Duke (which they lost to in a great 2010 tournament game). Miller, the talented freshman forward, is an X-factor and if his mid-range game is working, it opens up both the shooters outside and Acy and Perry Jones in the paint.
Spartans! Tom Izzo is the best coach in college basketball. His Michigan State Spartans also have a challenging road to the Final Four: Facing Memphis and Louisville just to get to the regional final could be very difficult.
Tyshawn Taylor, point guard, Kansas. The enigmatic floor general of the Jayhawks will determine whether or not they can advance to the Final Four fr the first time since 2008 (when they won it all).
Unibrow. Anthony Davis has one. He’s the biggest game-changer in the country. Enjoy him for the next month. He’ll be the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft in June.
Vanderbilt. Kevin Stallings and the Commodores have been knocked out in the first round each of the last two years, but this is his best team (albeit one that underperformed all season until this week). Assuming Vandy doesn’t lose to Harvard, is it the biggest threat to Syracuse in the South?
Woods, Sean. Head coach at Mississippi Valley State. If the Delta Devils can beat Western Kentucky Tuesday, Woods will coach against the team he played for, Kentucky. Woods was part of the 1992 Kentucky team that lost to Christian Laettner and Duke.
Xavier. Will we see the Xavier that opened the season strong – winning at Vanderbilt – or the one that struggled in January and February? I’ll have Xavier beating Duke in half of the brackets I fill out.
Yeguete, Will. The Florida forward is injured and out for the year, crippling the Gators’ frontcourt depth. But the committee did them a favor – no team in Florida’s region has significant size. If the Gators get by Mike Scott and UVA, that game with no-defense Missouri should be fantastic.
Zags. Remember when Gonzaga was a March Monster? They’ve only had one Sweet 16 trip in the last five years and two in the last 10. That can be remedied with a win over West Virginia in Pittsburgh, and then a win over Ohio State.
[photos via US Presswire]