West Region Bracket Predictions

Things are set up well for Connecticut. A number one seed. First-round games in a Big East city, an easy Amtrak ride from the Nutmeg State. And a position in the West Region -- the same region where both Jim Calhoun's national champions got their start. But a date with John Calipari's Tigers in the Elite Eight is looming...

Most Intriguing First-Round Matchup

College basketball is an enormously coach-centric exercise, and we'll have two of the best going head-to-head in the seven-ten game, as Mike Montgomery's Cal Bears face Gary Williams' Maryland Terrapins. Montgomery, the longtime head coach at Stanford, is back in the Big Dance in the first year of his return to the college ranks; Williams makes yet another trip despite the fact that his Terps were picked as also-rans in the ACC.

Upset Potential

Every year, a few teams get hot during their conference tournaments and make unlikely runs to the tournament. They make for great stories -- but usually, lousy picks in bracket pools. (See Georgia Bulldogs, 2008 edition.) But Mississippi State is intriguing. The Bulldogs feature forward/center Jarvis Varnado in the frontcourt. Varnado is a real shot-blocking prodigy -- he averaged nearly five swats a game this year. That sort of presence can really disrupt the opposition's offensive game plan.

I'm almost hoping the Bulldogs advance to face Connecticut and their enormous center Hasheem Thabeet -- if only because it would be interesting to see a game in which neither team can venture into the paint at all. But I'll be satisfied with the 'dogs pulling an upset in the 4/13 game.

The Regional Final

Earlier this season, I really thought Connecticut and North Carolina were a step above the rest of Division I. But the loss of shooting guard Jerome Dyson -- UConn's best perimeter defender and second-leading scorer -- created a hole in Jim Calhoun's rotation that Craig Austrie and Kemba Walker haven't been able to plug. The rest of the roster is enough to get by most teams -- but Memphis isn't most teams. The Tigers are simply outstanding on defense -- I like Calipari's guys to advance.

More NCAA Tournament Predictions

• Midwest Region
• West Region
• East Region
• South Region
• Final Four

West Region Predictions

	Round 1	Round 2	Sweet 16	Elite Eight
1	Connecticut
16	Chattanooga	Connecticut
8	BYU	Texas A&M
9	Texas A&M		Connecticut
5	Purdue		Purdue
12	Northern Iowa	Purdue
4	Washington	Mississippi State
13	Mississippi State			Connecticut
6	Marquette			Memphis
11	Utah State	Marquette
3	Missouri	Missouri
14	Cornell		Missouri
7	Cal		Memphis
10	Maryland	Maryland
2	Memphis	Memphis
15	Cal St. Northridge