MBB: Midwest Regional Discussion

[Troublemaker]

Discuss the Midwest Region here. What upsets do you see? What interesting matchups? Who will go to the Final Four?

[Troublemaker]

Midwest region, unlocked and loaded.

[MarkD83]

Go Wake!!!!!!

[superdave]

Lou won the regular season and tournament in the Big East. I'd haaaaate to match up with their D and athleticism.

[RainingThrees]

Wake hasn't played to well away from home. Lou will win.

[Ben63]

Louisville will win this bracket.

I LOVE the BC/USC matchup. That might be the best opening round game.

[BlueintheFace]

Wake DOES have a nice draw... lets see what they are made of.

[jipops]

This may be the weakest region. I see UL and WVU in a showdown for the Final Four.

[superdave]

It's tough to have much faith in Wake. They get up for the big games, but not the rest.

Mich St....hmmmm...not so great and lots of injuries.

Louisville looks like the real deal this year. Athleticism, great D, easy transition buckets.

[Chitowndevil]

After Louisville I think the top seeds in this bracket are all very vulnerable. I wouldn't be surprised to see Louisville playing West Virginia in the regional final. Michigan State and BC will be a heck of a second round matchup.

Cleveland State pulled the upset at Syracuse earlier this year but is just awful offensively; Wake may have gotten a break there.

[dukemsu]

Personally, I think Wake could present a nightmare for the Cardinals in Round 2.

Michigan State isn't nearly as bad as Phelps says. BC could be a tough game for them but I would expect them to get to an absolute toss-up against KU.

Personally, I really think this sets up well for Wake if they can get themselves back together. I'd be concerned with them holding up under Lousiville's pressure, but their bigs will give Louisville fits.

dukemsu

[ncexnyc]

The Ville will cruise to the Final Four. They trailed at the half in the last two games of their tourney only to come roaring back in the second half. That tells me they made the proper adjustments (coaching) and they wore the other team down (superior depth).

Wake has been exposed and only several hot shooting games from Teague will give them any hope of reaching a Final Four.

[ice-9]

I actually think this might be the toughest region.

Louisville and Michigan State are strong 1 and 2 seeds. Michigan State is a balanced team that has played very well since getting their big man back. Moreover, they won the Big Ten handily and the Big Ten is a strong conference this year. We barely beat them in the Challenge and they are #2 in the RPI. Watch out for the Spartans -- they can really do some damage this year.

In addition to a strong top line, this bracket is tough because there are so many lower seeded teams that can cause the upset:

- WVa, definitely the most dangerous 6 seed in the tournament. This is an underrated, well coached team that defeated Pitt in the Big East tournament. If I was Kansas I'd be sweating a potential match against WVa. This is the one 6 seed I did NOT want to see in Duke's bracket.

- Boston College are proven giant killers and Michigan State may have to face them in the second round! Yikes. I'm sure Louisville fans will be doing a lot of cheering that game.

- Is there any more difficult 4 seed than Wake Forest? This is a team formerly ranked #1 in the nation! Louisville would have a very difficult time getting past them in the Sweet 16 should they meet. If Wake plays with maturity (i.e. not like a freshman team as they did in the ACC tourney), they have a reasonable chance of winning this entire region.

- Finally, the easiest 5-12 upset pick for me is Utah-Arizona. Arizona is a team with two first round NBA draft talent. They should win and give Wake a brief scare before folding.

This is a tough, tough region. I wouldn't want Duke to be Michigan State in this bracket. About the only weak thing in this region is Kansas as a 3 seed, and even then, the defending champs aren't exactly chopped liver.

[Jeffrey]

I think Wake deserved better than a 4 seed. IMO, they're better than most, if not all, of the 3 seeds. Finishing second in the strongest conference deserves more credit than a 4 seed. I hope Wake shows the country just how strong the ACC was/is this year.

[moonpie23]

down....out

[calltheobvious]

They either deserved a bid on Sunday or they didn't. Their performance tonight does nothing to change the merits of the initial decision.

Vitale made a big stink in 2003 about Auburn getting an invitation, and then fell all over himself apologizing to the Tigers when they made the Sweet 16 (losing by 1 to Syracuse). The sad thing for Dick was that he was right the first time, and should have either shut up about it or stuck to his guns.

[OldPhiKap]

looks like a major flame-out.

[dyedwab]

...and I agree completely. As I was watching the end of the game and the announcers talk about what Arizona has "proved" I was thinking that the most enjoyable moments of the tourney so far for me have been Duke's win, and the close games CS Northridge, ND State, American, and ETSU gave higher seeded - and obviously better - teams.

Arizona beating Utah doesn't even register on my radar screen as far as enjoyment goes.

Seth Davis is on this message about this not proving AZ belonged in the tournament also.

[MulletMan]

I
- WVa, definitely the most dangerous 6 seed in the tournament. This is an underrated, well coached team that defeated Pitt in the Big East tournament. If I was Kansas I'd be sweating a potential match against WVa. This is the one 6 seed I did NOT want to see in Duke's bracket.



BOOM GOES THE DYNAMITE!

You won't have to see them in any bracket anymore! GO FLYERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(For those of you that don't know, I am a UD alum :D)

[mgtr]

I think the hugger-muggers from WVa showed their true colors tonight - a white flag!:D I've never even been to Dayton, but I was pulling for them tonight. Go Flyers! The most interesting part of the game was that, near the end, Jerry West's youngest son was put in for WVa. I don't recall that he distinguished himself.

[DukieInKansas]

Wake and Boston College messed up this bracket for me. But I did have Siena beating OSU. :D

[FireOgilvie]

I was really impressed by Siena. Beating Ohio State in Ohio is tough. I wouldn't be surprised if they gave Louisville a tough game.

[ice-9]

With Wake out, Louisville is now vastly superior in talent over the upper half of their bracket. Time to pencil them into the Elite Eight.

[UConnJack]

Wake and Boston College messed up this bracket for me. :D

I hear you. I am perfect in the other three regions, but my Midwest bracket is trashed.

[snowdenscold]

Wake and Boston College messed up this bracket for me. But I did have Siena beating OSU. :D

Exact same. Well I only had Wake in the sweet 16, but still, I was sad to see the ACC go down like that, after showing support by picking them all to win their first round games...

My good friend went to Siena so I had to throw them some love =)

[blueprofessor]

http://www.kansascity.com/sports/columnists/jason_whitlock/story/1098848.html

A criticism about tactics occasionally leveled at Duke .:)

Best regards--Blueprofessor:)

[dukelifer]

Arizona could be one of those teams that finds it way to the Final Four. They do have a lot of the ingredients needed to win. Granted they haven't played an elite team yet but still -they could get on a roll. They are definitely not your typical 12 seed.

[hc5duke]

Arizona could be one of those teams that finds it way to the Final Four. They do have a lot of the ingredients needed to win. Granted they haven't played an elite team yet but still -they could get on a roll. They are definitely not your typical 12 seed.

boy would dickie v look silly then... ok silli-er... and replace silly with a less nice word :rolleyes:

[Bluedog]

boy would dickie v look silly then... ok silli-er... and replace silly with a less nice word :rolleyes:

Well, once Arizona was in, he did predict them to beat Utah. He said, "I don't really think they deserve to be in, but that's over with. And based on their personnel and matchups, it wouldn't surprise me if they did well in the tournament." Or something along those lines. Gotta give him at least a little credit. I can see the rationale slightly. Teams that have a lot of talent and can do well don't necessarily deserve to be in the tournament if they haven't done well in the regular season....But based on the guys on the team, certainly Arizona in not a typical 12 seed.

[brevity]

Many analysts will tell you that championship-caliber teams need to have at least 3 players that can compete at the NBA level. Arizona certainly qualifies, in that context.

In the meantime, the Wildcats have become the poster boys for the theme of this tournament, "Where you have been all season?" That the last 5 at-large teams (and USC) won in the 1st round tells me that the regular season is becoming less and less relevant.