The Greatest Tournament in the World

The pain of my 'Cuse missing the Dance having mildly subsided, it's time to fill out the bracket. Always one of the best sports times of the year, this year's NCAA tourney should not disappoint. An extremely even playing field in the world of college basketball should translate to a bunch of very good games, first round all the way through to the Final Four in Atlanta. I'll break it down---as I see it---by region and games of note below. Away we go....

MIDWEST

This is why all of Florida's key players came back. All year long, Billy Donovan's crew has talked about focus and chemistry and selflessness while keeping an eye on the prize that is the NCAA Tournament championship. An SEC Tournament title was nice, but it wasn't the big goal for the Gators. With Joakim Noah and Al Horford dominating up front, Corey Brewer and Lee Humphrey lighting it up on the wings and Taurean Green running the show at the point, it's hard to see these guys losing to anybody right now. Sure, it's been 15 years since anyone went back-to-back in the Big Dance (Duke's '91 and '92 clubs were the last) but very few teams have ever been as good, as balanced and as unselfish as this Florida team. No one averages more than 12 shots per game. They play defense. And they're not going to lose in this region, let alone in this tournament. Oregon should win some games and could make Florida fans nervous, but Wisconsin seems to be sputtering down the stretch. Once again, the Gators are chomping at the bit for a crown.

Upset Special:

Old Dominion over Butler

First Round Game to Watch:

Winthrop and Notre Dame

Key Game in the Bracket:

Florida and Oregon

SOUTH

You could argue that the South is open as any of the four regions in this year's tournament. Ohio State---the #1 team in the polls---is rolling along with Greg Oden and Mike Conley Jr. doing tons of damage, but can the Buckeyes get it done against more seasoned teams in its own region? Tennessee and Virginia loom as possible knockout punchers, while Texas A & M and Memphis both have their respective believers. Don't forget Lousiville or Nevada as teams that could make some serious noise here either. All that being said, I'm going to give the edge to A & M in this bracket, if only because of their extremely talented depth. It doesn't hurt having sensational senior guard Acie Law on your side either: he truly is the definition of a "clutch" basketball player. When the chips are down and it's all on the line, I like Billy Gillespie's Aggies to run through this region all the way to Atlanta.

Upset Special:

Albany over Virginia

First Round Game to Watch:

Louisville and Stanford

Key Game in Bracket:

Texas A & M and Memphis

EAST

This is my personal favorite region in this year's tournament. With Roy Williams' highly-talented Tar Heels as the top seed, the red-hot Georgetown Hoyas as the number two, underrated Washington State as the three and Kevin Durant (the best college player in America) leading his Texas crew to the number four seed here, there's no doubt a lot of competitive games between seriously tough teams sit on the immediate horizon. And yet, with Roy Hibbert anchoring the middle and the electric Jeff Green doing his thing from the outside all the way in, I think Georgetown has the been the best team in the country for the last six weeks. The Hoyas play rugged defense, they hit the glass and they were the only club that even challenged Florida in last year's tournament. Patrick Ewing isn't the man in the middle for Georgetown anymore, but his son---the aptly name Patrick Ewing Jr.---is a good player off the bench for John Thompson III, the son of the Hoya Destroya's legendary coach. Georgetown is scary to match up with and I don't think anyone in the East wants a piece of them right now.

Upset Special:

Arkansas over USC

First Round Game to Watch:

Boston College and Texas Tech

Key Game in Bracket:

North Carolina and Texas

WEST

Clearly this is the weakest of the four regions in this year's tournament. Kansas is the most talented team here, with Julian Wright, Mario Chalmers and Brandon Rush leading the way. But that doesn't necessarily mean Bill Self is over his tourney jitters of the last two years. The Jayhawks need to come out in attack mode, or they'll get bounced by Villanova in round two. Elsewhere, Southern Illinois, a four seed, has its highest rank ever, but the Salukis don't look like they're going to be here beyond the second weekend at the latest. Meanwhile, Duke, Pittsburgh and UCLA sit on the bottom of the half of the bracket, which would usually mean a tough region, but all three of those teams have struggled to varying degrees down the stretch. Even without suspended leading scorer Josh Heytfeldt, Gonzaga could bust some brackets as well, especially against the Bruins in the second round. I'm banking on Kansas and its heaps of talent to prevail.

Upset Special:

Virginia Commonwealth over Duke

First Round Game to Watch:

Kentucky and Villanova

Key Game in Bracket:

Gonzaga and UCLA
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Josh's 2007 Final Four:

Florida, Texas A & M, Georgetown, Kansas

NCAA Championship Prediction:

Florida over Georgetown, 72-67


-JAB