Midwest Regional Picks

#1 Florida-#16 Jackson State: Still not sure why Florida got the #1 overall seed. Are they the defending champs? Yes. Did I pick them to win it all this season? Yes. Do I still think they can? Absolutely! But just to seed them #1 on that basis is absurd. Ohio State definitely should be above them. But no matter, it doesn't matter that I think Fla got overseeded, they will kill Jackson State. There is no way Jackson State will beat the Gators and it will be a miracle if they keep it close. Florida 94 Jackson State 56

#8 Arizona-#9 Purdue: Arizona was a bit of a disappointment this year. Purdue has been sort of quiet this year but have been very tough and scrappy. Arizona has the talent that they can beat Purdue, but I just haven't seen that the Wildcats can put it together. I'll take the Boilermakers. Purdue 73 Arizona 72

#5 Butler-#12 Old Dominion: The dreaded #5 mid-major rule comes into effect. Generally when a mid-major is given a #5 seed they always lose in the first round. Will the curse strike Butler this year. I actually don't think so. Butler plays very methodical and simply does not turn the ball over. They are the only team in the country to have less than 10 turnovers a game. Old Dominion is a solid team but they are prone to droughts scoring and Butler's style may frustrate them to no end. So I'm picking against the rule and saying Butler will advance. Butler 69 Old Dominion 64

#4 Maryland-#13 Davidson: Until they lost to Miami, Maryland had been one of the hottest teams in the country winning seven straight conference games. But this matchup could be trouble as Davidson has been one of the best mid-major teams losing only four times. Davidson freshman Curry is very capable of leading the Wildcats to a first round upset. However, I think Maryland's talent and very fast pace will be able to tire the Wildcats. Expect the Terps to pull away late. Maryland 81 Davidson 69

#6 Notre Dame-#11 Winthrop: Everyone seeing this matchup immediately declared it an upset alert. While Winthrop is good, I'm not so sure. I'm generally always leery when an upset is announced nearly unanimously. I've noticed it generally doesn't happen. I noticed something in the Big South Tournament that concerned me as well. Winthrop has a free-throw shooting percentage of 62.7%. That is 317th in the country out of 336 teams. This is a big handicap in a close matchup and could ruin any hopes for an upset. And although Winthrop played valiantly in losing to Wisconsin, UNC, Texas A&M, and Maryland....they didn't actually win. In fact the only win they had against any team in the tournament was Old Dominion. Meanwhile, I kind of like the Irish team. I think they'll be able to frustrate Winthrop and with their 16th best FT percentage in the country should be able to stretch their lead if it comes down to the wire. Notre Dame 78 Winthrop 69

#3 Oregon-#14 Miami (Ohio): Suddenly, the Ducks look dangerous. They wiped the floor in the Pac-10 Tourney beating Arizona by 19, Cal by 18 and USC by 24 points. Miami (Ohio) will want to keep this slow and that will probably keep it from getting out of hand. But they just don't have the firepower to keep up with Oregon. Oregon 71 Miami (Ohio) 61

#7 UNLV-#10 Georgia Tech: I like this matchup for Ga. Tech. UNLV has had a good season. But I don't really see any high quality wins other than Nevada (who I'm not too keen on as you'll find out later). Meanwhile the Yellow Jackets have beaten Memphis, Duke, UNC, Boston College, and Purdue this year. I think Crittenton will lead them to a minor upset. Georgia Tech 74 UNLV 69

#2 Wisconsin-#15 Texas A&M Corpus Christi: Corpus Christi didn't even have a D1 basketball team until several years ago. Now they're in the NCAAs. Remarkable! Still, I don't expect them to be around very long. Wisconsin has been struggling down the stretch especially after the unfortunate injury to Butch. But Wisconsin led by one of the best players in the land Alando Tucker should be able to take out the Islanders pretty easily. Wisconsin 82 Texas A&M Corpus Christi 63