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So after the first two rounds of the tournament, by bracket is mostly busted. I don't have any teams in the Midwest left, and my champ is gone. But I do still have 3 of my 4 Final four teams, which I think is more then most. Well we are down to 16 teams now, so here is how I think it will go down.

Midwest

Northern Iowa vs Michigan State: Perhaps the most impressive thing about NIU's win was that they were leading Kansas the entire time. This was no fluke. They were the better team on Sunday. Now if they played 10 times, Kansas would probably win 7 to 8 times, but that doesn't matter. NIU played better. As for Michigan State, I still hate them for beating my Terps, and the Spartan's are hurting: literally. They won't have their star guard Lucas, and while the Spartans are March monsters, I'm a NIU believer.

Winner: Northern Iowa

Tennessee vs Ohio State- Tennessee has had arguably the easiest route to the sweet 16. They knocked off a solid San Diego State team, and then beat up an Ohio team that somehow dominated Georgetown. Ohio State has impressed me. I had them losing to Georgia Tech, but they looked very solid. And more importantly, Evan Turner is getting alot of help.

Winner: Ohio State

Northern Iowa vs Ohio State- This could be a great game. I won't go into as much detail on the "potential match ups", but I think the Cinderella story ends here. As we have seen in past tournaments, the cinderella rarely makes the final 4(George Mason the only exception last decade). And I think Ohio State ends the story here.

Midwest winner: Ohio State


West Region:

Syracuse vs Butler- With all due respect to Northern Iowa, I'm not sure I was more impressed by a team's performance in one game then I was when Syracuse utterly dominated an upset minded and very good Gonzaga team. Butler meanwhile, also hasn't been extremely tested against UTEP and Murray State. I think Syracuse is far and away the better team, and they will show it.

Winner: Syracuse

Kansas State vs Xavier- Xavier seems to have a home in the sweet 16. The A-10 powerhouse has been there three years in a row. Meanwhile, my Final 4 pick Kansas State has looked very impressive so far, and I think they will keep that up.

Winner: Kansas State

Syracuse vs Kansas State- While Syracuse has been playing better then anyone this tournament, I have to stick with my Final 4 pick. Going with the upset here, but this is more of a sticking to my guns then actually thinking they will win pick.

West Winner: Kansas State


East Region:

Kentucky vs Cornell- I don't think any team benefited more from Kansas's lost then Kentucky, who had sure they wouldn't let the same thing happen to them. On the other hand, Cornell has looked like a 2 seed, as they have been dominating their opponents so far, throttling Temple and Wisconsin. I think it was Bob Ryan who put it best: if they were playing any other team, Cornell could be this year's George Mason. Kentucky will be too strong.

Winner: Kentucky

Washington vs West Virginia- This will be very interesting. Washington looked very impressive vs New Mexico, but how much credit can we give them for beating New Mexico. Even as a 3 seed, they are a mid major. And while West Virginia has looked great, they have lost their starting guard. I still think WVU has too much, and I think they pull it out.

Winner: West Virginia

Kentucky vs West Virginia- I'll keep this one short. With Kansas out, Kentucky is the most talented team left, and its not too close in that department. The only thing that will beat Kentucky is themselves, and while they are young, I don't see it happening here.

East Winner: Kentucky


Duke vs Purdue- Duke has also looked quite impressive, as they were never threatened by Cal. And give props to Purdue, who are in the Sweet 16 despite being without their star player. But their run ends here. Duke will have too much.

Winner: Duke

Baylor vs Saint Mary's- Baylor almost blew it against Old Dominion, but they held on after a bit of a sweat. For Saint Mary's, I don't think you can argue that Omar Samhan is the tournaments most outstanding player. And I think they continue it here. The strength of Baylor is their guard play. The strength of the St Mary's play is their big man. I think the Big man wins out here.

Winner: Saint Mary's

Duke vs Saint Mary's- You have no idea how much I want to go with Saint Mary's. In fact, I almost did. But I thought about it and I think Duke has the tools to win this game. Brian Zoubek has the size to contain Samhan, and Duke has too much guard play. I'll be pulling harder then anyone for Saint Mary's, but Duke wins this.

South Winner: Duke

My new Final 4: Ohio State, Kansas State, Kentucky, and Duke

Keeping it short: Kentucky vs Kansas state with Kentucky winning. Thanks for reading.