Sweet 16 Preview! (East + South Regions)

EAST REGION

#1 Kentucky vs. #12 Cornell
-This is being billed as the classic David vs. Goliath match and that is precisely what this is. From the non-scholarship athletes of the Big Red, to the differences in pay between John Calipari and Steve Donahue, to the Ivy League vs. the SEC, the differences between the two programs are vast. Kentucky has rolled through its first two games, but surprisingly, so has Cornell. The Big Red has dismantled Temple and Wisconsin which were two of the better defenses in Division I all year. The real question is, can Cornell hang with a team as talented and athletic as Kentucky? They need to keep John Wall out of the lane and prevent him from making plays that way. Wall is the key and if they can slow him down and frustrate him, Cornell can make this a game. As they showed when they took Kansas to the limit at Allen Fieldhouse earlier in the year, this team can hang with anybody when they are playing their best, and they are certainly playing their best right now.

Who Wins? Kentucky. They are too talented and too athletic for Cornell to handle, but The Big Red are more than capable of making this a very interesting game.

#11 Washington vs. #2 West Virginia
-The Mountaineers suffered a critical setback this week with the loss of Darryl Bryant to a broken foot that he got during practice mid-week. He is really their only option at point guard as his backup, Joe Mazzulla hasn't played much this season, let alone run the offense for this team in big time games. Bryant was also one of the team's best shooters on a team really lacking in that department, and Mazzulla quite frankly, can't shoot, and hasn't made a single 3 pointer all year. The worst thing a team can lose is probably a key point guard and West Virginia is going to have to move on without him. Washington in the mean team has been quite a surprise and is finally playing to its potential which they hadn't done all year long until the Pac-10 Tournament came around. The Huskies are very talented and are hot as hell right now. West Virginia still has Da'Sean Butler who has stepped up for them every time they needed him to in a critical spots, and Devin Ebanks who is ridiculously talented and athletic. Missouri already gave them problems in the second round, and they are dealing with a lot more this time around.

Who Wins? I think Washington continues their hot run and pulls the upset here. I had West Virginia in my title game before the tournament, but they looked shaky against Missouri and I think ultimately the loss or Bryant where at a position where they were very thin already will be too much. The Huskies in a close one.

SOUTH REGION

#1 Duke vs. #4 Purdue
-Can a #4 seed be a Cinderella? I think the Boilermakers definitely should be considered as such since I'm sure not many people had them pegged for a Sweet 16 run after the loss of Robbie Hummel and that abysmal performance in the Big 10 Tournament against Minnesota. I know I didn't. However, that being said, I think they are living on borrowed time. They escaped against Texas A&M and had tons of trouble with Siena for awhile. Chris Kramer has stepped it up for them, but will he be enough here to overcome a Duke team that is hot right now? Speaking of Duke, who was arguably the weakest of the #1 seeds, could they have achieved an easier path to the Final Four now that #2 Villanova has been bounced? You could almost argue that the South housed the weakest #1, #2, #3, and #4 seeds. Here's a fun little fact for you, Duke hasn't beaten a team seeded higher than #5 since they won the National Championship in 2001.

Who Wins? Duke ends that streak and beats a Purdue team that goes down fighting. Props to the Boilermakers for overcoming the loss of Hummel, but that run ends here.

#3 Baylor vs. #10 St. Mary's
-Omar Samhan is a monster. A beast. And he's got quite a way with words too as he's become a media favorite and is always ready to deliver a quotable. But is he ready to deliver again, on the biggest stage? He is averaging 30.5 ppg and 9.5 rebs so far in the tournament which is just absolutely ridiculous. Baylor in the meantime struggled with Sam Houston State for awhile and didn't look great against Old Dominion either. In addition to Xavier/Kansas State, I think this is the most exciting game in the Sweet 16. St. Mary's is hot and ready to finally escape the shadow of Gonzaga in the WCC. Can they recreate some of that magic and make an Elite 8 run like the Zags did in 1999? Either way, this would be the first Elite 8 appearance for either team, so this is a stage that neither team is used to, and that makes this exciting.

Who wins? I had Baylor in my Final Four, but this is a breakout tournament for Samhan. He's going to put up some big numbers again, and St. Mary's will make their first Elite 8 appearance in school history.