The West Region

Jim Boeheim's probably not the biggest fan of having to possibly play a regional final in the mountains on the other side of the country but the Orange have a pretty favorable draw.

I'm sure they'll be looking to exercise some tournament demons against Vermont in the first round and things could get a little hairy in the second round against either Gonzaga or the steel trap that is the defense of Florida State depending on whether or not Arinze Onuaku can give them productive minutes as he continues to recover from that injured quad.

This is definitely one of Boeheim's best squads though and the duo of Andy Routins and Wesley Johnson along with some help from Rick Jackson should figure things out to get the Orange to the second weekend.

Assuming the Orange make it to Salt Lake City, there's no telling who they'll see in the Sweet 16.
Butler and Vandy have both had great seasons. However, they're just as capable of losing to UTEP and Murray St. as they are of beating them. (UTEP's front line of Derek Caracter and Arnett Moultrie is just the kind that can give Butler nightmares and there's just something about Vandy that makes me nervous this time of year.)

A look to the bottom part of the region seems pretty boring at first glance until you realize Frank Martin's Kansas State team,(26-7), is probably the most under the radar 2 seed in recent memory. Sharp-shooter Jimmer Fredette and 7th seed BYU will be a tough out for anybody they come across, and 6th seed Xavier is about as fun to play with this time of year as an angry bunch of scorpions.

I like Jamie Dixon and the tough minded Pitt Panthers as the 3 seed. Let's be real though, the Panthers have probably over-achieved this year and their time to win the title was snuffed out last year in Boston with a mad dash to the bucket by Villanova's Scottie Reynolds.

The Winner: Syracuse. I reserve the right to change my mind if an announcement comes down that Onuaku can't play. If he does make a return to the lineup though, the Orange will find a way to outlast a gritty Kansas State team in another hotly contested game that will probably push the fiery Frank Martin to the verge of simultaneously hyperventilating and having a brain aneurysm.