March Madness 2009 Preview
A Look Ahead at 2009 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship
Mar 17, 2009
South Region
Louisville is the NCAA’s #1 ranked team and enters March Madness on the back of a truly superb season. An experienced team boasts a dominant defense and a balanced attack; they are the favourite for the whole tournament and should make their way through the South Region.
However, the region does hold some tough competition. Defending champions Kansas pulled off a superb season after losing several key players from last year’s team, meanwhile Michigan State are a team with good depth and perimeter play if they can stay healthy. The region also contains Wake Forest, who at one stage held #1 in the country; they can’t be discounted as a young side that could cause an upset.
Highest upset potential:#12 Arizona over #5 Utah- On performances Arizona probably don’t deserve to be in the competition but they do have some top end talent and Utah will have their hands full.
Region Final Prediction: Louisville will make the final four defeating defending champions Kansas.
West Region
Connecticut and Memphis were both worthy of #1 seeds; they are likely to decide the real #1 on the court in the region final. However, both have a thing to prove in this year’s competition, Memphis stormed through their weak conference but lost 3 of their 5 games against tougher opposition. Meanwhile UConn play strong on the inside and an excellent aggressive defense but the scoring of their guards will be crucial if they are to advance.
Other contenders in this region include the high-paced offenses of Missouri and Marquette; meanwhile the Pac-10 champions Washington could be a dark horse to upset one of the top two seeds.
Highest upset potential: #13 Mississippi State over #4 Washington- In a region where a lot of the lower seeds look disjointed, Washington will need to be careful not to under-estimate Mississippi States stingy defense.
Region Final Prediction: Memphis will make a second consecutive final four appearance defeating Connecticut in one of the tournament’s best matchups.
East Region
Pittsburgh once again enter the tournament with a talented line-up, they will hope that being better rested before the tournament will play to their advantage as they seek success that has eluded them in recent years. Duke have also failed to impress in recent seasons, excellent perimeter scoring will be key to their run, conversely teams may be able to exploit their weakness on the inside.
The East Region is possibly the most wide open region with multiple upsets a real possibility. Though young and inexperienced, Florida State is a team with good balance and a star man in Torey Douglas who is likely to make some noise in this tournament. #3 seed Villanova have a wealth of experience and good inside-out presence in their line-up making them a serious threat to the top seeds.
Highest upset potential: #11 VCU over #6 UCLA- UCLA are not the dominant team of recent years and a good looking VCU side has a genuine chance to make some noise in this competition.
Region Final Prediction: Villanova to defeat Florida State as the top two seeds get knocked out in the Sweet 16 stage.
South Region
North Carolina started the year as the out and out favourites to take the championship, despite a bumpier road than expected, the Tar Heels are still very much the favourites and should make it out of their region with a superb offense and good all-round team.
The rest of the South Region is harder to predict. Syracuse showed extreme resilience in their late season run but fatigue will become an issue with questions over whether a tiring late season schedule has left anything in the tank. Oklahoma will go as far as Blake Griffin can take them; the question is how far can Blake Griffin go recovering from concussion? Clemson are a balanced veteran team with an opportunity to take advantage of the higher seeds in their side of the region.
Highest upset potential: #12 Western Kentucky over #5 Illinois - Western Kentucky are a dangerous team and have been gifted a good matchup against an injured Illinois line-up.
Region Final Prediction:Clemson make a strong run but come up short against North Carolina who advance to the Final Four once again.
Final Prediction:North Carolina defeats Louisville in a battle between the pre-season favourite and the pre-tournament favourite.
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