They put No. 1 Kansas in the same bracket as the only two teams to beat them this year--Tennessee, Oklahoma State--and the team that knocked them out of the tournament last year, Michigan State.
Northern Iowa makes me nervous in the second round. The Panthers are one of the better small school teams in the country. I'm also picking Maryland to beat Michigan State, and Georgetown to beat Tennessee, in which case the aforementioned KU defeats wouldn't be relevant.
The West Regional looks greased for Syracuse to get to the Sweet Sixteen. Similarly, the lower bracket in the West looks greased for K-State. Syracuse will need to play their best game to beat K-State. Are they just a titch overrated?
Kentucky has a fairly easy path in the East Regional, although the Wildcats should look out for Temple and Wisconsin. Texas would have been a threat earlier in the season, but their second half was poor and they may not make it past the first game. In the East's lower bracket, watch out for Marquette.
Villanova has a walk in the lower bracket of the South Regional. The toughest team they have to beat is Baylor, which shouldn't be a problem except that Villanova has not been as sharp lately as they were in mid season. Duke may have their hands full in the top bracket. They need to get by Texas A&M and Purdue and/or Siena. If Purdue is on, they're good, though they've faded lately. Siena can play.
If K-State beats Syracuse--an even bet, in my view--the Wildcats would play the Jayhawks in the first game of the Final Four. Kansas is very good. Are they good enough to beat another good team four times in the same season?
Answer: If you're good enough to beat them three times--on their court, your own, and somebody else's--you have to like the Jayhawks' chances.
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