1 Kentucky:  There is no doubt that the Wildcats have the most talented players in the nation. And if this tournament was solely decided by NBA future talent they would be a shoe-in for cutting down the nets in April. Fortunately for the rest of the teams in the country, this tournament is decided by a lot more than NBA talent. Even still Kentucky is one of the favorites of this tournament and have the talent, depth, and skill to win the title. The Wildcats are a very balanced team with star talent on the perimeter in John Wall and Eric Bledsoe, and underneath with Patrick Patterson and DeMarcus Cousins.

While it’s easy to love Kentucky, there are some hurdles they will have to overcome. Not the least of which is their freshman-centric starting lineup and rotation. We’ve seen a number of great freshmen and freshmen classes lead their teams deep into the tournament over the past few years, but the only freshman class to cut down the nets was Syracuse in 2003. That is not a great precedent for this Kentucky team, and something they will have to overcome. Something else they have to overcome is a pretty tough potential schedule. In the second round they will likely face a Texas team, that at one point in time was considered just as good of a team as Kentucky. And though they collapsed some down the stretch, the Longhorns have the talent to be extremely dangerous in this region. If Kentucky survives them, as they will likely face a dangerous Wisconsin team in the Sweet 16. That is almost as tough as a road that Kansas will face and, much tougher than Syracuse or Duke. Kentucky has the talent, but it will remain to be seen if their lack of experience will be their down fall.

2 West Virginia:  The West Virginia Mountaineers are my pick coming out of this region. They have tremendous talent, and athleticism and can run the floor with anybody. Though they lack a true big man, the Mountaineers have enough length to succeed in this tournament. They have one of the most underrated players in the nation in G-F De’Sean Butler. Butler was huge for West Virginia on their way to winning the Big East Conference Tournament.

WVU isn’t without weaknesses, they can be inconsistent and lack great depth, but have been able to overcome those issues this season. They do rely on their starters a bit to much and don’t do well if they get in foul trouble or overtime games. But few teams go deeper than 7 guys, so it hasn’t been a major issue for them. One thing that has haunted them this season is their consistency. They have struggled against the top teams in the Big East, and didn’t separate themselves from the pack. And while they did win the Big East Tournament, they didn’t have to face any of the other top teams (Pitt, Villanova, Syracuse). That being said, West Virginia could have made a solid case for deserving a number 1 seed, and even without facing some of the top teams winning the Big East Tournament is extremely impressive. I think the Mountaineers have a pretty clear path in the bottom part of this bracket, and have the ability to knock off Kentucky.

Rest of the games:

3 New Mexico over 14 Montana:  The Lobos are a talented team that might struggle early against Montana, but should be able to pull it out. I don’t see them going too far in this Tournament, but round 1 should be no problem.

4 Wisconsin over 13 Wofford:  The Badgers are a dangerous team and could end up busting a lot of brackets later in this tournament. As long as they don’t look ahead, Wisconsin should have no problem getting past Wofford.

12 Cornell over 5 Temple:  Temple not only drew the dreaded 5th seed, but also a tough match up against Cornell. Cornell has the ability to beat Temple inside, and if that is the case I don’t see Temple surviving this game.

6 Marquette over 11 Washington:  Marquette is a quality team with one weakness, size. Luckily for them Washington isn’t a great interior team, which should allow Marquette to get past them with their excellent guard play.

10 Missouri over 7 Clemson:  In the battle of the Tigers I’ll take Missouri by a hair over Clemson. Missouri has some consistency questions, but they create defensive headaches for every team they play. I think a team like Clemson who hasn’t really seen their style before will struggle and give up a number of turnovers.

8 Texas over 9 Wake Forest:  Both teams have a lot of talent but I like the Longhorns in this match up. I feel they are the more balanced team and will be more then the Demon Deacons can handle.

I know Kansas is the number one overall seed, but my question is does the selection committee know that? I ask because I feel the Jayhawks might have the toughest road to the Championship game of any 1 seed. Kansas should cruise in the first two rounds, but in the Sweet 16 they will face a likely match up against either (4) Maryland or (5) Michigan State. That is by far the toughest 4 or 5 match ups in any of the regions. Looking ahead further their Elite 8 match up will be likely against either Ohio State or Georgetown, which I think you can make a strong case being the best 2-3 seed combo in the regions as well. Probably the only advantage for Kansas is that the bottom of the bracket is probably the toughest you find, and it is quite possible that neither Ohio St. or Georgetown make it to the Elite 8. (6) Tennessee, (7) Oklahoma St., and (10) Georgia Tech all have the talent to make a serious run in the bottom of that bracket.

If Kansas has the hardest road, Duke by far has the easiest path to the Final Four. If they don’t make it to the Elite 8, Duke should just stop playing basketball because they don’t deserve to be in Division 1 if they can’t succeed in the cakewalk of a region they have. First, they got placed in the South, where they should have a good bit of support. Secondly they having nothing in front of them for the first 3 rounds. In the 2nd round they will face either (8) California or (9) Louisville. Cal doesn’t have any impressive wins this season, they lost to top teams, and beat the teams they were supposed to. While they did win the Pac-10 regular season, the Conference was extremely down this year, giving little credence to the belief they can be a threat to Duke. Louisville was able to stay somewhat competitive in the ultra-tough Big East, but with the exception of their two wins against Syracuse, they weren’t able to beat any team that was better than them. They did take a number of teams down to the wire, but weren’t able to close out games. Unfortunately for them they lack the upper-level talent to beat Duke. On paper Duke should have a tough Sweet 16 match up with (4) Purdue (seriously Texas A&M does not impress me as a 5 seed, I think they are completely overrated), but Purdue is really hurting with the loss of star Robbie Hummel. I’m guessing they don’t make it to the Sweet 16 without him, and it wouldn’t shock me if (12) Utah State is Duke’s opponent in the Sweet 16.

Luckily there is some real talent in the bottom of the region, so Duke doesn’t have a coronation into the Final Four. Either (2) Villanova or (3) Baylor should be able to overcome the Blue Devils in the Elite Eight if they make it that far. Both are better all-around teams that should give Duke plenty of problems. Even if there is an upset and one of the lower seeds come out of the bottom of that region, Duke will have a solid opponent. I think (11) Old Dominion, (7) Richmond, and (6) Notre Dame could make a serious run in the region. Overall though Duke really lucked out with their region, they should be well rested by the time they make the Elite Eight, which could be a major advantage.

All-in-all the tournament looks exciting with a number of great match-ups. My one gripe is the omission of Mississippi State. Now I realize you can’t judge a team solely by their Conference Tournament performance, but I think Mississippi State was very deserving of a bid. This team was one-tenth of a second away from earning an automatic bid, and instead has to settle for a 1 seed in the NIT. They took the best team in the nation down to the wire, on a “neutral” court (I think Kentucky fans out numbered Bulldog fans 20-1). And on the way to facing Kentucky, they knocked off Vanderbilt (a ranked team and a 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament), and Florida (a bubble team that they should have taken the place of). Now I know they had some bad losses on their schedule, but the Bulldogs can play, and its hard for me to see a team like Florida or Minnesota make it over them. Minnesota seemingly made it because of their tournament run where they knocked off Michigan State and Purdue. But the difference is Purdue was without their best player, and in the Championship game Minnesota lost by almost 30 points against Ohio State. While Ohio State is the 5th or 6th best team in the country they aren’t as good as Kentucky, whom Mississippi State came so close to beating.

What are your thoughts–who was snubbed and who is overranked?

Both number 1 ranked Kansas and number 2 ranked Kentucky lost yesterday which not only shakes up the brackets, but adds a bit of intrigue to the final week of the NCAA regular season. The door is wide open for Syracuse to be the top ranked team in the country and go into the tournament with the easiest road. You also have to feel for Purdue, who just lost their best player, Robbie Hummel for the rest of the season. Its hard to see them capitalizing on their opportunity without Hummel in the lineup. Beyond the new look Top 25, there is quite a bit of irony and interest that Kansas (KU) and Kentucky (UK) both lost on the same day.

Kansas and Kentucky have been linked together for some time, both are predominate basketball schools, that year in year out have permanent homes in the Top 25. This season not only were KU and UK ranked 1 and 2, but with the exception of 2 weeks one or the other has been the top ranked team this entire season (mainly KU). Kansas has never been ranked lower than 3rd at any point this year, and Kentucky has always been in the top 5 as well. Now both are teetering in that range again, and could see their number 1 seeds slip away if they stumble again before the year is out or have an early exit in their conference tournament. Both KU and UK have lost to one ranked opponent and one unranked opponent. And for both of them that ranked opponent was the Tennessee Volunteers.

While these losses are a body blow to each team, I wouldn’t worry too much. Kansas has a tough matchup with K-State, but if they get past them they should be fine. I expect both teams to be number 1 seeds, and it wouldn’t shock me in the least to see either one cutting down the nets in early April.

By Fanspeak Contributing Writer Geoff Nelowet

The second-ranked Kentucky Wildcats will head to Memorial Gym today to take on SEC rival and nationally ranked Vanderbilt (19).  Earlier this season, Kentucky defeated Vandy by 13 at home. Kentucky is now 25-1 on the season, and Vanderbilt comes in at a respectable 20-5.

Vanderbilt is 13-0 at home this year, and they are facing by far their biggest home test of the season. Previous to this game, the Commodores’ only win over a ranked opponent came against a volatile Tennessee Volunteers team that has been up and down all year. Vanderbilt needs this win to cement an NCAA birth and a higher seed.

If Vandy wants to pull the upset, their high-scoring offense will have bring its best performance of the year, and their defense will have to show up with some degree of consistency. A.J. Oglivy, Jeffery Taylor and Jermaine Beal each average around 14 points per game, and those impressive scoring averages will not be enough against the Wildcats who not only play better defense, but score even more points per contest.

Kentucky averages 81 points per game – compared to Vanderbilt’s 79 – and more importantly, they play tougher defense, which justifies their 25 victories to only one loss. No one in the country has been able to consistently stop Kentucky’s John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins. Wall and Cousins, two one-year rentals before they undoubtedly jump to the NBA, are shoe-ins for All-American lists, and it seems unlikely that anyone on Vanderbilt’s roster will be able to slow them down.

Vanderbilt’s perfect home record will be given a blemish today, as Kentucky is simply too physical for Vandy’s finesse, jump-shooting style. Expect Vanderbilt to keep it close for at least the first half before Kentucky pulls away. Final score: Kentucky 85 Vanderbilt 74.

We are in the midst of ESPN’s Rivalry Week for college basketball, so we are seeing plenty of great basketball, and last night was no exception. Here are some quick thoughts about last night’s games.

“The King stay the King” (explicit): (2) Kentucky Wildcats cruised yesterday to a 66-55 victory over the Alabama Crimson Tide. Kentucky is in a 3 horse race with Kansas and Syracuse for the top spot in the nation. While they’ve been a little streaky and rely too much on their freshman, they are a team to be reckoned with. They remain the top team in the SEC, and barring some major setback, should be a lock for a number 1 seed in the tournament. As for the Kentucky freshman, John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins last night showed once again why they are projected top 5 lottery picks in next year’s draft. They each posted a double-double in the score sheet and combined for 38 of the 66 total points. While it might be hard to win the National Championship on the backs of freshman, Kentucky could be the team to do it.

“A Change Is Gonna Come”: Two big time match-ups last night left the Big Ten standings a mess. (6) Purdue might have been higher ranked that (10) Michigan State, but the Spartans were atop the Big Ten. Well that changed after Purdue crushed the Spartans 76-64 and Illinois beat (13) Wisconsin. Now Illinois and the Spartans are tied for the conference lead, with Ohio State, Purdue, and Wisconsin right behind them. As if getting beat by the Boilermakers wasn’t bad enough, the Spartans are in the midst of a three game losing streak, and were undefeated in the Big Ten when the month started. Now is not the time you want to be struggling, (Purdue on the other hand are playing their best basketball). While there are 5 quality teams in the conference, it looks like Purdue is going to make a run for the Big Ten title and they should win it easy.

“Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”: The (24) Vanderbilt Commodores destroyed (12) Tennessee Volunteers last night 90-71. This game wasn’t even close and Vanderbilt had it pretty much had this game won from the get-go. They scored the first 6 points of the game and never looked back. The win not only will give them a nice boost in the rankings, but also moves them up to 2nd place in the SEC.