South Region Predictions

South Notes

1. Memphis over (16) UT-Arlington
1. Sorry Hunter Pence but I have to pick against your school
2. Texas over (15) Austin Peay
3. Stanford over Cornell
1. Too much height for the Ivy Leaguers
4. Pittsburgh over Oral Roberts
5. Michigan State over Temple
1. I am afraid of this one because Temple has a dangerous team and Mich State has not been playing the best ball of lately
6. Marquette over Kentucky
1. It all really boils down to the fact that Kentucky played a pretty weak SEC and has shown that its not that good of a team. Billy G will be frustrated and the first round knock out will sum up the season.
   
7. Miami FALLS to Saint Mary's
1. This Saint Mary's team is a top 25 team that will find itself here in the tourney. Miami is another overrated ACC team that made the tourney. Miami started the season off on a hot streak (12 in a row) but then fell to Winthrop and the following ACC teams: NC STATE, DUKE, UNC, Boston College, Georgia Tech and Wake Forest.
   
8. Mississippi State over (9) Oregon
1. Jarvis Varnado leads the nation in blocked shots at about 5 per game and leads a pretty stingy defense. I like them to beat an Oregon team that some predicted to be in the NIT.
   

Second Round South

1. Memphis over (8) Mississippi State
1. Too much fire power even for the strong defensive minded Bulldogs.
   
2. Texas over (10) Saint Mary's
1. A rematch from the regular season. Texas and Rick Barnes are on a mission to the Final Four with a solid shooting team that likes to play defense.
   
3. Stanford over (6) Marquette
1. The Lopez brothers will put up a blood bath in the paint against Marquette. The Golden Eagles put up a great game against G'town in the regular season but I think their lack of balanced attack will hurt them against the Lopez brothers.
   
4. Pittsburgh over Michigan State
1. This Pitt team is on a mission. With a healthy roster they are one of the best teams in the nation that can play big and small. Fields sets the tone with his tough play and Drew Neitzel will have a tough time finding his stoke against this nasty defense. Mich State has shown signs of being a gritty team when they beat Texas but then they fall to three ranked Big 10 opponents in Purdue, Indiana and Wisconsin.
   

Sweet 16 South

(4) Pittsburgh OVER (1) Memphis

1. A gritty team that will play the Tigers tough and expose their Dribble Drive Motion offense. I like Fields against Rose and the problems the freshman will face against Fields will be the ball game for Memphis

(2) Texas OVER (3) Stanford

1. Too much guard play for the Cardinal and the Horns expose the lack of strong guard play. The Lopez brothers will have a field day but will not combine for more than 40 points so I feel safe with Texas' lack of quality size.
   

Final Four South
(2) TEXAS over (4) Pittsburgh

1. This game will be one for the ages. D.J. and Fields will go at it and the role play of James will win it for the Horns. He was my Xf-factor last year and he will be the reason the Horns win or lose. This was a hard pick for me because I think this Texas team has all the signs of a Final Four team but for some reason I'm not as confident as I should be. Whatever lets go with the Horns.