NCAA Bracket Predictions: Midwest Region

Moving on to the Midwest.

ROUND ONE

(1) Kansas over (16) Portland St. - The Jayhawks should dispatch of them pretty easily.

(8) UNLV over (9) Kent St. - Kent St. is certainly a really good team, but I like UNLV. They're very well-coached by Lon Kruger, they have Tourney experience (at least, the few holdovers from last year), and they're fresh off winning the Mountain West.

(5) Clemson over (12) Villanova - Clemson is really good. Villanova is really inconsistent. I have a hard time seeing Nova putting up enough points in this game.

(4) Vanderbilt over (13) Siena - Siena is becoming the trendy upset pick, but hold on a minute. I know they have talent, but they don't have anyone like Shan Foster or AJ Ogilvy. And Kevin Stallings is a pretty darn good coach. I'll take Vandy to win this game.

(6) USC vs. (11) Kansas St. - All about coaching, and USC has a huge edge there. I'm excited to see what Tim Floyd, the man who beat Kevin Durant in last year's Tourney, comes up this year to try and slow down Michael Beasley.

(3) Wisconsin over (14) CF Fullerton - Badgers are too tough defensively here.

(10) Davidson over (7) Gonzaga - The Zags have talent all over, but Davidson is playing too well right now. They obviously have Stephen Curry, but don't discount Jason Richards at the PG spot. He's real good.

(2) Georgetown over (15) UMBC - Uh, yeah. I think the Hoyas will have enough in this one.


ROUND TWO

(1) Kansas over (8) UNLV - UNLV is a tough team, but they don't have the talent or depth to match up with the Jayhawks

(5) Clemson over (4) Vanderbilt - The Tigers are playing very good basketball right now. They have the big men to slow down Ogilvy down low, and that makes the Commodores one-dimensional.

(6) USC over (3) Wisconsin - I just like USC's superior athleticism and talent in this game. It might not be pretty, but I think they'll be able to score just a little more easily than the Badgers.

(10) Davidson over (2) Georgetown - Just a feeling. The Hoyas haven't been overly impressive all season long. They need Hibbert to step up, and I just see Davidson being a little better in this one. At the very least, they won't be intimidated.


SWEET 16

(1) Kansas over (5) Clemson - I think Clemson would have a very legitimate chance in this one, but the Jayhawks are playing very good basketball right now. They're just a little too talented for Clemson.

(6) USC over (10) Davidson - USC's a little too talented. Tim Floyd can devise some type of game plan to help slow down Stephen Curry, and USC's athletes can get to the rim against Davidson.


ELITE EIGHT

(1) Kansas over (6) USC - The Trojans run out of gas. Kansas is much deeper in this game, allowing them to run USC off the floor.

Regional Champion: KANSAS