West Regional Predictions

West Regional - GLENDALE

The West is where I see things getting interesting. I have UCONN as the first top seeded team to topple. I really want to put CAL past Memphis, also. I love Purdue as a No. 5 seed and I love their path to the Final Four. Purdue has to go through tough competition with Washington, UCONN and Memphis in order to get there. But I think they are budding at just the right time. This could compete with the Midwest as the toughest region. But let me explain more of why I like Purdue. The Boilermakers just finished a stretch of 3-0 vs tournament teams. Their defense is ranked as one of the best in the country (5th in efficiency), it will carry them in the first couple of rounds. They played against Duke, Oklahoma and Michigan State twice this season (1-3). THE ROSTER: E'Twuan Moore is the leading scorer with nearly 14 ppg. JaJuan Smith and Robbie Hummel put in 13 and 12 a night. I just see a lot of Big Ten basketball and the Big Ten network airs games all the time. This team just has what it takes to come together as a squad and put on a slipper.

Sweet 16:
Purdue over Connecticut
Memphis over Missouri

Elite 8:
Purdue over Memphis

NOTES: I am taking No. 11 seed Utah State to win against Marquette in round one. Utah State has 30 wins (Memphis is the only other team in the tourney with 30+ wins) and they are up against a battered Golden Eagles team fresh off a heartbreaking loss to Villanova in the Big East tourney. Despite not playing any team ranked in the Top 25 all season, the Aggies are the 13th most efficient offense in the nation. They are also in the top 15 in FG% and 3pt%.