MLB 2013: NL West Preview

The 2012 NL West race was a battle between two rivals: the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Francisco Giants. The Dodgers held the division lead from Opening Day until the end of June until the Giants took over first and never gave it back. In the NLDS, the Giants lost the first two games at home, giving themselves the tough task of having to win three straight all on the road. Challenge accepted as the Giants came back to defeat the Reds in five games. The comeback kids were back at again, this time in the NLCS when they battled back from a 3-1 deficit to defeat the Cardinals in seven games. The Giants advanced to the World Series to face the Detroit Tigers. The Tigers were no match for the Giants as they not only won their second title in three years but also swept the Tigers. The Dodgers finished two games behind the Cards for the second wild card spot while a late charge by the Arizona Diamondbacks came up short as they lost 6 of their last 10. The San Diego Padres had their second straight losing season, finishing in fourth place at 76-86 while the Colorado Rockies had their worst season in franchise history, finishing in last at 64-98.

            Arizona Diamondbacks: After winning the 2011 NL West Crown, the Arizona Diamondbacks entered the 2012 season with lofty expectations including winning the division and the NL Pennant. The Diamondbacks failed to achieve their goals as they struggled to stay above .500 all year and finished in 3^rd place at 81-81. This offseason, the Diamondbacks got rid of two of their starting outfielders when they traded OF Justin Upton to the Atlanta Braves and OF Chris Young to the Oakland A’s. The bold move by the organization will benefit the team greatly as both players struggled last year and struck out a lot. Gerardo Parra is expected to take over the starting center fielder job and Adam Eaton was supposed to be the starting right fielder, but a late spring training injury will force him to miss 6-8 weeks. In his first full season with the team, 1B Paul Goldschmidt had his coming out party last year, hitting .286 with 20 HRs and 82 RBIs. Goldschmidt will definitely improve on those numbers making him a possible All-Star. 2B Aaron Hill had a .302 batting average last year and LF Jason Kubel had a career high 30 HRs. 3B Martin Prado comes over to the Diamondbacks from the Upton trade and is capable of 15 HRs and 80 RBIs this year. C Miguel Montero is coming off of his second straight season of over 80 RBIs. The Diamondbacks have a lineup that can take them to the postseason but the factor that will determine if they make it to the playoffs is their starting rotation. Ian Kennedy is the team’s ace with 36 wins in his two seasons with the team. Wade Miley had 16 wins as a rookie last year and was chosen as an All-Star. Can Miley improve off of last year or will he fall into the dreaded sophomore slump? The Diamondbacks also signed Brandon McCarthy to a two-year deal in the offseason and return Trevor Cahill to give them four quality starters, but who will become their 5^th starter? Will it be Patrick Corbin, Tyler Skaggs, or Randall Delgado? The D-Backs wont have to worry about their bullpen as they have one of the deepest bullpens in the league with setup men Heath Bell and David Hernandez and closer J.J. Putz. The D-Backs are the dark horse to win the division but don’t be surprised if they are in contention come late September.

            Colorado Rockies: The 2012 season was the worst season in franchise history for the Colorado Rockies as they finished last in the division at 64-98. Manager Jim Tracy resigned after four seasons with the team and the team hired former Rockie Walt Weiss. The Rockies were without All-Star SS Troy Tulowitzki for much of last year as Tulowitzki only played in 47 games due to needing surgery on his left groin. Without Tulowitzki in the lineup, the Rockies still managed to finish 6^th in the league in runs as OF Carlos Gonzalez, C Wilin Rosario, and RF Michael Cuddyer all combined to fill the void left by Tulowitzki. The problem for the Rockies last year was their pitching. The Rockies pitching staff ranked last in the MLB with a team ERA of 5.22. There is no way a team can compete in a division if they allow over five runs per game. The Rockies didn’t have a double-digit winner last year but will get SP Jorge De La Rosa back after he missed the 2012 season due to having Tommy John Surgery. Having Tulowitzki healthy will help the Rockies in their 2013 campaign but due to their lack of quality pitchers, the Rockies will have their third straight season of finishing under .500.

            Los Angeles Dodgers: The Los Angeles Dodgers are looking to get back to the playoffs for the first time since 2009. Although the Dodgers didn’t make the playoffs last year, fans were excited as Frank McCourt finally sold the team to a group that included Stan Kasten and Laker legend Magic Johnson. Since buying the team, the Dodgers have traded for 1B Adrian Gonzalez, OF Carl Crawford, P Josh Beckett, SS Hanley Ramirez, and signed pitchers Zach Greinke and Hyun-Jin Ryu. The Dodgers have the second largest payroll behind the Yankees entering Monday’s Opening Day at just over $216 million. In his third year as manager, Don Mattingly will have to realize that this year is either playoffs or bust for the Dodgers as expectations are high in Chavez Ravine. When healthy, the Dodgers lineup is one of the best in the league. MVP candidate CF Matt Kemp is finally healthy after having surgery in the offseason to repair a torn labrum. Gonzalez struggled early after being traded from the Red Sox but still managed to go over 100 RBIs for the third straight season and Ramirez had 44 RBIs in 64 games with the team. The lineup also features RF Andre Either, Crawford, 3B Luis Cruz. The main question entering this season for the Dodgers is if they can stay healthy. Ramirez is already out until mid-May after tearing his right thumb ligament in the WBC and Crawford is still recovering after undergoing Tommy John surgery on August 23^rd of last year. The Dodgers pitching staff ranked 3^rd in 2012 with a team ERA of 3.34. SP Clayton Kershaw is perhaps the best left-handed pitcher in the MLB and Greinke can be a great #2 starter if he can stay healthy. Ryu will be a rookie this year but has the tools to be the Dodgers #3 starter and Beckett’s numbers improved once he arrived in LA last year. The Dodgers are looking to make it to the World Series for the first time since 1988 and have expectations of doing so. But can the Dodgers stay healthy all season, or will too many injuries force the Dodgers to miss the playoffs for a 4^th straight season?

            San Diego Padres: For the 4^th time in five years, the San Diego Padres finished the season under .500, finishing 76-86 in the 2012 season. It was a one man show in 2012 for the Padres as 3B Chase Headley had a breakout season with 31 HRs and 115 RBIs. Headley also was the NL RBI Champion and was a Gold Glove recipient. Besides Headley, only OF Carlos Quentin was the only Padre to hit more than 10 HRs and 1B Yonder Alonso was the only Padre to have more than 60 RBIs. Quentin is healthy and will finally be able to play a full season. The Padres will struggle early on the season as Headley is not expected to return until late-April due to a fractured left thumb. Pitchers Clayton Richard and Edinson Volquez each had double-digit wins in 2012 but also had double-digit losses.  The Padres are still a couple years away from competing for a division title and will miss they playoffs for 7^th straight season.

            San Francisco Giants: The San Francisco Giants are coming off their 7^th World Series Title in 2012 as they swept the Detroit Tigers in the Fall Classic. The Giants didn’t make it easy on themselves at all in the postseason as they had to win three straight just to make it to the NLCS and then had to come back from a 3-1 deficit. Entering the 2013 season, can the Giants repeat as champions? Absolutely. The Giants have the 2012 NL MVP in C Buster Posey. Posey had perhaps the best season by a catcher as he led the MLB in batting average at .336 but also had 24 HRs and 103 RBIs. 3B Pablo Sandoval was plagued by injury all season long but still managed to bat .283 and OF Angel Pagan became one of the best leadoff hitters in the league. The Giants have one of the deepest rotations in the league as all five starters had at least 10 wins last year led by P Matt Cain and Madison Bumgarmer who each had 16. If two-time NL Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum can get back to his normal self after a disappointing season last year, the Giants will have the best rotation in the league. The Giants have the team to get back to the World Series for a second straight year but can they do it will be the question.

            Prediction: The Giants-Dodgers rivalry is one of the best in sports. But lately it has been all Giants as they have won two of the last three World Series Titles. The Dodgers feel that they finally have the team to defeat the Giants. The NL West, like it always seems to do, will come down to the last few weeks. In the end, I think that the Dodgers will win the division by one game and the Giants will earn a Wild Card Spot.

1.     Los Angeles Dodgers

2.     San Francisco Giants

3.     Arizona Diamondbacks

4.     Colorado Rockies

5.     San Diego Padres

         
             images were used from bleacherreport.com, cbssports.com, sportsillustrated.com, latimes.com, and mlbreports.com

MLB 2013: NL Central Preview

            The 2012 NL Central race was very interesting as for the first time since 1997; the Pittsburgh Pirates were in first place at the All-Star break. The Pirates were playing as if their streak of consecutive losing seasons would end at 19 and they would make the playoffs for the first time since 1992, but they faltered down the stretch and ended the season at 79-83, their 20^th straight losing season. The Reds were the recipients of the Pirates miscues as they won their second division title in the three years. The Cardinals also made the playoffs for the third time in four years, earing the second of the two Wild Card spots. The Milwaukee Brewers won 14 of their last 23 but finished five games behind the Cardinals at 83-79. Pirates finished four games under .500 at 79-83 followed by the Chicago Cubs and the Houston Astros who finished a combined 78 games behind the Reds. The Reds had a two games to none lead in the NLDS against the San Francisco Giants but lost three straight, ending their season. The Cardinals made it all the way to the NLCS where they lost to the Giants in seven games. This season will be a little different as the Houston Astros left the NL Central and now play in the AL West.

            Chicago Cubs: The Chicago Cubs had a bad season last year, finishing with over a 100 losses for the first time since 1966. The Cubs had a bad offense as they ranked 28^th in the league in runs with 613. 1B Bryan LaHair, who was second on the team with 16 HRs and made his first career All-Star appearance, signed with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of the Japanese Pacific League. The Cubs signed P Edwin Jackson to a four year, $52 million dollar contract in the offseason. Jackson will most likely be the Cubs #2 starter behind Jeff Samardzija. The Cubs don’t have a good offense as SS Starlin Castro, 1B Anthony Rizzo, and OF Alfonso Soriano are the only guys in the lineup capable of putting up big numbers. The Cubs are still in a rebuilding phase, which is why they will be bringing up lots of prospects this season, so expect the Cubs to be a non-factor in the Central race this year.

            Cincinnati Reds: The Reds finished the 2012 season with their highest win total since 1999. Manager Dusty Baker has taken his team into the playoffs twice in the past three seasons. The Reds lost OF Drew Stubbs and 3B Scott Rolen in the offseason but traded for OF Shin-Soo-Choo who will most likely be the Reds leadoff hitter. Shoo had 67 RBIs and will look to make an immediate impact to a team that struggled to score runs as they ranked 21^st in the league last year. 1B Joey Votto battled a knee injury last year, playing in only 111 games but hit .337 with 14 HRs and 56 RBIs. Votto says that he is healthy entering this season. RF Jay Bruce had a career high 34 HRs and 99 RBIs en route to his second straight All-Star appearance. 2B Brandon Phillips had 18 HRs and 77 RBIs last year but will have less pressure on him now that he is isn’t in the leadoff spot. The Reds pitching staff had the 5^th best ERA in the league last year. P Johnny Cueto had a career high 19 wins as he became the ace of the team and P Matt Latos went 14-4 in his first year with the team. The Reds bullpen is one of the league’s best as they have Jonathon Broxton, who they signed in the offseason as a setup man, and fireballer CP Aroldis Chapman. Baker was thinking of the possibility of moving Chapman to the starting rotation but Chapman has always been in favor of being in the bullpen. The Reds are the clear favorite to win the NL Central and also will be looking to improve on their NLDS collapse last year.

            Milwaukee Brewers: If the Brewers could have played the whole 2012 season like the played the second half of the year, they could have maybe made the playoffs. LF Ryan Braun had yet another MVP-type season last year, batting .319 with 41 HRs and 112 RBIs. Braun led the Brewers offense that ranked 3^rd in the league with 776 runs. The Brewers will need to find a replacement for OF Corey Hart, who will be missing the first two months of the season due to having knee surgery in late January. 3B Aramis Ramirez had over the 100 RBIs for the first time since 2008 and along with 2B Rickie Weeks, will each t help Braun carry the void that Hart left. P Yovani Gallardo was the only Brewer to have more than 10 wins last season. The Brewers brought in some much needed when they signed veteran P Kyle Lohse this week. Lohse had a career high 16 wins with the Cardinals last year and will take some of the pressure off of Gallardo. The Brewers have a team that can win the division, but the question is can they stay consistent all season long? If so, they have a change to win the Central but if not, they can find themselves in 3^rd place just like last year.

            Pittsburgh Pirates: The Pirates played 2/3 of the season last year like a playoff team. The problem was that last 1/3 of the season was horrible as the pressure got to the Pirates. So is this the year that the Pirates finally their streak of 20 consecutive losing seasons? The Pirates didn’t do much in the offseason but did bring in a couple pitchers that could be their 4^th or 5^th starters in SP Francisco Liriano and SP Jonathan Sanchez. Both have had seasons with 10+ wins but both have been struggling as of late. The Pirates do have their stud in OF Andrew McCutchen. McCutchen had his best season setting career highs in HRs, RBIs, and batting average. He hit .327 with 31 HRs and 96 RBIs and finished third in the NL MVP voting but was chosen by the player’s as the National League Outstanding Player of the Year. The Pirates have power in their 3-4-5 spots with McCutchen, 3B Pedro Alvarez, and 1B Garrett Jones. Alvarez and Jones combined for 57 HRs and 171 RBIs last year. P A.J. Burnett surprised everyone last year in his first season with the team, finishing the year with a record of 16-10 and 180 strikeouts. Behind Burnett, the Pirates also have P James McDonald and P Wandy Rodriguez. Both pitchers will look to take some of the pressure off of Burnett this year as they try to make a playoff push. It will be an interesting first couple of months for the Pirates as everyone around the league will be wondering what Pirate team shows up. Will it be the team that was in first place at the All-Star break last year, or will it be the team that faltered down the stretch?

            St. Louis Cardinals: In there first season without 1B Albert Pujols; the 2012 Cardinals earned the 2^nd Wild Card spot in the playoffs. The Cardinals were one game away from making it back-to-back World Series appearances but in the end lost to the Giants. Now entering manager Mike Matheny’s second season, the Cardinals look to make it back to the World Series for 2^nd time in three years. Replacing Pujols was the main question entering last year but 1B Allen Craig had a great season in his first full season as a starting first baseman. He batted .307 with 22 HRs and 92 RBIs. Outfielders Carlos Beltran and Matt Holliday both had excellent seasons, combining for 59 HRs and 199 RBIs. The Cardinals also have one of the best catchers in the MLB in C Yadier Molina. 3B David Freese will start the season on the 15-Day DL due to a strained lower back. The Cardinals have their ace in Adam Wainwright but everyone was talking about the play of P Lance Lynn. Lynn, pitching in his first full season, went 18-7 with a 3.78 ERA. The Cardinals will however have to replace Kyle Lohse, who signed with the Brewers. We know the Cardinals have a superb offense but replacing Lohse and seeing if Lynn can improve off of last year will be the storyline for the Cards this year.

            Prediction: The Reds are the clear favorite to win the division and in the end I think they will win the division. A wild card spot will not come from this division this year so if the Cardinals want to make the playoffs for the third straight year, they will have to win the division.

1.     Cincinnati Reds

2.     St. Louis Cardinals

3.     Pittsburgh Pirates

4.     Milwaukee Brewers

5.     Chicago Cubs

            images were used from sportsillustrated.cnn.com, mlbsluggers.com, onmilwaukee.com, bleacherreport.com, and mlb.si.com

MLB 2013: NL East Preview

      The 2012 NL East title was supposed to be a two-team race between the Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies. Neither the Braves nor the Phillies won the division as the Washington Nationals came out of nowhere to not only run away with the division, but they also best record in the MLB at 98-64. It was the Nationals 2^nd NL East title and first since 1981. The Nationals had the 2^nd best ERA in the MLB at 3.33 as all five starters had at least 10 wins and Gio Gonzalez finished 3^rd in the NL CY Young Award race after going 21-8 with a 2.89 ERA. After having Tommy John surgery in 2011, manager Davey Johnson made it well known that Stephen Strasburg would pitch between 160 and 180 innings in the 2012 season. On September 12^th of last season, Strasburg made his final start of the season as Johnson announced he would not even be available for the playoffs. The Braves finished in 2^nd place at 94-68 and made the playoffs as a wild card. The Phillies dealt with tons of injuries all year plus an inconsistent team en route to a third place finish at 81-81. The New York Mets finished in 4^th at 74-88 but perhaps the biggest disappointment in the division was the Miami Marlins. The Marlins had a new stadium, new logo, and a new coach entering the 2012 season but nothing went right as the Marlins went 69-93 and traded Hanley Ramirez to the Los Angeles Dodgers on July 25^th. The Marlins fired Ozzie Guillen after one season and hired Mike Redmond. Redmond is familiar with the Marlins as he spent 7 years in the organization as a player.

            Atlanta Braves: The Braves fell to the St. Louis Cardinals in the NL Wild Card Game last year. The 2012 season was all about 3B Chipper Jones who announced before the season that it would be his last. Jones has been the face of the Braves for the last 19 years and will be a huge loss for the team as they will not only miss his presence on the field but also his leadership. The Braves also lost OF Michael Bourn, P Tommy Hanson, 3B Martin Prado, and RP Randall Delgado in the offseason. The Braves however now have both of the Upton twins, B.J. and Justin. Add in RF Justin Heyward and the Braves have one of the youngest outfields in the MLB but also one of the most dangerous. Heyward had 27 HRs last year and both Upton brothers are capable of 20 HRs and 80 RBIs every year. Both 2B Dan Uggla and 1B Freddie Freeman have power but both had less than a .260 BA last year. The Braves are also hoping that C Brian McCann will return by mid-April as he recovers from arthroscopic shoulder surgery. The Braves pitching staff was 5^th in the league last year with a 3.42 ERA. Tim Hudson is the Braves clear ace after going 16-7 last year and Kris Medlan will look to improve on his 10-1 record last year. Losing Hanson and his 13 wins will be tough but the Braves have a couple of pitchers that will rotate for the 5^th spot. CP Craig Kimbrel made the All-Star team for the second straight last year as he tied for the NL lead in saves with 42. The Braves have a team that can win the division but with so much of their offense being relied off of power, what will happen if the Upton brothers and others struggle?

            Miami Marlins: The Marlins were supposed to be good last year in their new ballpark and with their new logo but they failed. Ozzie Guillen couldn’t keep the team in check and was ousted and now Mike Redmond has the task of making a team that can compete after they got rid of a lot of key players in the offseason. The Marlins traded SS Jose Reyes, 2B/OF Emilio Bonifacio, P Josh Johnson, C John Buck, and P Mark Buehrle to the Blue Jays in the offseason and also got rid of CP Heath Bell and SP Carlos Zambrano. They did add OF Juan Pierre, 1B Casey Kotchman, and 3B Placido Polanco but that is not saying much as all of these guys are aging and will not be able to replace all of the guys that are gone. The Marlins do have one of the best players in the MLB in RF Giancarlo Stanton. Stanton was a first time All-Star last year and might have one of the best swings in the league. He was second in the NL last year with 37 HRs and is capable of 40 or 50 this year. During the World Baseball Classic, his teammates were in awe during his batting practice as Stanton was hitting one after the other out of the ballpark. Besides Stanton, the Marlins have nothing on offense and will once again finish in 5^th place in the NL East.

            New York Mets: The Mets struggled once again last year finishing 24 games behind the division-winning Nationals. The highlight of the season for the Mets was P R.A. Dickey who surprised everyone in baseball as he one the NL CY Young Award. Dickey finished the season at 20-6 and led the NL with 230 strikeouts. Dickey has since been traded to the Toronto Blue Jays for prospects as the Mets organization decided they didn’t want to re-sign him. Entering the 2013 season, the Mets biggest issue will be their injuries. 3B David Wright suffered an intercostal strain during the World Baseball Classic and the Mets don’t know if he will be available for the season opener. Starting 2B Daniel Murphy is recovering from a rib injury and might not be ready for Opening Day and SP Johan Santana was just put on the disabled list this week meaning he will not be the Opening Day starter. Without Wright in the lineup, the Mets have no offense except for 1B Ike Davis who hit 32 HRs last year but also struck out 141 times. The Mets are in a rebuilding phase and will likely not be able to contend in the division this year.

            Philadelphia Phillies: The Phillies had expectations of winning the division last year but finished in a disappointing 3^rd. 2B Chase Utley and 1B Ryan Howard both played less than 90 games last year as they dealt with injuries. SP Roy Halladay and SP Cliff Lee struggled all year and the Phillies made a bad decision when they traded Hunter Pence to the San Francisco Giants. The Phillies lost 3B Placido Polanco in the offseason but replaced him with 3B Michael Young. Young is a career .301 hitter and will lots of experience but is getting close to the end of his career. Utley finally looks as if he is 100% healthy and if he and Howard can get back to their prime form, the Phillies could have one explosive offense. The Phillies are hoping that both Lee and Halladay can turn it around after a disappointing season last year. It is weird to say that the Phillies will enter this year as the underdog but it would not surprise me if the Phillies were in contention for a division title come September.

            Washington Nationals: The Nationals were the biggest surprise in the MLB last year and will now face something they haven’t seen in awhile, being the favorite to win the division. The Nationals have one of the deepest rotations in the MLB with Strasburg, Gonzalez, SP Jordan Zimmerman, SP Dan Haren, and SP Ross Detwiler. Good news for Nationals fans is that Strasburg will not have an innings limit this year and will be available if the Nats make the playoffs. Before last year, Gio Gonzalez’s career high in victories was 16 so after having 21 in 2012, can he improve from last year or was he just a one year fluke? The Nationals lost 1B/OF Michael Morse in the offseason but traded for OF Denard Span who will most likely be the leadoff hitter for the Nats. OF Bryce Harper is one of the games’ best hitters and after winning the NL Rookie of the Year Award last year, it wouldn’t surprise me if he an MVP caliber season this year. Add in 3B Ryan Zimmerman and 1B Adam LaRoche and you have a great offense. The only question I have for the Nats is can they deal with the pressure all year along and win their second straight division title, or will they fall under the pressure and not make the playoffs.

            Prediction:  The NL East is the best division in baseball as three teams can make the playoffs. I really like the job that Nationals manager Davey Johnson has done and I believe that the Nationals will win the division. With all of their offseason acquisitions, the Braves will make the playoffs as a Wild Card while the Phillies will fall just short.

1.     Washington Nationals

2.     Atlanta Braves

3.     Philadelphia Phillies

4.     New York Mets

5.     Miami Marlins

images were used from buzzonbroad.com, fishstripes.com, washingtonpost.com, tampabay.com, and nydailynews.com

Who will win the NCAA Tournament?

        After hours of hair pulling and torn brackets, I have finally picked who I think will win the NCAA Tournament. Entering the tournament, there has yet to be a clear #1 team like Kentucky was all last year en route to their national title. But here is my breakdown of each region and who will win it all:

            Midwest: Louisville was awarded the overall #1 seed and should not have a problem until the Sweet Sixteen where they could face #4 Saint Louis. I see one upset in the second round in this region as I believe the #12 Oregon Ducks will defeat the #5 Oklahoma St. Cowboys. Oregon got thrown under the bus and were awarded a horrible seed after winning the PAC-12 Tournament. They are playing great basketball right now and I think they will defeat the Cowboys in a close game. The Sweet Sixteen matchup of #2 Duke and #3 Michigan St. already has me excited but I think the fact that Duke has Ryan Kelly back will be just enough to advance to the Elite Eight setting up a matchup against Louisville. These teams met on November 24^th with the Blue Devils winning 76-71. But the Cardinals were without C Gorgui Deng for that game. In the end I think the Blue Devils led by Senior F Mason Plumlee will defeat the Cardinals in an overtime thriller and advance to their 16^th Final Four.

            West: The Gonzaga Bulldogs were awarded their first #1 seed in school history after going 31-2 during the regular season and winning the WCC Tournament. Gonzaga will have a problem with #8 Pittsburgh who I think will beat #9 Wichita St. The Panthers have a stingy defense that ranks 6^th in the nation in points allowed at 55.4 per game. Although they will be pushed the whole game, the Zags will escape the upset and face #5 Wisconsin in the Sweet Sixteen. Unfortunately, the Zags spectacular season will come to an end, as the Badgers will defeat the Zags. The Badgers are playing great basketball as of late as they defeated Michigan and Indiana in the Big Ten Tournament before losing to Ohio St. in the championship game. The one upset I see in this region is #11 Belmont beating #6 Arizona. Arizona has been inconsistent lately losing 3 of their last 5 and Belmont is not afraid of playing with the big boys. They are a great shooting team as they shoots 49% from the field and 39% from three. The other Sweet Sixteen game will feature the Mountain West Champion New Mexico Lobos against the Big Ten Champion Ohio St. Buckeyes. The Buckeyes enter the tournament as one of the hottest teams and the duo of PG Aaron Craft and F Deshaun Thomas will be too much for the Lobos to handle. In a rematch of the Big Ten Championship Game, the Buckeyes will once again defeat the Badgers and advance to their 11^th Final Four. These teams have already met three times this season with Ohio St. winning 2 of 3.

            South: The South Region is loaded as there are at least five teams that could win the region. Kansas was awarded the #1 seed and could face former coach Roy Williams if #8 North Carolina can beat #9 Villanova. Plus the ever so dangerous #5 VCU Rams are in the region. The top half of the bracket, I see Kansas facing #5 VCU, who will upset #4 Michigan in the third round. VCU’s full court press defense is relentless but the senior guard duo of Elijah Johnson and Travis Releford will be able to handle the press. Kansas will advance to the Elite Eight. The loss of G Jordan Adams (15.3 points per game, 2^nd on the team) is big enough for the #6 UCLA that they will be upset by #11 Minnesota Golden Gophers in the second round. The other Sweet Sixteen matchup in the South Region will be between #2 Georgetown Hoyes and #3 Florida Gators. These two games were supposed to play on November 9^th but that game was cancelled. I think that Georgetown will advance and face Kansas in the Elite Eight. Georgetown is entering the tournament having won 12 of their last 14 and their defensive pressure along with Otto Porter Jr. will be too much for Kansas as the Hoyas will make their 6^th Final Four appearance.

            East: The East bracket is set up perfectly for #1 Indiana to meet #2 Miami (FL) in the Elite Eight. But will it happen? Indiana will meet #5 UNLV in the Sweet Sixteen as the Rebels will defeat #4 Syracuse in the third round. Both teams have lottery picks on their team with the Rebels having freshman F Anthony Bennett and Indiana with perhaps the best player in the nation in F Cody Zeller. Indiana has too much firepower for UNLV to handle as Indiana will win by double digits. Miami will meet #3 Marquette in the Sweet Sixteen and their incredible season will continue as they will advance to their first Elite Eight in school history. Miami will have to slow down the #3 ranked offense in the nation if they want to win but will not as Zeller will lead the Hoosiers to their 9^th Final Four appearance.

            Final Four: The first Final Four game will be a rematch of the November 28^th game won by Duke as they scored 50 points in the second half to defeat Ohio St. 73-68. The senior leadership of Plumlee, G Seth Curry, and Kelly will carry the Blue Devils into the national title game as Ohio St. will lose in the Final Four for a second straight year. The second game will be a dandy as Indiana as one of the best offenses in the nation and Georgetown has one of the best defenses. Indiana will win the game because of how explosive they are on offense setting up a great national championship game between Indiana and Duke. There will be some great individual matchups in that game as Cody Zeller will go one on one with Mason Plumlee and/or Ryan Kelly. Victor Oladpio is a great defender and he will have the task of shutting down Seth Curry of Duke. Indiana started the season as the #1 ranked team in the preseason poll and will end the season #1, defeating the Blue Devils 68-60. It will be Indiana’s 6^th national title.

            It’s been a great year of college basketball and these next 3.5 weeks will not disappoint. It’s March Madness baby!

            images were used from sportsillustrated.cnn.com, cleveland.com, cbssports.com, and espn.go.com