10. (7) Miami vs. (10) St. Mary’s
St. Mary’s probably could have had a higher seed had they not skidded down the stretch, losing three of their last five games including a first round conference tournament loss to San Diego. Miami won 12 straight games to open the season before getting in a funk in January and early Feb., when they lost six of seven. They also did not get the postseason push they hoped for, getting wiped out by Virginia Tech. St. Mary’s Diamon Simpson has averaged 13 points and 9.5 rebounds, so look for him to be backing down around the paint. St. Mary’s will always have a rough spot in my heart as they cost me a six-game parlay when they defeated Oregon on my birthday.
Barnes’ Pick: St. Mary’s
9. (5) Drake vs. (12) Western Kentucky
With the thought that Drake has such inexperience in the tournament, and the Hilltoppers have only lost two games in 2008, this could be the 12/5 upset people are looking for. Courtney Lee averages 20 points for W. Kent. and has been a big reason for their success. But Drake, a squad that lost four starters from last year was completely depleted and just looking to survive in the MVC, has proven to be the top squad of the conference and a team that could make a run, especially after defeating Butler on the road in a punch-in-the-jaw performance a month ago.
Barnes’ Pick: Drake
8. (8) Oregon vs. (9) Mississippi St.
While some of us Chicagoans are looking forward to seeing what the Ducks can do next year, recruiting half of the talent in Illinois, they have a pretty difficult showdown with Jamont Gordon and Carl Rhodes and Miss. St. This terrible twosome each averaged 17 points a game for a Bulldog team that is on the rise. Oregon started the year pretty well but losing four straight in January and then three straight in February made it hard for the Ducks to recover. Oregon’s Maarty Lauren (not to be confused with Maarty Farmer) averaged 13 points and almost 10 boards a game. While you can’t count out on Tyler Hansboro’s little brother Ben, the Ducks will likely be putting on their 55th different color combination and just be too deep for the Dogs.
Barnes’ Pick: Oregon
7. (6) Purdue vs. (11) Baylor
Good for Baylor for recovering relatively quickly from the tragedy that occurred to the team a few years ago. Purdue had a little tragedy of their own then they decided to flat-line against Illinois in a game that did not need to be close. E’Twaun Moore is a solid scorer for the Boilermakers while Curtis Jerrells and Kevin Rogers can get it done for the Bears. Purdue has beaten Wisconsin twice and Michigan State once while Baylor has laid an egg anytime somebody with talent found their way on the schedule.
Barnes’ Pick: Purdue
6. (7) West Virginia vs. (10) Arizona
I am not going to lie, the only thing I have heard about ‘Zona all year is that Lute Olsen’s wife divorced him. Just like they have for the past few years now, the Wildcats have been given a top-25 preseason rank and struggled to hold onto it, even with sensational recruiting class after another. West Virginia on the other hand has played well pretty much all year. But when they have lost, oh man have they lost. They scored 39 points against a Cincinnati squad that won 13 games this year, and got beat by 17 to end their Big East Tournament run. But this game should be fun to watch with a lot of fast pace, high-flying action as both teams have a lot of athletes.
Barnes’ Pick: West Virginia
5. (7) Gonzaga vs. (10) Davidson
In an odd match-up where the lower seed was actually the higher ranking in the polls, this makes for a pretty evenly matched game. Davidson is led by sophomore sensation Stephen Curry, who averages 25 points. Gonzaga has four double digit scorers including Chicago’s own Jeremy Pargo. While the Bulldogs have a history of making deep runs with lower rankings, Davidson has not lost since 2007, and I think that streak will continue at least one more game.
Barnes’ Pick: Davidson
4. (6) Marquette vs. (11) Kentucky
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For the past three years I have felt compelled to take Marquette and just automatically slot them in the Sweet 16, and all three years I have not been able to because of poor seeds (they have faltered down the stretch all three years) and worse match-ups. Kentucky has been playing pretty well of late and Billy Gillispie knows a thing or two about taking teams deep into the tourney. The trio in the backcourt for the Eagles will survive at least through round one however.
Barnes’ Pick: Marquette
3. (5) Notre Dame vs. (12) George Mason
George Mason is back, and this time with a higher seed than what they had in the magical run of 2006. They have guys like Will Thomas and Folarin Campbell with something that majority of the field does not have; Final Four experience. With that said however, they have not won a significant game this year and lost to Villanova, their only major-conference game this season. The Irish’s Luke Harangody is the Big East P.O.Y and his 20 points and 10 rebounds will be a difficult for anyone in the dance to handle.
Barnes’ Pick: Notre Dame
2. (8) Indiana vs. (9) Arkansas
No two team’s stocks have plummeted more than these two squads. A month ago Indiana was going to wrap up the Big Ten title and possibly snag a 2-seed while Arkansas would fall into the four-to-six-seed category. But both coaches have been sent packing and we will actually see the fumes coming from the back of the teams as they roll into Denver on Thursday. D.J. White and Eric Gordon will hopefully be too much (for Indiana’s sake) but Arkansas is coming off of an SEC championship game despite losing five of their last eight going onto the conference tourney. Either way, I think UNC would have been happier with the 2-seed in this regional knowing that they will have to play one of these teams.
Barnes’ Pick: Indiana
1. (6) USC vs. (11) Kansas State
In a game that pits the top freshmen going into the 2007-08 season, (USC’s O.J. Mayo) with the top freshmen exiting the year (Kansas State’s Michael Beasley), this one is sure to go down to the wire. Both teams like to play an up-tempo, high scoring offense, with Kansas State once in a while slowing it up for Beasley to back down a defender. While State may have the better individual, USC has the better team with a plethora of talent to match-up against the Wildcats. Trojan’s bigman Taj Gibson has elite eight experience so look for him to try to body up on Beasley, who will almost surely take 35-40 shots. Mike had better be on, or K-State will have no shot.
Barnes’ Pick: USC
With zero of Illinois' 11 eligible schools making the tournament, one cannot help but feel utterly embarrassed. Chicago is the basketball hotbed of the country, and the state in general have produced some great talents over time. But how can anybody outside of the state feel like Illinois basketball is any better than any other state when none of the state's schools make the big dance. What I do find funny is that three of the four #1 seeds and five schools of the eight that hold #1's or #2's have a kid from Illinois. While Josh Tabb only sees about 10 minutes a game at Tennessee and Bobby Frasor has sat out this season at UNC with a torn ACL, Sherron Collins has been a great boost off the bench for Kansas, Jon Scheyer has lived up to his sharpshooting ways as a Blue Devil, and Memphis' Derrick Rose just makes the game look easy.
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