My thoughts:
How on earth did Texas get a 1 seed after getting knocked off in the quarterfinals of the Big12 tourney? Pitt should've gotten their #1 spot after winning the Big East and the Big East tournament. Both the West and the East are pretty strong when you look at teams like Oklahoma, Wake, Louisville, and Syracuse in the same field - that's a pretty strong list of 1-4, maybe not quite the same as the West, but the East is tough too. Midwest looks ripe for upsets when you've got teams like Weber State, Tulsa, Missouri (for a 2nd round upset), Holy Cross, and Southern Illinois (remember the Salukis last year?). I think Pitt is a really strong 2 seed that should've been 1 and they've got the defense, depth, and balance to knock off Kentucky, although it'll be a really close game that could go either way.
And Maryland's got a pretty good shot at the south. I think Xavier's an overrated team this year. They've been disrespected and underrated the last 2 years, but this year, there's no question they're overrated. Sure West is good, but not that good. He's not a very dominant player. He gets his stats, but I don't think he's the kind of player that can carry Xavier very deep in the tournament. Troy State is a potential cinderalla, and then they take on Maryland which has way more experience when it comes to tournament time, so I think they'll pull off the upset (in terms of seeding). Oh, and Colorado will beat Michigan State. Mark that down.
The West is crazy but I think Arizona can hold off. They lost to UCLA in the Pac-10 tourney, but they have absolutely solid guard play and are very balanced as well. They also have some big time players in Gardner and Stoudamire. I thought they were a legitimate Final Four team last year although they got knocked off (I forget by who). East I think will go to Syracuse. Carmelo Anthony is simply amazing, and there's no stopping him, especially when he's playing in Albany, NY.
Oh, and the whole BYU ordeal. You guys have to be joking that they should have to forfeit. They've always had that consideration in the past and there is absolutely NO WAY that the committee should have overlooked it. It's ridiculous that this even happened somehow. If they get that far (which I doubt they will), they deserve to play, and the NCAA will have to find a way to fix it.
Finals? Arizona beats out Maryland for the national title. It'll be rough getting there, but I think Arizona can pull it off. They've got clutch players and have a ton of talent. Notre Dame can pull it off if Thomas, Carroll, and Miller catch fire, but I don't think it's gonna happen. I would like for it to happen, but sadly I don't think it will. And so Arizona will deservingly win the national title.
