The Top Four: Ohio State is CLEARLY the best team in the country, if you use things like statistics as a barometer. Their efficiency margin is the highest of any of the number 1 seeds and they have only two losses on the road against very good teams. The concerns about them (namely, only using a six-man rotation) are legitimate, but I'm not sure it's going to matter that much. These are young guys and there are tons of timeouts, especially in tournament play. UNC is very good and their defense and rebounding will keep them in absolutely any game, which is dangerous because in a close game you are always in danger of falling to El Falcon Negro. Syracuse has been inconsistent this season but their zone is always difficult to prepare for in the Tournament because it's not something most teams have much experience playing against. I absolutely love Kentucky and think that they're coming together at just the right time having won the SEC Tournament going away, and their talent is as good as anyone's.
Legitimate Sleeper: Washington. The Huskies are the chic pick of the tournament but they are for good reason. They're 15th in Pomeroy's rankings and many of their losses in the weak Pac-10 should probably be blamed at least somewhat on lack of focus during the long conference season. You would have to think that they can get themselves up for the Big Dance. My biggest concern for them would be that they are coming off an emotional conference tournament victory and now have been reading and listening to everyone loving up on them for a week. That's a strong recipe for an upset loss to a very talented Georgia team in the first round.
Deeper Sleeper: Clemson. Yeah, I know, the ACC sucks, blah blah blah. But Brad Brownell's Clemson team has been coming on strong in recent weeks despite very little national love. They played Duke down to the wire in Cameron, they nearly took out UNC at home, they pounded Virginia Tech twice, and they should have beat the Heels in the ACC Tournament. And while many used the OT game vs UNC as evidence that Carolina maybe isn't that good, anyone who did that most likely did not watch that game. UNC for the most part actually played pretty well, and Demontez Stitt and company consistently answered runs by the Heels in a road game environment in Greensboro. Add to that the 18-point blowout in the first round of UAB, and this is a team playing with a ton of confidence right now that could definitely make a run.
Oltz's picks: Sweet 16 of Ohio State, Kentucky, Xavier, and UNC. I just think Syracuse doesn't have the focus to get through 2 games in the opening weekend, and the Muskies are one of only two teams to make the Sweet 16 three years in a row (Michigan State). I then like Kentucky matching up with Ohio State because they are athletic enough to really make the Buckeyes work to guard them which could bring out the six-man-rotation-problem. I then have UNC over Kentucky in the regional final. Yeah, that's a homer pick, but again I like the matchup. Plus, the name of the blog is "I'm A Tar Heel Born." What did you expect?
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