March has truly gone mad, and brackets that looked so good a week ago have more holes in them than Blackburn, Lancashire. With that in mind, it is time to move forward and analyze each of the eight match-ups that begin tonight. We begin in Albuquerque, N.M., where Bob Knight will make his first appearance since 1993.
Albuquerque Regional
Knight's Texas Tech Red Raiders advanced to the Sweet 16 with a victory over perennial favorite Gonzaga, the third seed. Sixth-seeded Tech's incredible guard play was led by senior sensation Ronald Ross, who dropped 24 points in the 71-69 win. Tech goes up against the hottest team in the tournament, West Virginia, the seventh seed.
Fresh off their double-overtime win against No. 2 Wake Forest, the Mountaineers come in knowing they can beat anyone. If West Virginia's Kevin Pittsnoggle can hit his outside shots, Tech, which lacks size, will struggle to contain him. In the end, though, it's a strong backcourt that wins in the tournament, and Tech should prevail.
In the second game in the region, the top-seeded Washington Huskies play Rick Pitino's Louisville Cardinals, the fourth seed. The Cardinals dominated fifth-seeded Georgia Tech, 76-54, on Saturday night, with star forward Francisco Garcia playing 40 minutes and scoring 21 points.
Washington comes into the game sporting impressive double-digit wins over lower-seeded opponents. Miniature guard Nate Robinson has played well, including a 23-point, 7-rebound performance against eighth-seeded Pacific. But Louisville is too well coached and too experienced to lose this game, so they'll emerge victorious.
This leaves Louisville and Texas Tech to battle it out for a spot in the final four. Both teams have Hall of Fame coaches, but Louisville's experience will punch its ticket to St. Louis. PICK: Louisville.
Chicago Regional
No. 1 Illinois has the chance to head to St. Louis by winning in its own backyard. The Illini face the impressive 12th-seeded Wisconsin-Milwaukee Panthers, fresh off wins over fifth-seeded Alabama and No. 4 Boston College. The Panthers are led by senior guard Ed McCants, who has averaged 17.4 points per game in this tournament. In their Boston College win, the Panthers shot 45.8 percent from behind the arc for 33 of their 83 points.
Illinois steamrolled No. 9 Nevada and 16th-seeded Farleigh Dickinson. The backcourt of Dee Brown and Deron Williams has played well. The only way the Illini will lose this game is if the Panthers play perfectly, like Villanova in '85, or if it gets tight late, but this is unlikely.
The second game in Chicago is probably the most exciting Sweet 16 match-up: second-seeded Oklahoma State against No. 3 Arizona, two championship contenders. For Arizona, Salim Stoudamire has looked unstoppable from behind the arc, averaging 18.4 points per game. Coach Lute Olson is always dangerous come tournament time. On the other side of the floor is perhaps the greatest college basketball coach never to win a title: Eddie Sutton. His Cowboys still have the bitter taste in their mouth from losing in the Final Four last year. Returning players Ivan McFarlin, Joey Graham and John Lucas have taken their games to a new level, and freshman phenom JamesOn Curry has been incredible. Curry dropped 18 points in the team's win over No. 7 Southern Illinois and shot 9 of 10 from the free-throw line. Look for Oklahoma State to win in a thriller.
This leaves Oklahoma State against Illinois. Dee Brown has looked magical at times, but in the big games he has come up limp. While the game will be tight, once again Illinois will let Oklahoma State stick around for too long. PICK: Oklahoma State.
Syracuse Regional
This region pitts top-seeded North Carolina against No. 5 Villanova and sixth-seeded Wisconsin against No. 10 North Carolina State. Villanova forward Curtis Sumpter, who scored eight points in his team's win over No. 4 Florida, will look to help Villanova crush a giant, like when it beat Kansas in the regular season.
Carolina comes into the game after dominating performances over No. 16 Oakland and ninth-seeded Iowa State. The Tar Heels proved to the world that they are currently the best team in the country. Junior Sean May averages 16.5 points and 10.7 rebounds per game in the tournament. This one's probably the only rout of the round with North Carolina cruising.
The second match-up in this region is interesting because Wisconsin will face its third straight double digit-seeded opponent, N.C. State. The Badgers have looked decent in wins, but only against weaker opponents.
The Wolfpack shined last weekend, beating No. 7 Charlotte and No. 2 UConn. Julius Hodge showed why he is one of the best players in the country by leading his team in points, rebounds and assists per game. The Wolfpack should dominate the Badgers, setting up an exciting, all-ACC, all-Carolina regional final.
When UNC and N.C. State meet up in the Elite Eight, though, the outcome will be no different than the teams' two regular-season meetings. PICK: North Carolina.
Austin Regional
Here, no team has looked like a title contender. The match-ups between No. 1 Duke and No. 5 Michigan State, and sixth-seeded Utah and No. 2 Kentucky are ones that include four recent national champions that are now imperfect.
The first game features two coaching geniuses in Michigan State's Tom Izzo and Duke's Coach K. MSU beat two easier teams in No. 12 Old Dominion and No. 13 Vermont to advance, but it will be a tough test for Duke, which is fresh off a war with No. 9 Mississippi State. Still, Michigan State will start off slow and be unable to recover.
Utah and Kentucky come into the second game having both played two hard fought, physical games already. Utah battled through tough UTEP and Oklahoma squads. Top draft prospect Andrew Bogut has played up to his billing, but Utah needs a strong effort from his supporting cast.
Kentucky comes into this game feeling it has not gotten the respect it deserves. Coach Tubby Smith has a solid group of players, but the team lacks leadership and experience. Andrew Bogut will prove that he is the best player in the country, and Utah will emerge victorious.
This leaves an interesting match-up between Utah and Duke, teams that play very different styles of basketball. Each coach will look to control the tempo. In the end, coaching makes the big difference, and Coach K is, well, Coach K. PICK: Duke.
This leaves a Final Four that includes a game never played before in tournament history: UNC vs. Duke, which should be a classic. The Big 12 or Conference USA will definitely put up a good fight in the championship, but this one will go to the ACC.
