Midwest Region Preview

As we approach the NCAA Tournament on Thursday, Mr. T will preview one region each day.

The Favorite: Louisville - As Louisville started piling up wins in conference play, they were continually discredited because of their lack of guard play. Now that they've won both the Big East regular season and tournament, no one seems to care and for good reason. Louisville's pressing defense will wear you down, especially in the second game in three days. None of the guards will wow you, but they rotate enough guys for someone to be effective on a given night. The strength is at forward with the senior Williams doing everything the team needs on a given night. They're not the best foul shooting team, so remember how that did in Memphis last year. Louisville was ranked third in the preseason AP poll and they've finally worked out the kinks in rising to the #1 spot in the country. Did they peak too early?

The Main Challenger: Michigan State – Tom Izzo coached teams deserve respect and these Spartans are no different. On paper, their team has all the pieces for a Final Four run. They've got the explosive point guard who can score and distribute, they rebound well, and their offense isn't reliant on only one or two players. But can you take a team seriously if they lost by 25 to UNC early on in a semi-home game? MSU has a tendency to drift from their offensive game plan, which involves playing inside out, on many occasions, although Izzo should have them more focused at this time of year. They're flying under the radar now and that's when MSU has done better in recent years.

The Sleeper: Wake Forest - Wins over UNC, BYU, and Duke prove that Wake Forest has the ability to beat anyone. Their one major weakness is three-point shooting, as they don't have a hired gun on the roster. Zone defenses could prove to be an issue, but Louisville's zone comes with a full court press in front of it. Wake's shown they can beat a press with their two wins against Clemson. Aminu and Johnson give the Demon Deacons extra ball handlers at the forward spots. Jeff Teague likes a challenge and has shown he can take over a game.

First Round Upset: North Dakota State - While I like NDSU more from a betting perspective than a bracket perspective, the thought of them pulling off an upset against a young Kansas team isn't unrealistic. The Bison start four seniors, can make threes, and is good from the foul line. Bill Self is not the best Xs and Ox coach and his teams have had disastrous first rounds previously. Last year's National Championship might be more a product of the upperclassmen leadership than coaching.