[ ] - Ology, Episode II, The West Regional

In the West Regional, I think you are going to see a good amount of upsets (other than the first round), Connecticut doesn't look that good to me, Memphis and Missouri look ripe for upsets as well.

Round 1
1 Conn over 16 UT-Chatt
I'm not crazy enough to pick any 16 seeds, not ever going to happen.

2 Memphis over 15 CS Northridge
I'm almost tempted to go with the Matadors, but that's not going to happen, either. Too huge of a difference in the athleticism between these two.

3 Missouri over 14 Cornell
Have fun while it lasts, Missouri, cause this is your last victory of the season.

4 Washington over 13 Mississippi St.
The Huskies looked great at times this season, but other times, not so much, they should be able to put away Miss St. no problem.

5 Purdue over 12 Northern Iowa
Purdue are the best of a crappy lot of Big 10 teams, but their very physical, slow it down ball, will frustrate the teams they face, and I see them advancing all the way to the Final Four.

11 Utah St over 6 Marquette
I've got no sane reason for this pick, other than I don't see an entire region's favorites advancing in the first round, just not going to happen, so here's my 1st round upset for the West. Also, as happens on teams from Utah, they've got a lot of older players due to players who sat out a few years to do missionary work, and that maturity will be a big advantage in the tournament.

7 California over 10 Maryland
These teams are pretty evenly matched, may come down to preparation and coaching, and I think Cal will be better in both areas.

8 BYU over 9 Texas A&M
Coin flip time, the coin came up Cougars.


2nd Round
1 Conn over 8 BYU
I don't think U Conn is that great, but they're good enough to get past BYU.

7 California over 2 Memphis
Cal's got some talent on their team (though Memphis has more), I think their experience, and playing in a tougher conference will be the edge that leads them to beat out Memphis' athleticism and depth, but they'll have to shoot lights out from distance to pull off this upset, and I think they will.

11 Utah St over 3 Missouri
Missouri's will be ready for a letdown and will probably overlook little Utah St. I have them as the worst seed to make it to the Sweet 16.

5 Purdue over 4 Washington
Washington matches up well against Purdue, it's a high octane offense versus a brutal defense. The brutal defense usually wins in these contests, it will this time, too.

Sweet 16, Elite 8, Regional Champ

7 California over 11 Utah St
The worst seed to make the Sweet 16 will run out of luck against Cal. Cal will continue to put up big numbers from the perimeter and should beat Utah St easily.

5 Purdue over 1 Connecticut
Purdue will frustrate the Huskies, and they'll have a turnover prone disaster of a game. Purdue will control this from the beginning and just demolish the seemingly better team.

5 Purdue over 7 California
Purdue will continue their run of dismantling teams with their defense. Once Cal's outside shot is taken away, they've got nothing, Purdue will win in a romp.

Purdue will be your West champs, their only test in will be against Washington, after that they'll have surprisingly easy games versus UConn and Cal.