Oakland Region

All right, on to the Oakland Region.

(1) Memphis vs (16) Oral Roberts – I’m not going to make the standard “Oral Roberts” joke. However, I do think ORU is the best bet as a 16 to win in the first round this year, because Memphis isn’t as good as people seem to think they are.

(8) Arkansas vs (9) Bucknell – The Razorbacks are sitting at home right now thinking “how is it possible that everyone in the country thinks the Patriot League team is better than us?” Just because Bucknell beat Kansas last year doesn’t automatically mean they can do the same this year. Now they are facing a pissed off Arkansas team that’s waiting for them. The Razorbacks will win this one.

(5) Pittsburgh vs (12) Kent St. – This is another interesting 5-12 seed. The MAC teams are always better than anyone wants to believe, but I’m not sure they can beat a hot Pitt team. However, this looks like a prime possibility for an upset, if you don’t take my advice on Iona.

(4) Kansas vs (13) Bradley – Last year, Kansas didn’t choke, they just took the game to lightly. They were unprepared to face a conference tournament champion and it showed. Rest assured, Bill Self and the Jayhawks remember the upset last year and won’t let it happen again. Whether or not they make it past the second round remains to be seen, but Kansas will definitely handle Bradley. Even besides the additional preparation, the ‘Hawks are one of the hotter teams in the land right now, and they are just more athletic than Bradley.

(6) Indiana vs (11) San Diego St. – The Aztecs play in a Mountain West Conference that is vastly underappreciated. In the MWC tournament games I watched, I saw a style of play that Indiana should be familiar with in the Big Ten. Unfortunately for the Hoosiers, nobody in the MWC seems to blink when they are faced with adversity, while Indiana has had an extremely up and down season. I like SDSU to pull off the upset.

(3) Gonzaga vs (14) Xavier – I absolutely hate Gonzaga. They have a team assembled with the guys nobody picked in gym class despite the fact they were really good. There is Adam Morrisson who looks like he hasn’t seen a shower since Christmas. J.P. Batista who just looks like a bully who doesn’t say anything while he’s beating you. Then there is Derek Raivio who looks fresh out of the cancer ward from a local Spokane hospital. So you have this group of ugly basketball players who haven’t played anyone since November and have still struggled. However, they have been fed a couple of teams that will get them back to playing shape in Xavier and in the second round Indiana or San Diego St. It seems like things are setting up nicely for the ‘Zags. And that frustrates me.

(7) Marquette vs (10) Alabama – This game is a no-brainer. It’s Marquette, the fourth place team in a solid conference versus Alabama, a perennial choker from a perennially choking conference. Marquette all the way.

(2) UCLA vs (15) Belmont – I have to give the Bruins the benefit of the doubt. The PAC-10 always has at least one solid tournament team, and its almost always the conference champ. The res of the conference is crap, but this might be UCLA’s year. I honestly believe that the Bruins are the best team in the Oakland region. That doesn’t speak well for Belmont’s chances.

I have Memphis losing to Kansas in the sweet 16, then, and losing to UCLA to get to the Final Four. Thus far, we have UCLA and Texas in my Final Four. Be back with the D.C. Region this afternoon.