The East Region was rocked yesterday with the news that Syracuse center and leading rebounder Fab Melo was declared academically ineligible for the NCAA Tournament. Melo was declared ineligible earlier this season and the Orange went 2-1 without him. Syracuse will certainly miss his size and rebounding presence but even with him in the lineup I wasn't picking Syracuse to make a Final Four run. They had a very good season but have a history of choking in tournament. Ohio State, Florida State, Wisconsin, and Vanderbilt were feeling good about their chances to make a run in this region before the suspension, and now are feeling ecstatic about their chances.Best Game: #5 Vanderbilt vs. #12 Harvard
Harvard is in their first NCAA Tournament since 1946, a 66 year wait. Not enough credit has been given to their coach Tommy Amaker for the job he has done. Amaker failed at Michigan but has more than succeeded with the Crimson. You know he has done a great job because I am giving him credit despite him being a Dookie. Vanderbilt will be trying to shed some tournament baggage this year. In recent years they have been knocked out in the first round by double digit seeds. They made some history of their own, winning the SEC championship for the first time since 1951. The Commodores believe this year could be different because of their dangerous combo of guard John Jenkins, and forward Jeffery Taylor. The Crimson don't have that one superstar but have a mix of dangerous players. Their best player is F Keith Wright, and he and Taylor will have a physical battle inside. Harvard will have to be at their defensive best if they want to pull off the upset, as the Commodores shoot the ball quite well and have more firepower than Harvard.
Player to Watch: Ohio State forward Jared Sullinger
Sullinger surprised everyone by coming back for his sophomore season and while he saw most of his numbers take a slight step down, he is still a dominant force and the leader of the Buckeyes. One area he did improve was his free throw shooting. He was already a 70% free throw shooter which is very good for someone his size and he improved to 75% this year. It is a great weapon for the Buckeyes to have someone that can draw a lot of fouls and then make teams pay from the line. The Buckeyes have somewhat underachieved this season but because of guys like Sullinger they are a definite possibility to make a Final Four run.
Best Potential Game: #2 Ohio State vs. #7 Gonzaga
Some might say Syracuse vs. Kansas State will be the best but that is only because they give the Wildcats more of a chance with Melo out. This game, you will have two strong teams at their best. The Buckeyes and Bulldogs both shoot extremely well and this is a game that will be uptempo and feature plenty of scoring. The Buckeyes get lumped into that ugly Big Ten style of play but they have speed at many positions and would much prefer to get into a track meet. Deshaun Thomas and Aaron Craft going against Elias Harris and Kevin Pangos would be fun to watch.
Lowest Seed to Make It Through First Weekend: #5 Vanderbilt
Spoiler alert but I am not picking a single upset in this region this weekend, unless you call Vanderbilt over Wisconsin an upset. Having said that I am sure that is the kiss of death for me and this region will be haywire come Sunday. I am scared picking Vandy because of how horrible they have been in the Tournament in recent years, but at some point you have to think they will break through. Sometimes how a team played in a conference tournament can be overvalued, but it also can be the start of a run, like UCONN last season.
Predictions
Second Round
#1 Syracuse over #16 UNC Asheville
#8 Kansas State over #9 Southern Mississippi
#5 Vanderbilt over #12 Harvard
#4 Wisconsin over #13 Montana
#6 Cincinnati over #11 Texas
#3 Florida State over #14 St. Bonaventure
#7 Gonzaga over #10 West Virginia
#2 Ohio State over #15 Loyola (Maryland)
Third Round
#1 Syracuse over #8 Kansas State
#5 Vanderbilt over #4 Wisconsin
#3 Florida State over #6 Cincinnati
#2 Ohio State over #7 Gonzaga
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