2011 March Madness (East and Southwest Regions) - Sweet 16 and Elite 8

Little ole Richmond, Virginia will take center stage tonight. The Richmond Spiders, a 12 seed, and the VCU Rams (CAA baby!), an 11 seed have reached the Sweet 16. VCU is following the 2006 George Mason path thus far. Much like Mason in 2006, all the big conference blowhards felt VCU didn't belong. Mason was able to turn those ignorant views into a Final Four trip, VCU has to win two more games to do the same. I won't lie, I didn't think VCU had a chance in hell of making the Tournament. They lost to such awesome teams as Northeastern and Georgia State, and lost three straight home games to close the regular season. However, you can't argue with their results since they have made it in, pounding USC and Georgetown I expected, but their demolition of Purdue was shocking to me.

East Regional Semi-Final

#11 Marquette (22-14) vs. #2 North Carolina (28-7)

The first weekend of the Tournament went about how I expected for the Tar Heels. They blew past Long Island and then had to fight and claw their way to victory over Washington. John Henson made multiple dumb decisions at the end of the game but fortunately the Heels were able to get past them. They also caught a break when Marquette upset Syracuse. I was very worried about a potential game against the Cuse, but since like most of the Big East they turned out to be overrated choke frauds I don't have to worry about that now.

Marquette won with defense against Xavier and Syracuse, but if they think they are holding Carolina to 65 points or less they are sadly mistaken. Darius Johnson-Odom is the Golden Eagles most dangerous play, and is coming off hitting a huge game tying three pointer against the Orange. Jae Crowder could give the Heels fits inside and at times can be a major offensive threat. Jimmy Butler struggled against Syracuse and has seen his scoring dip in his last four games. He's a guard-forward hybrid which allows him to create matchup problems.

I can't express how refreshing it is to once again see the Heels in the hands of a capable point guard. Kendall Marshall was brilliant against the Huskies and is the sole reason Carolina has been so improved the last few months. Harrison Barnes has been fantastic, as has Tyler Zeller but I think most of that his because of Marshall's amazing passing and ability to find the open man, no matter where he is on the court. Although he had a key steal off a late inbounds pass, Henson played awful against Washington, and I hope he can put that game behind him.

The only way the Heels lose this game is if they come out tight and get behind, which has been their M.O. as of late. I don't think Marquette is all that good, and the Heels should have an easier time than they did against Washington.

Prediction: North Carolina 81, Marquette 71

Southwest Regional Semi-Final

#12 Richmond (29-7) vs. #1 Kansas (34-2)

No more Vanderbilt's or extra head for Richmond, they get to face the second best team in the country, Kansas. The Jayhawks had some trouble with Illinois in the Third Round, but showed a championship edge to them in closing out the Illini, something that they lacked in their stunning exit from the Tournament in 2009.

The Spiders are a nice little team, and a good story but unless they can shoot lights out from beyond the arc, it could get ugly for them against the Jayhawks. However, I expect to see a close game in the first half, as the Jayhawks have a tendency to feel out their opponent, then score in bunches. There is little hope for the Spiders that they will stop the Morris twins so their objective should be to try to force Tyshawn Taylor into mistakes, and create turnovers and scoring opportunities that way.

Prediction: Kansas 72, Richmond 58

East Regional Semi-Final

#4 Kentucky (27-8) vs. #1 Ohio State (34-2)

This is easily the best game of the Sweet 16. People loved Ohio State before the Tournament and love them even more after they blew away George Mason with ease. Despite what others have said, Mason was a good team, and the way that the Buckeyes manhandled them was impressive. I don't expect Ohio State to be able to shoot that way the rest of the Tournament so the performance needs to be kept in context.

Kentucky has a distinct advantage on the glass over the Buckeyes. Jared Sullinger does the bulk of the rebounding, while Kentucky has Terrence Jones and Josh Harrellson as their rebounding leaders. Jones will be the key factor in this game. If he dominates both scoring and rebounding, the Wildcats have a very good chance at pulling the upset. West Virginia did a pretty good job of limiting Jones and that is the model the Buckeyes have to hope to follow.

Where Ohio State beats teams is their ability to shoot the ball. They shoot almost 50% as a team, and 42% from beyond the arc. If the shooters get hot, that allows Sullinger to get space inside and be his dominating self. Jon Diebler, David Lighty and William Buford can all stroke it. Aaron Craft had an otherworldly game against Mason, with 15 assists, his matchup with Brandon Knight will be fun to watch. Knight was nearly invisible against Princeton, but then carried the Wildcats over West Virginia.

If Kentucky wins this game, people might be shocked but they really shouldn't be. The Wildcats might be the toughest matchup the Buckeyes face. I expect this game to be an instant classic, with Ohio State squeaking by.

Prediction: Ohio State 75, Kentucky 73

Southwest Regional Semi-Final

#11 VCU (26-11) vs. #10 Florida State (23-10)

All of those that had this game in their brackets raise your hands. That's what I thought. The Seminoles thrive on defense, so when they are able to score like they did against Notre Dame, blowouts happen. VCU can play some pretty good defense themselves, and have their point guard Joey Rodriguez playing his best basketball of the season at just the right time.

The Rams put on an offensive clinic against the Boilermakers but can't expect to get nearly the same amount of easy looks against Florida State. I also don't think Bradford Burgess will have as much of a say in this game as he did against Purdue. Florida State got back their best player Chris Singleton but he is still limited and didn't contribute much of anything in either of their wins.

The Rams will have to win this game similar to how they beat USC and Georgetown. Play suffocating defense, hope the other team is off offensively and have Rodriguez play mistake free basketball. Florida State has been so inconsistent on offense that I think they revert back to struggling in this game. I think we are headed for a Rams/Jayhawks showdown on Sunday that will be reminding everyone of Mason/UCONN from 2006.

Prediction: VCU 64, Florida State 59

In Sunday's Elite Eight games though it pains me to say, I think the Buckeyes beat my beloved Tar Heels, and that Kansas will end VCU's Cinderella dream. I think that will leave us with a Final Four of UCONN vs. Ohio State, and Kansas vs. Florida.