Bracket Breakdown: The South

The South region is ruled by big men, which makes this particular quadrant of the bracket all the more exciting. The physicality and strength that the top teams in this region provide are sure to provide us with numerous memorable match-ups. Headlining this region is the top-seeded Blue Devils of Duke University and their star freshman center Jahlil Okafor. If Duke hopes to punch a ticket to Indy, Okafor and the rest of Duke's front line will have their hands full with players such as Joshua Smith (Georgetown), Winston Shepard  (San Diego State), and Przemek Karnowski (Gonzaga). But don't be fooled, the back courts in this region aren't pushovers. Yet with such talented forwards and centers, which front court will lead their team into the month of April? Zach was too busy working the Illinois State-Green Bay NIT game. So I'll take this one solo.

General Overview: Duke is number one and Gonzaga is number two. One is looking for redemption after an embarrassing opening round exit to a 14 seed, and the other is looking to advance to their first Final Four in school history. While both teams are clearly talented enough to make it to Indy, a handful of lower seeded teams will make sure that the road to the Final Four is a tough one.

We've said it before, we'll say it again: March is not about who's better on paper, it's about who's on a hot streak at the right time. Two teams in particular are rolling at a time when momentum can sometimes mean more than talent. Iowa State and SMU, both conference tournament winners in their own right, have their sights set on Final Four appearances and are equipped to make those dreams come true. Iowa State has won eight of their last ten games (including five wins over ranked opponents) and have won five straight. Southern Methodist, on the other hand, have won seventeen of their last twenty and have won four straight. Fred Hoiberg and Larry Brown will have their teams ready to roll and, while they'll take it one game at a time, will surely be focused on catching flights to Indianapolis in three weeks.

Upset Alert: You remember them as the Cinderella of 2008. You remember them as the Stephen Curry-led Davidson Wildcats. Yet this year's Davidson squad is not to be disregarded as Curry's team was pre-March Madness. Winners of ten of their last eleven, Davidson has not just beaten their opponents, they've disposed of them. Their average margin of victory is just under fifteen points per game in those ten wins and with the seventh-seeded Iowa Hawkeyes in mind, the Wildcats look to build off of their recent success. What makes this team so special is that four players average double digits in the points category, with Taylor Kalinoski (17 ppg) and Jack Gibbs (16.3 ppg) leading the charge. Even more dangerous than their balanced attack is the depth that Bob McKillop's team has. Ten players average over ten minutes a game which means plenty of fresh legs for the Hawkeyes to keep track of.

Add all of this in with the facts that Davidson's ball movement results in 17 assists per game (good for 3rd in the nation) and their ability to shoot 47% per game enables them to put up 80 points per game (good for 6th in the nation), and you have a force to be reckoned with. Fran McCaffery's team will need to be up to the challenge or an opening round exit is sure to be in store for the Hawkeyes squad that did not finish in the top 50 in points, assists, rebounds, or field goal percentage per game (Davidson was top 35 in three of the four categories). Iowa will not be an easy victory, but if there were an upset in this region that I would pay close attention to, it would definitely be this seven/ten match-up.

Player to Watch: SMU was highlighted earlier in this post, and a big part of their potential for success in this tournament is because of the stellar play of their junior point guard Nic Moore. The Mustangs offense runs through him as he averages 14 points and 5 assists per game. Aside from the numbers he puts up, Moore's mere presence on the floor is also critical for Larry Brown's team. He's the only member of the team that averages more than 28 minutes per game and is on the court for 34 and a half minutes, on average. The question remains if Moore can bounce back from a sub par performance in the American Conference championship (11 points on 3-14 shooting, 1-7 from three point range), but if he returns to form in their opening match-up against the UCLA Bruins, SMU might ride the coattails of Nic Moore deep into the tournament.