Bracket Breakdown: Midwest

Peyton Siva of Louisville

Over the next three days we are going to do our best to break down the brackets from all angles. There may never have been a tougher field from top to bottom and it is completely open as to who the national champion will be. That should make for a fun three weeks full of upsets, great matchups and buzzer beaters. Without further ado, let's break it down.

The Midwest bracket is excruciatingly tough and contains the overall number one seed. The committee did number one seed Louisville no favors by including Duke, Michigan State and two tough teams in Oklahoma State and St. Louis. However, the third round matchups that Louisville and Duke could have are intriguing. Whoever comes out of the Midwest will have survived a difficult path and could be the favorite to win the national title.

Midwest Region winner: Louisville Cardinals
Louisville is the best team in the nation and they are playing great basketball right now. They have won 10 games in a row since losing the five overtime thriller to Notre Dame. The Cards won the Big East tournament and are definitely battle tested. However, are they ready for some of the battles they will have on their path to Atlanta? In the third round they could have a rematch against a tough Missouri team who they defeated by 23 at the beginning of the season. Mizzou has definitely improved since then and will be a tough matchup. In the Sweet 16 the Cards will have to go through either Oklahoma State or St. Louis and that won't be easy and then in the Elite 8 they will most likely face Duke or Michigan State. Talk about difficult. That said, Louisville is healthy and playing great and should prove to be the class of the Midwest Region.

Marcus Smart of Oklahoma State

Upset Pick: Middle Tennessee over Memphis
Picking Middle Tennessee over Memphis means that the Blue Raiders would have to first beat St. Mary's which is no easy task, but MTU is tough. They compiled a 28-5 record, yet failed to win the Sun Belt conference tournament. However, the committee let them in and now they will play a tough opening round game against another mid-major. My pick is that they beat the Gaels and then take down a Memphis team who is a little down this season.

Potentially Intriguing Matchup: Creighton vs. Duke (Third Round)
If Creighton defeats Cincinnati and Duke handles Albany like they should then the Blue Jays will meet the Blue Devils in the third round. Duke is a national title contender, but Creighton is a tough team led by Doug McDermott. However, he will have his hands full with Mason Plumlee and that will be a great one-on-one matchup to watch. Creighton is a solid team who might just knock off the Dukies earlier than the country expects.

Player to Watch: Marcus Smart, guard, Oklahoma State
Smart tore up the Big 12 in his freshman season, averaging 15.4 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game. A physical specimen, Smart has the all-around game to take the Cowboys to the Sweet 16. The Pokes will need him to be at his best because they are matched up with Pac-12 tournament champion Oregon in the second round and then they will most likely have to play the Atlantic-10 champion St. Louis in the third round.

Bottom Line: The Midwest Region is extremely tough, but Louisville will live up to the overall number one seed and advance to the Final Four.