Bracket Breakdown: The West

Wisconsin danced all the way to Dallas last year, and with their entire squad (minus the loss of point guard Ben Brust to graduation) returning, many believe the Badgers have what it takes not just to suit up in Lucas Oil Stadium, but to celebrate under a shower of red and white confetti when the final buzzer sounds on this basketball season. Bo Ryan's team was dealt a tough hand in their region though, with possibly the toughest road to the Final Four of any of the number one seeds. The region has it all: traditional powerhouses (Arizona, North Carolina), Cinderella wanna-be's (Harvard), and giants that were once giant killers (VCU). Can Wisconsin survive a region so deep with potential? Zach and I break down their chances.

General Overview:
Nate's Take: As stated earlier, there's absolutely nothing that this region can't offer. Beginning with the enticing match-ups of VCU/Ohio State and Arkansas/Wofford, the potential for upsets runs wild. But any road that leads to Indy must go through Wisconsin. The Badgers, much like Kentucky, are nearly impossible to keep out of one's Final Four. The traditional shot clock-eating, defense-killing, stat sheet-stuffing offense that was has now turned into an in-your-face, deliberate attack that is led by Wooden Award candidate Frank Kaminsky and role-player-turned-star Sam Dekker. Barring a historical defeat to Coastal Carolina, Wisconsin is set for an appearance in the round of 32. Who will be joining them?

Smart looks to lead the 7th-seeded Rams

Much like Butler in the Midwest, the Rams of VCU took the tournament by storm in 2011 and became a fan favorite. Their fast paced "havoc" playing style has won the hearts of many and under the leadership of Shaka Smart they have now become a force to be reckoned with. They have shed the Cinderella label and are now a team with a target on their back. Unfortunately for VCU, their quest for a deep run will be challenged by the Ohio State Buckeyes. The Buckeyes are one of the best shooting teams in the nation, ending the regular season eleventh overall in field goal percentage (.486). That percentage translates to Ohio State putting up just under 76 points per game. High-powered offense is no issue for VCU, however, as the Rams average 10 steals a game which contributes to their ability to force 16 turnovers per game. Briante Weber is injured for the Rams, but they play a style that no Big Ten team has ever thought of playing. Thad Matta's game plan will need to be fresh and new if he hopes to take his tenth-seeded Buckeyes into the next round.

Zach's Take: The first thing that jumps out to me in the West Region is that the committee did us all a huge favor by putting Wisconsin and Arizona in the same region. Who could forget Wisconsin's thrilling Elite 8 victory last year over the Wildcats? It appears the two are on a crash course to do it again and that's going to be an unbelievable matchup. Both teams return almost their entire rosters from last season and it's a coin flip as to who moves on to Indy.

Like Nate said, the Ohio State-VCU matchup is especially enticing and, while I think the Rams will come out on top, it's a shame this Shaka Smart team doesn't have a healthy Briante Weber. If they did, you could be talking about another run deep into the tourney for VCU.

Another team I'm intrigued by is Georgia State. Coached by Ron Hunter, Georgia State features the coach's kid R.J. Hunter, a pure shooter from Pike High School in Indianapolis. In addition, Kevin Ware and Ryan Harrow give the Panthers two guys who have played at elite programs and know what March is like. GSU shoots the ball extremely well (48 percent) and has won nine of their last 10.

The other team that is a mystery is North Carolina. Which team will show up? They have been painfully inconsistent throughout the season, but looked great in the ACC Tournament, minus the championship against Notre Dame. If the good UNC team shows up then they have Final Four  potential, but if the bad UNC shows up.....keep reading...

Upset Alert:
Nate's Take: VCU and Ohio State provide one of the more intriguing match-ups in an otherwise stacked region but the game that many may overlook is the North Carolina Tar Heels first round contest against the Harvard Crimson. Everyone knows that March is not always about who's better on paper, it's about who's hot at the right time and who has the momentum. North Carolina blew a double-digit lead in their conference championship and came out as the losers against Notre Dame. Harvard on the other hand is riding into the Dance with the memory of win over arch-rival Yale fresh in mind. Toss that in with the inconsistency that Roy Williams' team seems to suffer from and you have a 13 over a 4 upset waiting to happen. Tommy Amaker is no stranger to March, and there's no doubt he will have Harvard ready to fight till that final buzzer sounds.

Zach's Take: Nate stole my pick so I'll go with the game right above it on the bracket. Wofford and Arkansas is another 5/12 matchup where the 12 could be moving on. Wofford is a quality team that defeated North Carolina State in Raleigh earlier this season. The Terriers have only lost two games since the calendar flipped to 2015 and they rank 27th in the nation in defense, holding opponents just under 60 points per game. Stopping Arkansas' duo of Bobby Portis (SEC Player of the Year) and Michael Qualls is not going to be easy, but we're talking about an Arkansas program that has been to the tournament five times since the millenium and has lost in the first round four of those years. Again, if you're looking for a 5/12 upset, this could be the one to choose.

Player to Watch:
Nate's Take: You may not know about him, but if his team performs up to their potential, you surely will. Be on the lookout for Oregon guard Joe Young, the Pac 12 Player of the Year. He leads the Ducks with 20 points, 4 boards, and 3 assists per game and, should the Ducks emerge victorious against the Oklahoma State Cowboys, is sure to give the Wisconsin back court fits. Not only is Young a threat to score from the floor, but when the game is on the line, Oregon can get the ball into the hands of one of the best free throw shooters in the nation. With his free throw percentage of 92%, any close game will surely be in his hands. And the best thing about this hard-nosed point guard? He's just waiting for that opportunity.

Hunter will be a threat against Baylor in the first round

Zach's Take: I mentioned him before and I'll say it again: keep an eye on R.J. Hunter. The 6-6 junior averages just below 20 points per game along with 4.8 rebounds and 3.6 assists. He's the kind of guy who can heat up in a hurry and his length makes him a difficult matchup (think a smaller version of Kevin Durant). As an added bonus, the kid is feeling it of late. On March 7th he dropped 35 on Georgia Southern then followed that up with a 32-point performance against Louisiana-Lafayette. Georgia State is a talented team and Hunter is the kind of player at a mid-major who could lead his team on a Cinderella run.

Coaches, Like Players, Leave Too Soon

As we approach the final weekend of the college basketball season, numerous players have already declared for the NBA Draft, the majority of whom are forgoing the rest of their collegiate careers. In the anticipation that surrounds the Final Four there is also the looming question of which young players from Kentucky will play their final college games this weekend. John Calipari has established a culture where graduating does not matter and neither does a player's ability to play at the next level. Kentucky is one of the main perpetrators in having kids leave early and as basketball fans we have had to adjust to that. Yet while it's an expectation nowadays to see players leave college early, what seems to be lost in all of the drama with the players is the drama with the coaches. To put it bluntly, some coaches are just as guilty of "leaving early" as some of the players.

Manning will be the head coach of Wake Forest next season

After bringing a little life to the Tulsa program these past two years, former head coach Danny Manning has packed his bags and is headed to take the job at Wake Forest. Obviously, Wake Forest and the ACC are a bit more prestigious than Tulsa and Conference USA. The issue is this, Manning led the Golden Hurricanes to 21 wins and 13 losses this year and hung tough with fourth seeded UCLA for most of their second round match up. Now understand that Manning was not bringing Tulsa into the national spotlight nor were they the country's "darlings" of this year's tournament, but there were obvious and noticeable improvements in the Tulsa program since Manning's arrival in 2012. He had established himself as a qualified coach and clearly had the background and knowledge to be able to lead a program, no matter how small it was. He had coached the Golden Hurricanes to a share of the conference title and had Tulsa headed in a good direction. Yet bigger, but not necessarily better, schools came calling, and now the progress Manning brought Tulsa is essentially ruined.

Enfield left FGCU after a miracle run to the Sweet 16

While Manning had the chance to make a program into something special, he's not the only coach to bolt from a school at the first chance. Anyone who pays even the slightest attention to college basketball knows all about Florida Gulf Coast University last year when they shocked the world with a Sweet 16 appearance. Their coach, Andy Enfield, was the leader of "Dunk City" and had brought that school the attention it once only dreamed about. But when the Eagles fell to the Florida Gators, it was a matter of weeks before Enfield left FGCU in the dust on his way to accepting the job at USC. Seriously? USC? Granted, the Trojans are a member of a Power Six conference and an occasional tournament team, but there's not exactly a line of people banging on the door of the USC Athletic Director's office begging for that head coaching job. The point is that Enfield saw the dollar signs and the prestige of coaching at a bigger school and took the job without batting an eye. Why? Florida Gulf Coast just provided the nation with excitement that few teams have ever been able to do. They were a 15 seed that took down the number 2 seeded Hoyas of Georgetown, one of the nation's most traditional programs. The Eagles had a nice roster full of athleticism and talent that could have easily brought them back to the tournament this year (they lost to Mercer in their conference championship). Much like Manning, Enfield could have made his own mark on college basketball by turning Florida Gulf Coast into a perennial tournament team. Instead, Enfield is now at USC sitting at home with an 11-21 record and a last place finish in the Pac-12 to his name.

Stevens made two runs to the Final Four at Butler

Enfield and Manning made a choice that is frustrating to say the least. However, the one coach that made a decision that is forever upsetting is Brad Stevens, the former head coach at Butler University. If you were to look up "darlings" in the dictionary, the Butler Bulldogs from 2010 and 2011 would have their picture right underneath the word. Butler took the NCAA tournament by storm in both years by making back-to-back trips to the championship game. Stevens was in his low 30's at the time and was a fresh new face in a tournament full of renowned veteran coaches. He had the chance to make Butler into the best basketball school in the state of Indiana, currently anyway. Unlike Manning and Enfield who had the potential to make their programs into something special, Stevens had already done that and then some. Butler was established. Butler was a threat. Butler was good. It was at the point where nobody wanted to play the Bulldogs in March. Stevens had successfully brought them into the national spotlight and had done so before he was even sniffing the age of 40. And as quickly as Butler's success under Stevens came, it went away even quicker. The NBA came calling and Stevens took the head coaching job for the Boston Celtics, leaving Butler under the direction of Brandon Miller. Yet Stevens can't be blamed too much for this move as he's not the first great college coach to test the NBA waters. Larry Brown, Rick Pitino, and John Calipari all coached in the NBA before opting to come back to the college game. With any luck, Stevens will soon do the same.

Smart has already put VCU on the map

But not all coaches have left for supposedly greener pastures when given the chance. The one coach in college basketball that I have the utmost respect for is VCU's Shaka Smart. Smart's Rams made a Butler-like run through the tournament in 2011 and even had to win one more game to get to the Final Four than the other three teams (VCU was one of the play-in games). He is the coach of one of the toughest defensive programs in the country and has the up-tempo playing style that would fit right in with the bigger conferences. Yet Smart has opted to stay at VCU and has helped build the Rams into a tournament threat each and every year. It can't be easy to stay put when you know that bigger schools are begging for you to come, but Smart has stayed loyal to VCU in a time when most coaches struggle to do so. Now, Smart can honestly say that he is building a program that will fit his mold and that looks to be under his direction for many years to come. He is the perfect model of dedication and trust because of what he has turned down to remain at VCU.

Now just because a coach leaves or stays does not have any impact on his ability to coach and maybe this has made it seem like the decision to leave is something that should be taken personally by the schools that get left behind. It's not against the law or frowned upon to upgrade to a bigger school, but the excitement of building a smaller program into a national threat is something enticing in my opinion. Obviously the dollar signs are different the larger or smaller you get in terms of the size of the school you coach at, and finances/supporting a family are surely to be one of the top priorities. But seeing these small schools take down the big schools in March is what college basketball is all about so when a small school has a solid, qualified coach and makes a nice tournament run, we as fans get to watch that program develop until it is a part of the 68-team field on a regular basis. Players leaving early definitely has an effect on the game, but coaches that move on from the schools they put on the map is just as frustrating to see.