Campus Confidential

By Adam Abramson

We're only one day away…

I'm in bracket crisis. I don't know what to do. When I look at it, I blackout from all the pressure.

To quote a less-than-mediocre movie: "I got that 'excited/scared' feeling. Like 98% excited, 2% scared. Or maybe it's more. It could be, it could be 98% scared, 2% excited but that's what makes it so intense."

I really can't wait though. I want to call in sick to work. I won't, but what's going to happen in the 40 minutes I have to drive to work (3-4 p.m.)…it'll probably be the Georgetown-Belmont game out here, I guess I'll survive.

The good news is that the Virginia Tech-Illinois game will be on the same time as the Kansas-Play-In winner and Texas-New Mexico State. Looks like I might get to see VT's first NCAA appearance since 1996.

Anyway, we're wrapping this marathon up with the South. With the exception of Ohio State, this region is such a wildcard. This doesn't necessarily mean it's the toughest, it just means there's a lot of teams that can end up in the Elite 8 against Ohio State…I've seen a host of suitors, but I think Texas A&M is the favorite there.

We're going with the Lil' Wayne "Stuntin' like Mah Daddy" gamer. Mark La Monica had some great Ludacris nominations including: "Pimpin' all over the paint" and "Move! Get out the way." His argument is if we're talking South (and we are), we're talking Ludacris. But that's the ways of the old, Weezy is the new South.

Anywho, I started thinking about something just now. Where is the most fun regional site to go? I'm going to try and rip through the South (meaning taking 2/3 hours instead of 3/4) so I can break each city down and come up with an order of coolest place to go. Check back later for that…

SOUTH

The conference's best player: Greg Oden, Ohio State
The conference's best team: Ohio State
The conference's sleeper(s): Creighton

No. 1 Ohio State 30-3

I really don't think Ohio State is getting enough love. I thought about it for a while and I guess it goes back to their out of conference body of work, or lack thereof. The Buckeyes edged Tennessee…that's it. I will give them this though: having a Greg Oden who can play with two hands will make a huuuuge difference. The Buckeyes should sail to the Elite 8 and, honestly, all the way to the Final Four.

Strength: The Buckeyes just smother everyone they play. They pass, they rebound, they score, they play defense…and I like their LeBron unis.
Weakness: I really can't pick out a weakness. Give me one.
The Lil' Wayne "Stuntin' like Mah Daddy" gamer: Fr. C Greg Oden (15.5 ppg, 9.7 rpg, 3.5 bpg)

No. 2 Memphis 30-3

Ohio State is on a 17-game run. Memphis is on a 22-game run. The difference? Memphis' key wins in its run: a one-point win at Gonzaga. And Ohio State? Try Tennessee, a Michigan State sweep and a Wisconsin sweep. Of all 65 teams, I'm most curious as to what the Tigers will do (well…second most…kind of concerned about Virginia Tech).

Strength: Athleticism. They're a fun bunch to watch…wait until they get a four-on-two…they'll do something fun.
Weakness: I hinted at it above: Playing in the CUSA is going to kill this team at some point. Their lack of height concerns me.
The Lil' Wayne "Stuntin' like Mah Daddy" gamer: So. G Chris Douglas-Roberts (15.4 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 1.8 apg).

No. 3 Texas A&M 25-6

Five of the Aggies' six losses are by a grand total of 10 points. The other was a 12-point defeat at the hands of then-No. 1 UCLA. So…you know this team's for real. They're a #2 seed in my eyes.

Strength: If you're favorite team is playing Texas A&M in this Tournament, your favorite team will have minimal success on offense. That's just the way it goes.
Weakness: Because aTm is so tenacious on defense, they get in foul trouble.
The Lil' Wayne "Stuntin' like Mah Daddy" gamer: Sr. G Acie Law IV (17.9 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 5.3 apg)

No. 4 Virginia 20-10

I've watched Virginia five times this season, the same amount of times their seed should be, at best. Sean Singletary and J.R. Reynolds are great, but if they're off, Virginia loses. I'll be blunt: I hate Virginia. Want to know why? Watch them play…it's guys like Ryan Pettinella. If you ever go to Charlottesville, there will be 3,000 Ryan Pettinellas walking around thinking they're better than you.

Strength: Backcourt. The media has caught wind of how good Singletary and Reynolds are.
Weakness: Defense. Opponents will push them around a little bit. But it's UVa, shouldn't be surprised by that…
The Lil' Wayne "Stuntin' like Mah Daddy" gamer: Jr. G Sean Singletary (18.9 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 4.6 apg)

No. 5 Tennessee 22-10

What would happen if Bruce Pearl shed his Volunteer Orange jacket and shouted out orders in the first round with a painted chest? Seriously, what would happen? I like UT's roster…they'll run all over you (not like VMI can, but among the best), but they're a very up and down team…

Strength: The running I was just talking about a second ago? It leads to a ton of offense. We'll see who can keep up with UT.
Weakness: The frontcourt. It's young and has a lot of promise. But for now it has trouble rebounding. Maybe this is because UT takes a ton of 3s?
The Lil' Wayne "Stuntin' like Mah Daddy" gamer: Jr. G Chris Lofton (20.6 ppg, 3 rpg, 1.8 apg).

No. 6 Louisville 23-9

Rick Pitino needs his heralded freshman Derrick Caracter to show up. He missed a lot of time this year, but UL is 6-0 when he reaches double figures…4-6 when he doesn't (that's a good stat I came up with at 1am, right?)

Strength: The glass. If there's a rebound, there's a pretty good chance a Cardinal is grabbing it.
The Lil' Wayne "Stuntin' like Mah Daddy" gamer: So. F Terrance Williams (12.7 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 3.9 apg)

Okay, we have a problem here…the NCAA stats website has stopped working, so I can't see where teams rank in categories. I'm flying solo here. I'm cutting strengths and weaknesses from here on out…sorry about this.

No. 7 Nevada 28-4

Nick Fazekas is money. He needs to get his touches because it runs through him. I think he needs to dish some more: the team shoots 41.4 from out there. That's pure insanity and means they need to work the inside out more. His assists total should be doubled. Nevada does so many things right: shot selection, free throws, defense, rebounding…the Wolfpack just have to make sure they don't forget anything.

The Lil' Wayne "Stuntin' like Mah Daddy" gamer: Sr. F/C Nick Fazekas (20.5 ppg, 11 rpg, 1.8 apg)

No. 8 Brigham Young 25-8

BYU-Xavier…doesn't quite have the allure of Villanova-Kentucky, but it should be a solid game. Either way, the winner moves on to get slammed by Ohio State. But, if I'm forced to talk about the Cougs, they're money from the floor (50%) - I guess if your top four scorers are at least 6'6" that makes a lot of sense.

The Lil' Wayne "Stuntin' like Mah Daddy" gamer: Sr. F Keena Young (17 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 1.4 apg)

No. 9 Xavier 24-8

I still have to talk about this game? I really don't know how I feel about Xavier as a No. 9 seed. I mean, they didn't even make the ATLANTIC 10 FINALS. Watch out for Drew Lavender. He's 5'7" and he's extremely daggerlicious from 3-point land (46%!). Xavier's starting guards are Lavender and 6'3" Stanley Burrell, which could translate to matchup problems if the BYU guards post up, which they probably will.

The Lil' Wayne "Stuntin' like Mah Daddy" gamer: Sr. F Justin Doellman (13.4 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 1.7 apg)

No. 10 Creighton 21-12

I watched the Creighton-Southern Illinois game (also known as the MVC Championship game) and Creighton guard Nate Funk was labeled "Brad Pitt" with a jump shot. Please watch Creighton and realize how ridiculous this statement is. I like Tolliver's game inside, he just has to stay out of foul trouble (5 DQs, 10 games with four fouls). The Bluejays are lights out as a team from the stripe (76%). Should be a great game against Nevada.

The Lil' Wayne "Stuntin' like Mah Daddy" gamer: Sr. C Anthony Tolliver (13.4 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 2 apg)

No. 11 Stanford 23-8

Stanford is tall. Louisville will focus on this, so the Cardinal (I wanted to put an 's' on that so bad) guards are going to have to be very active in keeping the passing lanes open. If I'm their coach, I'm going to try and get a lot of perimeter screens going, get your big men rolling, second chance points, all that action. I don't know how much I agree with Stanford being in the Tourney, but they can beat Louisville.

The Lil' Wayne "Stuntin' like Mah Daddy" gamer: Sr. F Lawrence Hill (16 ppg, 6 rpg, 1.8 apg)

No. 12 Long Beach State 21-13

My man Tim Hughes on the news desk hooked me up with some valuable info on the 49ers. Check out this action: all five starters are seniors, their top seven scorers are seniors and they're pretty solid on the glass. If Kevin Houston gets hot from outside, it could mean trouble for the Vols. Five senior starters though? Sounds like 2006 George Mason experience if you ask me…

The Lil' Wayne "Stuntin' like Mah Daddy" gamer: Sr. G Aaron Nixon (18.6 ppg, 5 rpg, 3.1 apg)

No. 13 Albany 25-8

Well, I'm not much of a dog enthusiast, but if I'm not mistaken, Great Danes are huge, right? If that's the case, this is the smallest pack of Great Danes out there. It doesn't get much taller than 6'8ish on the inside. Brett Gifford, at 6'11", will come in for a few minutes, but check out these totals for the year: 48 points, 31 boards, 12 steals, 12 blocks, 7 assists and 61 fouls. We know you're a freshman, but get control of yourself, son. As for legit guys, Jamar Wilson has garnered a ton of hype going into the Tournament, so you might want to check him out; he can fill up a stat sheet.

The Lil' Wayne "Stuntin' like Mah Daddy" gamer: Sr. G Jamar Wilson (18.6 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 4.9 apg)

No. 14 Penn 23-9

As any good Quaker would be, the Penn Quakers are very efficient with the ball, shooting 49% from the floor. Gotta respect that. The fighting Donald Trumps also pass very well with 17 assists per game. It's too bad for them they're probably facing the best No. 3 in the Dance.

The Lil' Wayne "Stuntin' like Mah Daddy" gamer: Sr. F Mark Zoller (18 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 3 apg)

No. 15 North Texas 23-9

North Texas officially made the West the bracket of cool mascots. The Mean Green don't have huge size inside, but what they have, they do well with. They outrebound their opponents, they block shots, they get second-chance points. But I read online that if their two forwards (Quincy Williams, Keith Wooden) get in foul trouble, it's pretty thin behind them. Look, I'm not going to sit here and say I know a lot about North Texas basketball, but I'm saving you the time from having to go read about them. If the Memphis guards drive early and often, they'll get in foul trouble because Williams and Wooden will get no respect from the refs and John Calipari probably paid everyone before the game…alright, cheap joke, he didn't and won't pay anyone.

The Lil' Wayne "Stuntin' like Mah Daddy" gamer: Sr. G Calvin Watson (15.8 ppg, 4 rpg, 1.3 apg)

No. 16 Central Connecticut State 21-11

Of the seven guys that the Blue Devils have who average at least 10 minutes, the tallest is 6'7. Who the hell is going to guard Greg Oden. That'd be like me and five friends shorter than me playing Central Connecticut State and me having to guard their 6'7 guy. It wouldn't happen. He'd have me for lunch. But check this: the starting five for CCSU average 36.5 min, 36.2, 34.2, 30.9 and 27.6. Can you imagine their conditioning camps in the fall? About as grueling as their defeat will be on Thursday evening.

The Lil' Wayne "Stuntin' like Mah Daddy" gamer: Sr. G Javier Mojica (16.7 ppg, 7 rpg, 3 apg)