-#1 North Carolina and John Henson. UNC got a fairly easy path to the Elite Eight--Creighton and Alabama are both one-dimensional teams, and the Heels' Sweet Sixteen matchup will be against either Michigan, Temple, or a double-digit Cinderella. North Carolina can get to the Elite Eight without injured big man John Henson, who is questionable for the first weekend. But can they beat #2 Kansas, in St. Louis, without him? Hopefully it doesn't come to that. UNC has all the pieces to win a title: the point guard (Kendall Marshall), the frontcourt (Henson and Tyler Zeller), the scorer who can take a game over (Harrison Barnes), and a coach who has done it before (Roy Williams). Defense and three-point shooting can be question marks, but this is as good a pick as any to win the national championship. Assuming, of course, John Henson's wrist is okay.
-#2 Kansas' path looks clear, too. Like with North Carolina, there doesn't appear to be a team in the Jayhawks' half of the bracket that can handle Tyshawn Taylor, Thomas Robinson, and their overachieving supporting cast. 15th-seeded Detroit has more McDonald's All-Americans than Kansas (one-to-nothing), and the game might be close, but the Titans are a 15-seed for a reason. Neither Saint Mary's nor Purdue has the athletes to match up, and a Sweet Sixteen date with Georgetown, San Diego State, or N.C. State seems manageable. Bill Self's teams have fallen to low seeds in past years, but a match-up against #1 North Carolina and former Kansas coach Roy Williams seems inevitable.
-Other than UNC and Kansas, this bracket is wide open. Like the West, the Midwest Region could be littered with upsets.The #3, #4, #5, and #6 seeds are all popular picks to fall early. Some of the lower seeds are underrated teams from power-six conferences (Alabama, Purdue, N.C. State, USF, Cal) and the others are sneaky-good mid-majors (Creighton, Ohio, Belmont, and Detroit). Kansas and UNC look like Sweet Sixteen locks, but they could be playing some surprise teams once they get there.
-Temple and the 5-12 upset. The fifth-seeded Owls enjoyed an outstanding season in the Atlantic 10 behind strong guard play from Ramone Moore, Juan Fernandez, and Khalif Wyatt. But they could be vulnerable to the twelfth-seeded South Florida Bulls, who dominated Cal in their First Four matchup. USF has a balanced offensive attack and a relentless defense that hasn't allowed 60 points in what seems like forever. Temple coach Fran Dunphy doesn't have a good tournament history. His team might be going home early once again.
-Will #3 Georgetown and #6 San Diego State fall, too? The two teams are slated to play each other for a Sweet 16 berth, but like Temple, both could fall in the first round, too. Georgetown is overseeded as a #3 and is playing an experienced, offensively potent Belmont team capable of sending the Hoyas home early yet again. SDSU might actually be the underdog against #11 N.C. State, as C.J. Leslie and the Wolfpack almost knocked off North Carolina in the ACC semifinals and the Aztecs have overachieved for much of the season.
-More toss-up games: Creighton/Alabama and Saint Mary's/Purdue. It seems like every first-round game in this region except for UNC-Vermont could fall either way. The 8-vs-9 and 7-vs-10 matchups are no different. #8 Creighton and its star Doug McDermott can put up big offensive numbers but struggle to defend; #9 Alabama is the opposite, using stout defense to overcome often-anemic offense. McDermott may struggle against 'Bama's defenders, the likes of which he didn't really see in the Missouri Valley. On the other side of the bracket, Robbie Hummel is in the NCAA tournament field for tenth-seeded Purdue after missing the last two postseasons with injuries. The Boilermakers drew #7 Saint Mary's and must figure out a way to stop Matthew Dellavedova and Rob Jones. Each team is probably glad that the other lacks elite athletes.
-Will Ohio pull off another shocker? Two years ago, the Ohio Bobcats stunned Georgetown in the first round, knocking off the Hoyas in a decisive upset. The Bobcats are back, and so is guard D.J. Cooper, who was on that 2010 team. Ohio drew #4 Michigan in the first round--a talented team, but one with a freshman point guard who struggled in the Big 10 tournament, and without much interior size. The Wolverines are also dependent on the three-point shot, which the Bobcats defend well. Ohio could shock another top seed this year.
-The Favorites: North Carolina, Kansas
-Final Four sleepers: Georgetown, Michigan
-Vulnerable top seeds: Georgetown, Michigan, Temple, SDSU
-Cinderella candidates: Saint Mary's, Creighton, Ohio, Belmont, Detroit
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