So now that the brackets are released its time to discuss the brackets and do some research for filling the brackets. All year, its been tough to pick winners and losers of games because there is that much parity, and I feel like this year will be the toughest year to fill out your bracket in recent memory. Lets look at each region.

Midwest – #1 Kansas

Kansas is the #1 overall seed and rightfully so. Kentucky didn’t have a tough schedule, and they looked weak coming down the stretch. Bill Self looks to return his Jayhawks to the National Title game and I feel like he has a very good chance to at least return to the Final Four.

The remaining top 4 seeds of this region are Ohio St, Georgetown, and Maryland. Ohio St. was in the running for a 1 seed, and could have a had a 1 seed if they had a better Big Ten tournament. Georgetown had the toughest schedule in the nation and are very dangerous as Pitt fans saw this year. Maryland is a weak four seed and I could say Michigan St could have been the 4 instead.

Looking at this region we could see a fun Elite Eight matchup between either Kansas and Ohio St or Georgetown. And I would say in the end it is Kansas and Georgetown.

Best first round matchup: Maryland-Houston
Best potential matchup: Georgetown-Ohio St.

Winner of Region: Kansas

East – #1 Kentucky

Wow, that’s all I can say. If this is how the committee rewards the number 2 #1 seed, that’s pretty tough. This is by far the hardest region in the bracket. While Kentucky has great talent and a great coach who has been there before, they are also a young team. While they have the talent and coach, the youth of this team, the way they played down the stretch, and the region itself is why Kentucky will not make the Final Four. Kentucky has a brutal second round match against Texas, who at one time was ranked #1; a Sweet Sixteen matchup against Wisconsin, Temple, or Cornell; an Elite Eight game against West Virginia.

The remaining top 4 seeds of this region are West Virginia, New Mexico, and Wisconsin. West Virginia was also in the running for a 1 seed. New Mexico could be dangerous, I’m not going to lie, I don’t know much about them. Wisconsin is also a very good team with a very good coach. This region goes beyond the top 4 seeds though, Temple and Cornell are both well underseeded, Marquette showed flashes throughout the year, and Texas who underachieved down the stretch was very good to start.

This will be the toughest bracket to pick and to find an Elite Eight matchup is tough, but I feel it will be, West Virginia and Kentucky or Temple.

Best first round matchup: Temple-Cornell
Best potential matchup: Kentucky-WVU.

Winner of this region: WVU

South – #1 Duke

Duke returns as a #1 seed, and I have no problem with that, but to call them a #1 seed over Syracuse, I do have a problem with. While Syracuse lost their last two games, they won the regular season Big East tournament, while Duke won a down ACC. Both teams deserve the #1 seed, but flip them. This is an easy region for Duke if they can take care of business, but this is also a region where anyone can come from it. Duke plays either Cal from a terrible Pac-10 or a dangerous Louisville team, who could beat Duke.

The remaining top 4 seeds in this region, Villanova, Baylor, Purdue. Nova looked terrible down the stretch, Baylor is a dangerous team and one of the teams to beat, and Purdue is not the same without Robbie Hummel. This is the weakest of the remaining top 4 seeds in the bracket. This region can provide a lot of upsets.

I think this Elite Eight matchup will be Duke and Baylor. If Villanova finds themselves, then you can replace Baylor with Nova, it’s a coin flip.

Best first round matchup: Texas A&M-Utah St.
Best potential matchup: Baylor-Nova

Winner of this region: Baylor

West – #1 Syracuse

This should be the region headlined by Duke, but it is what it is. Syracuse has an easy road to the Elite Eight especially if Arinze Onuake’s strained quadriceps heals quickly. The toughest matchup for Syracuse will be Butler in the Sweet 16, who went undefeated in the Horizon league, and played some very good non-conference opponents.

This is Pitt’s region, and they have a very generous draw. They open with Oakland in a game they should win, and will play either Xavier or Minnesota in the second round. If Pitt makes it out of the first weekend, they will get Kansas St in the Sweet Sixteen and will be a very tough challenge for Pitt. I really hope to see this matchup, because it will be a lot of fun to watch. Digger Phelps likes Pitt’s draw and sees them as a solid team in this region. If Pitt can survive Kansas St, they will get a rematch with Syracuse, a team they beat in the Carrier Dome and there anything will be possible. Can Pitt make the Final Four? Yes. Will they? No. Pitt played extremely well in the Big East, but they don’t have the superstars this year, and that’s what you need to do well in this tournament.

The remaining top 4 seeds in this region are Kansas St, Pitt, and Vanderbilt.

I see this Elite Eight matchup being Syracuse-Kansas St. with Syracuse making its way to the Final Four.

Best first round matchup: Butler-UTEP or Xavier-Minnesota
Best potential matchup: Pitt-Kansas St.

Winner of this region: Syracuse

It will be a fun tournament to watch, we will bring you more in-depth Pitt coverage later in the week and perhaps some more tournament thoughts as Thursday gets closer. Have fun filling out your sheets and please leave your thoughts on the brackets on who you think will win each region and more.

It has just been announced that Pitt is a 3 seed in the West Region. They will play Oakland on Friday, time unannounced. If they win they will play on Sunday against either #6 Xavier or #11 Minnesota.

Look for an in depth look at the tournament after the selection show.