El Fuerto’s Tourney Preview (Part 2)

East

Teams To Beat

(1)Kentucky Wildcats
The Wildcats are 32-2 and have future NBA picks John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, Eric Bledsoe, and Patrick Patterson, but have some major questions. Most of this team has never played in the NCAA Tournament and they are prone to playing their age, as they average over 20 turnovers a game. Also, none of the other top seeds have a loss as bad as the South Carolina nightmare. While this team has Final Four potential, they could also find themselves heading back to Lexington before the weekend is over

(3)New Mexico Lobos
Steve Alford's squad is much more than the typical MWC pushovers of the past. They beat Cal, Texas A&M, and Dayton outside of conference and swept the Mormons in the Mountain West. I'm already looking forward to the Sweet 16 game between the Lobos and West Virginia, which would pit the nation's two worst NCAA Tournament coaches together, with Bob "Two and Out" Huggins vs Steve Alford, who lost to Northwestern St his last time in the Dance.

Sleeper Team

(8)Texas Longhorns
Its hard to remember, but this is the same Longhorns team that started off 17-0 and destroyed Pitt and Michigan St. They are led by hungry seniors Dexter Pittman and Damion James, and have one of the best coaches in the country in Rick Barnes. Plus, 2008 Memphis proved that you don't have to knock down free throws to win games. This is a dangerous squad who is definitely more than capable of giving Kentucky an early exit.

Upset Special
(13)Wofford Terriers over (4)Wisconsin Badgers
I know this is very unlikely (I actually have Wisconsin in the Final 4), but St X grad Brad Loesing will come ready to play in the Terriers first ever trip to the Big Dance. But seriously, try to find an upset in this region. A lot of people are taking Cornell over Temple, but mainly because the 5-12s suck and they feel an obligation to pick one. There's not going to be one.

Cinderella Spotlight

(15)Morgan St Bears
Any time a MEAC team avoids the play-in game it's cause for celebration. The Bears can score (81 points against Louisville, 97 against Arkansas) but gave up 80 points in a fourth of their games.

South

Teams To Beat

(1)Duke Blue Devils
There is a lot to like about Duke. They are ranked first in the Pomeroys, have the best coach in the country, are led by three seniors and two juniors, and have the NCAA's most efficient offense. Consider it a major surprise if the Blue Devils don't make it to Indy.

(2)Villanova Wildcats
They have been slipping lately, but look for Scottie Reynolds and Corey Fisher to get the team back on track. With an absolutely terrible region, the Wildcats could turn things around and make a Final 4 run.

Sleeper Team

(9)Louisville Cardinals
I think its safe to say that any team that sweeps Syracuse can make a run, and the Cardinals are definitely more than capable. With Edgar Sosa and the white Kyle Kuric, Louisville's backcourt can matchup with anyone. If Pitino's boys get hot, they could turn some real heads this week.

Upset Special

(13)Siena Saints over (4)Purdue Boilermakers
Honestly, is this even an upset? Purdue minus Hummel reminds me of Cincinnati minus K-Mart. Also, the Saints are very underseeded at 13. Eddie Ubiles, Alex Franklin, Ryan Rossiter, and Ronald "Onions" Moore are part of a solid group of upperclassmen that knocked Vanderbilt and Ohio St out of previous tourneys.

Cinderella Spotlight

(14)Sam Houston St Bearkats
The Kats are led by junior swingman Gilberto Clavell. I honestly know nothing about this guy, except he wear safety goggles which instantly make him 14 times cooler.

El Fuerto's Cinderella Previews

As an avid fan of college basketball who counts down to March every year, if I had to pick my favorite part of March Madness, it would probably be Bill Raftery's voice at 12:00 on the first Thursday. But, watching a tiny school slay a giant is up there too. These are the games where 10 years later, when all the players are used car salesmen, people still tell stories about them. Northwestern St over Iowa. Hampton over Iowa St. Winthrop over Notre Dame. Vermont over Syracuse. These are chances for a team nobody has ever heard of to knock out a team with title expectations on the first day. And a chance to ruin a lot of brackets, also. With that said, here is El Fuerto's list of nobodys who could potentially win a game or two next week.

Murray St At 30-4 the Racers are looking at a potential 12 seed. What makes this team so dangerous is their wide array of scoring options. Their starting five averages 10.6, 10.5, 10.4, 10.4, and 10.3 points per game. And their sixth man averages 9.5. While the Racers lack a big name win, they took Cal to the wire when they were ranked number 12.

Oakland Grizzlies coach Greg Kampe made news when he announced that the Sweet Sixteen was in the future for his Oakland squad following their win over IUPUI Tuesday night. It sounds very crazy for a team whose biggest win came against a 5 letter acronym, but Summit teams have put up fights in the past. Just ask a Jayhawks fan if North Dakota St was a walk in the park.

North Texas The Mean Green roll into the Big Dance with 11 straight wins, and opponents should watch out for a tough backcourt consisting of Juniors Josh White and Tristan Thomas.

Siena The Saints are technically a low-major team, but their recent results say otherwise. Siena has bounced Vanderbilt and Ohio St (ONIONS! DOUBLE ORDER!) from the tourney in the past two years. This years's version boasts superstars Alex Franklin, Eddie Ubiles, and Clarence Jackson, as well as Ronald Moore whose big time shots knocked out the Buckeyes last year. Look for the Saints to continue their big game dominance and play into the second weekend this year.

East Tennessee St The Buccaneers finally seem to have things together and look to be a dangerous matchup for a National Title contender. Tommy Hubbard is playing well down the stretch, but what makes the Bucs dangerous is their defense. ETSU is 14th in the country at forcing turnovers, and will bring a lot of pressure on whoever they get pitted against.