Bracket Breakdown: South

The South regional really is South this year. As in, South Texas. One of these teams will go through the Alamodome in San Antonio on the way to the Final Four.

That juggernaut of college athletics, The Ohio State University, finds itself as the #1 seed in this regional. They have a first round game with Central Connecticut State, the Nutmeg State's only representative in this tournament (UConn is missing this year). tOSU has little trouble in this one.

The Buckeyes find themselves in a tight ticket market in 22,000 seat Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky. One reason is that nearby Xavier of Cincinnati is the 9th seed, playing #8 BYU. BYU won the regular season championship in the Mountain West. Beware of the X Men. Jesuits over Mormons in this one.

The Big Orange of Tennessee are also in this regional, traveling to Columbus to play Long Beach State. CSULB coach Larry Reynolds is coaching for a job, as his contract expires after the tournament. He could possibly get a better job after this tournament. The Beach will give Tennessee all they want. But, just as last year, the Vols hang on for a first-round win.

The Virginia Cavaliers moved into a new arena this season, and finished near the top of the ACC, blowing a chance to win the regular season on the final day. UVa finds itself as a #4 seed opposite the Great Danes of the University at Albany, State University of New York. Albany almost upset UConn in last year's tournament. I look for them to finish the job, and pull the upset here.

Another reason for the tight ticket market is the return of Rick Pitino to Lexington, as his Louisville Cardinals make the 80-mile trip down I-64 to play the Stanford Cardinal. Stanford went 10-8 in a tough Pac-10. I think they're one and done here, though, as U of L should handle the Trees. Oops, I meant Cardinal.

The other game in Lexington gives us the Fightin' Texas Aggies and the Penn Quakers. Aggies vs. Ivy League, hmmm? Give me the Aggies.

Down in New Orleans, the Wolf Pack of Nevada get a tough matchup with the Creighton Bluejays. This will be a good one. Give me Nick Fazekas and Nevada.

Awaiting them will be Memphis. The Tigers rolled undefeated through Conference USA, barely breaking a sweat. Their matchup with North Texas will be no different. It's good for the Mean Green to be here, but this won't be pretty. Give me Elvis, and give me Memphis.

In the next round, Ohio State and coach Thad Matta get a matchup with his former school, Xavier. The X-Men will be hungry, and will play tOSU tough. But, there's only one Greg Oden, and he wears scarlet and gray. Ohio State wins this one.

TOSU gets to play Tennessee, winners over a valiant UAlbany squad.

The Texas Aggies run into a buzzsaw in Lexington, as Louisville has a virtual homecourt advantage. However, the Ags won at the Phog over Kansas, and they'll win over U of L in the Bluegrass.

The Ags become beneficiaries of an upset, as Memphis finally falls. They've won too many games in a row, and a 22 game winning streak comes to an end at the hands of Nick Fazekas and Nevada.

So, down by the Riverwalk, tOSU handles the Big Orange of Tennessee. The Aggies, who barely knew what a basketball was only three years ago, pack the Alamodome, and dispatch Nevada.

This sets up a battle between tOSU and the Fightin' Texas Aggies. This will be a low-scoring close game, but the Buckeyes come through in the Year of Greg Oden. Bucks to Atlanta..