Midwest Region

      It's the time of the year that everyone dreams of- Christmas! Well, not exactly. It is time for March Madness though as we start to kiss winter goodbye and move on to summer. Here are some tips for your bracket pool as we dive into the midwest region.

Louisville:
Louisville is the number 1 overall seed and is coming off a title win in the final Big East tournament. Louisville is an experienced team that reached the final four last season before falling to Kentucky. They are a favorite due to strong leadership in their backcourt from Russ Smith and Peyton Siva. Gorgui Dieng leads an impressive interior defense and is a strong rebounder averaging 9.9 RPG. Since suffering 3 straight losses in late January, Louisville has won 13 of 14 (with the loss occurring @Notre Dame in 5OT) and 11 straight. Rick Pitino is an experienced coach and Louisville is a legitimate contender for a championship.

Standing in the way:
Duke and Michigan State are obvious threats to Louisville in this region. Duke has only suffered one loss since the return of Ryan Kelly. They went undefeated in non-conference play and suffered 4 road losses in ACC play in addition to their loss to Maryland in the ACC tournament. Coach K will have the Dukies well-rested and refocused for a tournament run. They have something to prove this year as well, coming off a loss to Lehigh in last season's tourney as a 2 seed. Good news for Louisville: no team has ever won a national title after losing its first game in its conference tournament.

Michigan State has the Big Ten freshman of the year in Gary Harris leading the Spartans into the tournament. The Spartans can also expect production from their two big men down low in Adreian Payne and Derrick Nix. Keith Appling is their most experienced player. However, Appling has disappeared in Michigan State's four biggest games this season. One stat worth noting: Tom Izzo owns a 35-13 record in the NCAA tournament.

The rest:
Saint Louis has been very impressive out of the A-10, winning both the regular season and conference tournament titles. They have won 15 of their last 16 games. Oklahoma State has played Kansas tight this season and has one of the best players in the region in point guard Marcus Smart. The 6 seed Memphis went undefeated in conference play and 7 seed Creighton returns to the tournament with the nation's 2nd leading scorer, Doug McDermott (23.1 PPG). The 8-16 seeds in this region are probably the weakest of the field, but 12 seed Oregon is a team to look out for. The Ducks started the season hot and seem to be on the right track after winning the Pac-12 tournament this past weekend.

Verdict:
I like the upset. I like Duke to advance out of this bracket, but it is because I expect Louisville to stumble against Saint Louis. Louisville is one bad game from Peyton Siva away from an early exit. Duke advances to Atlanta by playing every game as the favorite.

Next up: West Region