2010 NCAA Bracket Picks: West Region
It’s time to find out the way the West will be won with all roads to the Final Four likely going through No. 1 seed Syracuse. The Orange appear poised to punch their ticket to the Final Four as they are featured in arguably the weakest region. But let’s see how I have things playing out. Without any further ado, here’s my bracket picks by round for the West (note: these are initial leans so make sure you check out my expert basketball picks for actual plays on the games). If you’re looking for a great bonus to use to bet on this season’s tournament, check out Sports Interaction where you can make a $116 deposit and get a free $116 bonus to bet with!
Round One: The last time Vermont made the tournament was in 2005 when the Catamounts shocked Syracuse in the first round as a No. 13 seed. Don’t think for a minute that Jim Boeheim will let his boys forget about that. No. 1 seed Syracuse will move on over No. 16 seed Vermont. In the No. 8 versus No. 9 game, I’ll take Gonzaga over Florida State. Matt Bouldin is a great floor general for the Zags and Elias Harris can also really play. There is usually a No. 12 seed over a No. 5 seed upset and I think this year’s will come in the West with UTEP edging out Butler. No. 4 seed Vanderbilt should get past No. 13 Murray State, but this one will likely be no picnic. No. 11 seed Minnesota comes in playing very well. It upset both Michigan State and Purdue in the Big Ten Tournament before running out of gas against Ohio State. Look for the Gophers to continue their solid play with a win over No. 6 seed Xavier. I’ll take No. 4 seed Pittsburgh over No. 14 seed Oakland and I’ll take No. 10 seed Florida to pull off the small upset over No. 7 seed BYU. And lastly, No. 2 seed Kansas State will take care of business against No. 15 seed North Texas.
Round Two: Gonzaga can give the Orange a test, but ultimately I think the Syracuse zone and the talent level of guys like Wesley Johnson will prove to be too much even if Arinze Onuaku isn’t able to go. Vandy bowed out early in 2008, losing to No. 13 seed Siena, but I look for the Commodores to keep right on trucking to the Sweet 16 this time around with a win over UTEP. Pittsburgh should move past Minnesota and K-State should take care of Florida.
Sweet 16: Syracuse proved that it can win on the road during the season so it should have no trouble navigating through the field out West. Vandy wasn’t able to defeat Kentucky this season, and I don’t think the Commodores will have quite enough to defeat the Orange either. Good guard play is essential to making a deep run this time of year and the Wildcats of Kansas State have plenty of it with Jacob Pullen and Denis Clemente. This backcourt will be the difference against the Pitt Panthers.
Elite 8: While Kansas State is very talented, it does rely on perimeter scoring too heavily. I think this opens the door for a much more balanced Syracuse team to cut down the nets and march on to the Final Four.
No handicapper has proven to be better at beating the NCAA basketball odds this time of year. Last year, Jimmy was a World’s Best 51-24 (68%) with his NCAAB releases from March 1 through the NCAA Championship Game, including an Unmatched 19-7 (73%) showing in the Big Dance! Those who did their basketball betting with him in this year’s conference tournaments went 13-2 with a 10-1 finish. Make sure Jimmy’s on your side this March!
