2009 NCAA Bracket Advice: West

Key to the region...
Freshman point guards. That phrase sends shivers down the leg of many a bracketologist as the intensity of the post season can often prove to be too much for even the most talented of playmakers. The top five seeds in this region have a legitimate shot to reach the final four and three of those squads, Memphis, Washington and Purdue start a frosh at lead guard. Tyreke Evans and Isaiah Thomas are the leading scorers for Memphis and Washington respectively while Purdue's Lewis Jackson leads the Boilermakers in assists.

First round upsets:
No big shockers in this region, but I'll go with the 10th seeded Maryland Terrapins over #7 Cal Bears in a matchup of perimeter oriented teams. Do-everything point guard Greivis Vasquez leads the team in nearly every category, including driving the Terrapins fans crazy with his at-times poor decision making. Yet he has taken his game to another level over the second half of the season, posting a triple-double in the upset win over UNC, as has 3-point shooting sixth-man Eric Hayes. A confident Terps squad gets by Jerome Randle and the Cal Bears in an upset in seed only.

Best player you never heard of:
Utah State forward and WAC Player of the Year Gary Wilkinson is not your ordinary college basketball player. He was cut from his high school team, dropped out of high school altogether and did not return to the hard courts until after a two-year Mormon mission. Now 26, the 6-9, 240 pound Wilkinson used his assortment of post moves to score double digits in 23 of his last 25 games for the 30-4 Aggies and his 17.1 points and 6.9 rebounds per game averages led the team.

Others:
JaJuan Johnson, Purdue; Landon Milbourne, Maryland; Jarvis Varnardo, Mississippi State;

Sweet 16 matchups:
Purdue over Connecticut, Memphis over Missouri. UConn has not looked as formidable without injured forward Jerome Dyson and the Boilermakers ability to spread the court and score from long range, combined with emerging inside force JaJuan Johnson, will offset the defensive presence of Huskies center Hasheem Thabeet. The battle of Tigers should be the most entertaining game this round and perhaps the entire tournament with both teams pressing all game long in what could be Evans' toughest test, but the overall experience on his side should have them advancing.

And going to the Final Four...
Memphis. My least confident final four pick. I was inclined to pick against the Tigers before the brackets were announced, not believing that this roster was as strong as previous versions. Those past teams were so dominant that it did not matter that the Tigers essentially took a break during conference play. Despite the dynamic Evans, this crew lacks the offensive firepower that those teams had at the ready. However, Memphis may be the best defensive team in the country and John Calipari will have his underappreciated group motivated for another long run, one that has them enveloping the Boilermakers in a 78-68 win.