The Hoops Junkie

 
Last week I previewed the West and made my predictions, which have been pretty decent so far as I had three of the four remaining teams in the region. I went with Vanderbilt instead of Butler, and actually had UTEP beating Butler in the first round. Here is what to look for in the West Region this weekend.

 
(1) Syracuse vs. (5) Butler

• Current Line - Syracuse minus 6.5
• KenPom Ratings – #4 Syracuse (7 on O, 17 on D) vs #17 Butler (50 on O, 10 on D)
• Probable Future NBA Players – Wesley Johnson (Syracuse), Kris Joseph (Syracuse), Gordon Hayward (Butler)
• Fringe NBA Players - Andy Rautins (Syracuse)
• The Pick – I probably underrated Butler a bit when I picked them to lose in the first round to UTEP. In the first half it looked like I would be right, but the Bulldogs played a great second half behind the hot shooting of Shelvin Mack. They definitely have a chance against the top seed Syracuse, who will once again be playing without their starting center, Arinze Onuaku, but it will take a great effort. Butler will need another solid defensive performace, and they’ll need to find a hot shooter or two to make 3’s over top of the Syracuse zone. This Butler team hasn’t shot the ball as well as some of their teams in the past though, and their best player, Gordon Hayward, has struggled with his outside shot for most of the season and for the first two games in the tourney. A better shooting night from Hayward is almost essential for Butler to score enough points to keep up with the more talented Syracuse squad. Syracuse has been inconsistent at times this season, but they played great last weekend, and I think they’ll do the same in this game against Butler and cruise to the regional final. Winner – Syracuse

 
(2) Kansas State vs. (6) Xavier

• Current Line - Kansas State minus 4.5
• KenPom Ratings – #6 Kansas State (14 on O, 14 on D) vs #15 Xavier (17 on O, 36 on D)
• Probable Future NBA Players – Jordan Crawford (Xavier)
• Fringe NBA Players - Jacob Pullen (Kansas St), Jamar Samuels (Kansas St), Wally Judge (Kansas St)
• The Pick - I already previewed this game last week as I predicted that these two teams would play eachother in the Sweet 16. Nothing has made me change my mind on my pick either. I think it will be closer than the 71-56 Kansas State victory earlier in the season, especially Jordan Crawford from Xavier keeps his hot hand going, but in the end, I still like Kansas State to win. Winner – Kansas State

 
For the regional final, I’m sticking with my original prediction, that Syracuse and Kansas State will battle it out, and that Syracuse will previal and move on to the Final Four.

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