BRACKET BREAKDOWN
Colorful CBS College Sports Network analyst Pete Gillen, who coached Xavier to the Sweet 16 in 1990 and Providence to the Elite 8 in 1997, breaks down the NCAA Tournament exclusively for The Post, as told to Steve Serby.
I SEE about 10 teams that can win the championship – Louisville, Pittsburgh, Connecticut, Villanova, Michigan State, Memphis, Duke, North Carolina, Purdue and Syracuse.
I’m picking Louisville – they got the best frontline in college basketball, and they play great defense.
Possible Cinderellas: Cleveland State and Western Kentucky.
EAST
Villanova goes to the Final Four.
UCLA-Virginia Commonwealth: I think the defense and size of UCLA will prevail.
UCLA-Villanova: Villanova can really score, and UCLA still labors scoring. And UCLA is coming cross-country – they’re gonna hear a lot of boos in Philadelphia.
Florida State-Pittsburgh: Getting knocked out early in the Big East tournament helps Pittsburgh, but I think Florida State’s gonna upset ’em. Tony Douglas is a great guard, and they’ve got size inside to give DeJuan Blair some trouble.
Duke-Villanova: Duke lives and dies by the 3-pointer, and Dante Cunningham could have a big game inside. And Duke has had three different point guards.
Florida State-Villanova: I don’t think Florida State can shut down everybody. . . . Jay Wright’s got the four-piece suit, the mousse, the cologne . . . there’s a rumor he’s doing an endorsement for nose hair removal – just a rumor. That would definitely get the other coaches in the tournament nervous.
SOUTH
North Carolina goes to the Final Four.
LSU-Butler: Butler’s Brad Stevens looks like Bambi on ice, but he’s a great young coach. Butler’s not as athletic, but they’re a 3-point shooting team that’s very clever offensively – they’re like a poor man’s Davidson – and I’m picking them in an upset.
Arizona State-Temple: I think the difference is Arizona State’s matchup zone is gonna contain Dionte Christmas.
Arizona State-Syracuse: Jonny Flynn is lightning quick, can shoot 3s. He’s laughing, giggling and having a great time. I almost picked Syracuse to go to the Final Four . . . their run in the Big East might take a little energy out of them long-term.
Syracuse-North Carolina: Ty Lawson is probably the best in the country pushing the ball back at you.
MIDWEST
Louisville goes to the Final Four.
Ohio State-Siena: Siena’s very dangerous, but Ohio State’s zone is gonna take away the double penetration.
Arizona-Utah: Arizona can hurt you up the middle with a point (Nik Wise), a wing (Chase Budinger) and a center (Jordan Hall).
Boston College-USC: Boston College’s ball control against a slashing, athletic, one-on-one whirling dervish team. Tyrese Rice is one of the top three or four point guards in the tournament; he’s the difference.
Michigan State-Louisville: Michigan State’s outside shooting struggles against Louisville’s zone.
WEST
Memphis goes to the Final Four.
Cornell-Missouri: Cornell is preparing by studying the Gross National product of Uruguay . . . a very cerebral team. If they have a spelling bee or play “Who Wants to be a Millionaire,” I know Cornell would advance, but I think Missouri’s too much for them.
UConn-Memphis: There’s no love lost between these two guys – Jim Calhoun and John Calipari used to have a pretty strong rivalry there (when Calipari was at Massachusetts). Two great defensive teams – Hasheem Thabeet is like a goalie: He blocks out the moon. Memphis is the best defensive team in the last 20 years. And Tyreke Evans is the best freshman in the country.
FINAL FOUR
Louisville-Memphis: Battle of the Armani suits, Calipari and Rick Pitino. Memphis doesn’t shoot great from the perimeter – it’ll be a low-scoring game, like 56-50.
Villanova-North Carolina: Tyler Hansbrough inside and great guard play with Lawson and Wayne Ellington and Danny Green is like a wing guard.
CHAMPIONSHIP
North Carolina-Louisville: Louisville’s very athletic inside with Earl Clark so they can give Hansbrough some trouble. Carolina’s been criticized all year, their defense hasn’t been consistent.
