Posted on 3/26/2008 7:05:55 PM

NCAA March Madness Betting - South and West Brackets

By D.S Williamson

The Sweet 16 begins tomorrow and that means that we need to take a look at the two most intriguing brackets in the NCAA Tournament, the West and the South.

Right now, the West looks like a mess with the 1, 3, 7 and 12 seeds all advancing. Neither the 1 seeded UCLA Bruins nor the 3 seeded Xavier Musketeers have looked all that impressive so far during this tournament. Xavier was all out to beat Georgia and then all out to beat Purdue. UCLA struggled against the Texas A & M Aggies before beating them by two points.

In the South Bracket the story is sort of the same. The 1, 2, 3, and 5 seeds have prevailed in the South Bracket but that doesn’t tell the whole story. Memphis was okay against the 8th seeded Mississippi State Bulldogs in their last game. Texas had to hang on for dear life against the 7th seeded Miami Florida Hurricanes.

Let’s take a look at each game and then make some weekend predictions.

West Bracket

Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (12) vs. UCLA Bruins (1) - - The line in this game is absolutely ridiculous. I’ve already written that I like the Hilltoppers to beat the BetUS spread. That’s a given since the BetUS spread is 12.5 points. UCLA is a great team, but they don’t cover every game all of the time and I’m impressed by Western Kentucky’s guard play. I like the Hilltoppers to beat the spread, but I don’t like the Hilltoppers to pull the upset. UCLA will win the game.

Straight-up: UCLA Bruins

Against the Spread: Western Kentucky Hilltoppers

West Virginia Mountaineers (7) vs. Xavier Musketeers (3) - - West Virginia has been impressive in this tournament. They beat Arizona easily and then beat Duke pretty easily. Beating Arizona is one thing. Beating the Blue Devils cannot be discounted even though the Blue Devils haven’t been all that good in the NCAA Tournament the past few years. Xavier is a good team, but I’m not sold on them. I think that they lose against the Mountaineers both straight-up and against the spread. The BetUS spread is only 1 point. That tells you how difficult this game is to handicap.

Straight-up: West Virginia Mountaineers

Great Eight Game Prediction

West Virginia Mountaineers (7) vs. UCLA Bruins (1) - - This is probably the worst match-up imaginable for the UCLA Bruins. No matter how many points UCLA beats Western Kentucky by, if the Mountaineers find a way to upset Xavier, then I don’t believe that this game will be more than UCLA – 8 or – 8.5. The Mountaineers are a very good team. With that sort of BetUS spread, I’d have to take the Mountaineers. But, again, the Bruins win the game. There is no answer in this tournament for UCLA center Kevin Love.

Straight-up: UCLA Bruins

Against the Spread: West Virginia Mountaineers

South Bracket

Stanford Cardinal (3) vs. Texas Longhorns (2) - - The BetUS line is Texas by 3.5 points. I actually like the Longhorns in this game. They have A.J. Abrams and D.J. Augustin. The Cardinal doesn’t have a guard close to either one of those guys. The Lopez brothers are good, okay? I admit it. They’re funny dudes, but they are good players. They aren’t, however, good enough to bring the Cardinal a win in this one. I expect Texas to swipe the ball away from the Cardinal up to around 15 times in this game. You can’t win after committing 15 turnovers.

Straight-up: Texas Longhorns

Against the Spread: Texas Longhorns

Michigan State Spartans (5) vs. Memphis Tigers (1) - - I’m not sold on the Tigers D. The BetUS line has Memphis favored by 4.5 points. That’s a good spread. In fact I’m calling the upset straight-up in this one. I think that Drew Neitzel and Raymar Morgan and Kalin Lucas are good enough to beat the mighty Tigers. Michigan State looks like the best upset in this bracket. Memphis has talent but that talent doesn’t always play as well together as it should. State is ready to go all the way.

Straight-up: Michigan State Spartans

Against the Spread: Michigan State Spartans

Great Eight Game Prediction

Michigan State Spartans (5) vs. Texas Longhorns (2) - - Michigan State is that sort of Tom Izzo team that just looks like they will make the Final Four. There are a lot of seniors on their roster, they have terrific guard play, and a serviceable forward in Raymar Morgan. Nobody is better at game-planning then Izzo. Texas is a very good team, but they aren’t a great team. They rely too much on Augustin and Abrams and losing that huge lead to Miami FL tells me that this team can go cold once in a while. The Spartans should frustrate the Longhorns in this one with their excellent defense and because the Longhorns will no doubt be favored, the Spartans should beat the BetUS spread as well as providing a nice money-line win.

Straight-up: Michigan State Spartans

Against the Spread: Michigan State Spartans

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