Writing the Pine

Now a look at each of the matchups in the East:

1. #1 Kentucky Wildcats v. #16 East Tennessee State Buccaneers – John Wall should have his own personal SportsCenter Top 10 from this one.

2. #8 Texas Longhorns v. #9 Wake Forest Demon Deacons – Two pretty disappointing teams, with Texas being the more disappointing of the two.  The former #1 team in the nation lost their way, going 7-9 in their last 16 games after starting the season 17-0.  Wake Forest has been worse though, losing five of their last six.  I’m going with the Longhorns in this one and the oddsmakers seem to be with me on this one as they are favored by 4, the biggest spread of all the #8/#9 games.

3. #5 Temple Owls v. #12 Cornell Big Red - Upset special here.  Cornell is legit.  Ryan Wittman provides the outside threat for the Big Red and Jeff Foote, the 7-footer, the inside presence.  The Big Red and the Owls shared a common opponent this year, #1-ranked Kansas.  In fact, the Jayhawks played these two schools back-to-back: at Temple on January 2 and at the Phog on January 6.  Kansas beat both of them, but won by 32 against the Owls, and only by 5 against the Ivy Leaguers.

4. #4 Wisconsin Badgers v. #13 Wofford Terriers – I’m not really enamored with the Badgers but maybe that’s because I don’t like watching them play.  Their style of play is frustrating for me to watch and will be frustrating for the Terriers.

5. #6 Marquette Golden Eagles v. #11 Washington Huskies – Marquette is a pretty trendy sleeper pick but I’m going with the Huskies on this one.  The Pac-10 was down this year and Washington was pretty disappointing but they’re on a hot streak right now and I love the duo of Quincy Pondexter and Isaiah Thomas.

6. #3 New Mexico Lobos v. #14 Montana Grizzlies – Don’t look now but this mid-major team is ranked #10 in the country.  That’s right.  #10.  They have four players that average double-digit scoring, including the outstanding Darington Hobson who is averaging 16.2 ppg, 9.2 rpg, and 4.6 apg.

7. #7 Clemson Tigers v. #10 Missouri Tigers – Every year I think Clemson can make a run to the Sweet 16 and every year they fail me.  I’m going to pick them to win this game which means you should probably pick the Tigers.

8. #2 West Virginia Mountaineers v. #15 Morgan State Bears – I’m looking forward to a #2 v. #3 showdown between the Mountaineers and the Lobos.  I hope it happens.