Wesley Johnson has taken it to the rack many times for Syracuse since transferring from Iowa State, and has also propelled the Orange to the top seed in the West regional, the same regional they came out of in 2003 to win the national championship. (Photo courtesy of New York Daily News)Continuing on with our preview of the NCAA Tournament, let's take a look at the West regional.
Teams & Seeds: (1) Syracuse, (2) Kansas State, (3) Pittsburgh, (4) Vanderbilt, (5) Butler, (6) Xavier, (7) BYU, (8) Gonzaga, (9) Florida State, (10) Florida, (11) Minnesota, (12) UTEP, (13) Murray State, (14) Oakland, (15) North Texas, (16) Vermont
Players to Watch: Wes Johnson, (Syracuse) Andy Rautins, (Syracuse) Jacob Pullen, (Kansas State) A.J. Ogilvy, (Vanderbilt) Matt Howard, (Butler) Matt Bouldin (Gonzaga)
Highlight Matchup: The first-round clash between Xavier and Minnesota. Tubby Smith has always had his teams ready to pounce in the big dance since his days at Georgia, and the Golden Gophers come in off an inspiring showing at the Big Ten tournament, which was in Indianapolis, site of the Final Four.
Upset Special: Minnesota over Xavier. Even though the A-10 was a pleasant surprise this year, something tells me Minnesota will get over the hump against the Musketeers.
Marquee Coaches: Jim Boeheim, (Syracuse) Billy Donovan (Florida) and Smith. (Minnesota) Don't forget about Jamie Dixon, (Pitt) Brad Stevens, (Butler) or Mark Few (Gonzaga) either.
Winner: Syracuse. Even if the Orange do not have big man Arinze Onuaku for the opening weekend of the tournament, their 2-3 zone should stifle any opponent in what is an easy regional to play in.
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