2008 NCAA Tournament Midwest Bracket – Omaha Quads
March 20th & 22nd at the Quest Center in Omaha, Nebraska
Posted on March 17th by TD at Totals 4 You First Round – Thursday, March 20th
Game 1: Kansas vs. Portland State at 12:25 PM EST
Game 2: Nevada-Las Vegas vs. Kent State at 2:55 PM EST
Game 3: Southern California vs. Kansas State at 7:10 PM EST
Game 4: Wisconsin vs. Cal-State Fullerton at 9:40 PM EST
Second Round – Friday, March 21st
Game 5: Game 3 Winner vs. Game 4 Winner at 4:20 PM EST
Game 6: Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner at 6:50 PM EST
#1 Seed) Kansas: 31-3 season, 13-3 B12, 8-2 last 10, 11-3 away
RPI 7, 8-2 vs. RPI 50, SOS 50, 81.4 offense, 61.6 defense
#16 Seed) Portland State: 23-9, 14-2 BS, 9-1 last 10, 12-8 away
RPI 90, 0-2 vs. RPI 50, SOS 227, 74.3 offense, 67.5 defense
#8 Seed) Nevada Las-Vegas: 26-7, 15-4 MW, 8-2 last 10, 6-5 away
RPI 24, 2-3 vs. RPI 50, SOS 63, 70.1 offense, 62.1 defense
#9 Seed) Kent State: 28-6, 13-3 MAC, 9-1 last 10, 12-6 away
RPI 21, 2-2 vs. RPI 50, SOS 111, 69.2 offense, 61.6 defense #6 Seed) Southern California: 21-11, 12-8 P10, 6-4 last 10, 11-6 away
RPI 29, 4-8 vs. RPI 50, SOS 9, 69.1 offense, 63.2 defense
#11 Seed) Kansas State: 20-11, 10-6 B12, 4-6 last 10, 5-9 away
RPI 50, 3-6 vs. RPI 50, SOS 34, 78.7 offense, 68.9 defense
#3 Seed) Wisconsin: 29-4, 16-2 B10, 10-0 last 10, 13-2 away
RPI 11, 6-4 vs. RPI 50, SOS 61, 67.5 offense, 53.8 defense
#14 Seed) Cal-State Fullerton: 24-8, 12-4 BW, 9-1 last 10, 13-5 away
RPI 80, 0-2 vs. RPI 50, SOS 199, 82.6 offense, 72.7 defense
The Analysis: In the current NCAA Tournament setup, the winners of these two quads do not face off directly but rather move on to Ford Field in Detroit where the winner of the upper Omaha quad will play the winner of the Midwest Bracket’s Tampa quad while the winner of the lower Omaha quad will play the winner of the Midwest Bracket’s Raleigh quad.
In the upper quad, Kansas’s guard play and the resurging stardom of G/F Brandon Rush makes their first round match up with the Vikings little more than a decent tune up but the Jayhawks will need to be sharp to beat the winner of Nevada-Las Vegas vs. Kent State. The Rebels and the Golden Flashes pair for one of the First Round’s best match ups and we give the nod to Lon Kruger’s Las Vegas crew based on their superior continuity (Adams, Terry, Darger, and Bailey have started all 33 games), strong free throw shooting with a team mark of .744, and ball-handling advantages (488-399 assists, 261-147 steals, and 350-491 turnovers) over their opponents this season. If you are looking for a #1 Seed to fall early, the dark horse you want to ride is UNLV to the Sweet 16 in the Motor City.
In the lower quad, keep your dark horses in the stable. Michael Beasley is certainly the front-runner for NCAA Player of the Year honors but as a team, Kansas State is a one-dimensional puzzle that a battle-tested (9th toughest schedule in the nation) crew like Coach Tom Floyd’s Trojans can solve as they did in quality wins over San Diego, Miami-Florida, Oklahoma, UCLA, Oregon, Arizona, California, and Stanford. In the 3/14 match up, the 82.6 points per game racked up by Cal-State Fullerton as well as their 13-5 mark away from Titan Gym might make for a compelling discussion over cocktails but their 199th strength of schedule ranking should sober you up in a hurry. They may both dig in the dirt but the Anteaters of UC-Irvine, whom Fullerton beat for the Big West Conference Title, are not Badgers of Wisconsin. Only Purdue kept Whiskey from running the Big 10 table and Coach Bo Ryan’s unit’s defense, size, and guard play make Wisconsin a legitimate pick to reach San Antonio out of the Midwest Bracket.
NOTE: A new article will be posted each Wednesday throughout the season breaking down a major match up for the upcoming weekend. For now, enjoy the above and plan on checking out our weekly analysis all season long. T. D. @ Totals 4 You
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