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2008 NCAA Tournament Predictions - West Region
Need some help filling out your bracket? Well here is our in-depth look at the West Region and who we think will be dancing all the way to the Final Four. The bracket is headed by two powerhouses in #1 seed UCLA Bruins and the #2 seeded Duke Blue Devils. The region has some other very interesting teams, as no one knows how Drake will play as the #5 seed, and can UCONN and Purdue bounce back off some tough conference tournament losses. Xavier landed the #3 seed and its unclear how their play in the Atlantic 10 will translate to success in the NCAA Tournament. We broke up the bracket and picked each game and then set up the Elite 8 match up for the chance to head to San Antonio for the Final Four.
Top Half
There won’t be any surprises in #1 UCLA’s first two games as they will take care of business in the 1st round, and take down a tough #9 Texas A&M team in round 2. It seems that there is always a #12 seed to take down a #5 seed, and its going to happen when #12 Western Kentucky takes down the Missouri Valley Champion #5 Drake Bulldogs. #4 UCONN should have an easy road to a match up with UCLA in the Sweet 16. While we were high on UCONN earlier in the season, we don’t think they are playing the type of basketball to get it done against UCLA, as the Bruins will make their way to the Elite 8.
Bottom Half
#2 Duke will have no problem taking care of the #15 Belmont and will square off in a dangerous 2nd round match up with #10 Arizona who will upset #7 West Virginia. Duke should be able to take care of business and squeeze by the Wildcats. #6 Purdue will avoid the upset over #11 Baylor, as will #3 Xavier over a Georgia team that had one of the best SEC tournament runs ever. We like Purdue in the upset here over Xavier setting up a match up against Duke in the Sweet 16. In what will be a closer game than many people think we like Duke to squeak by with the win.
Final 2
In an ACC vs. Pac 10 showdown for the chance to move to the Final Four will see UCLA and Duke squaring off in Phoenix, AZ. While the Bruins are coming in as one of the hottest teams winning 10 games in a row, Duke has struggled down the stretch losing 4 out of their last 10 games. One other factor that has us picking the Bruins is that they will be able to dominate Duke down low the same way that North Carolina did with Tyler Hansbrough. So take the #1 seeded Bruins all the way to the Final Four as they have one of the easiest roads out of all the #1 seeds.
If you haven’t taken the opportunity to sign up for our NCAA Tournament Bracket Contest make sure and get signed up today before it’s to late and the games are under way. There will be prizes for those finishing in the Top 3 and a special bonus for anyone who can beat Jimmy himself in the challenge. Also, continue to check back for more tournament information and our Final Four Predictions along with who we believe will be cutting down the nets in 2008.
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