Here's the CBS SouthEast breakdown:
http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/story/14808210/southeast-pittsburgh-ready-to-pounce-but-watch-for-others?tag=contentMain;contentBodyEvery year one region gets an early upset which in turn produces a series of wide-open and unpredictable games. An early look at the pairings suggests that the most likely place for March Madness this year is in the Southeast Regional. The regional that will be played in New Orleans offers at least six teams that have a reasonable chance of making the Final Four, and another four capable of making the regional final.
Pittsburgh is the No. 1 seed and the obvious early favorite, but as the Panthers showcased in the Big East tournament, it is capable of dropping games to inferior opponents. The region is full of players (Jimmer Fredette, Jacob Pullen, Jordan Taylor) who could carry a team on a surprising four-game run to Houston. Throw in two coaches with multiple March success on their resume (Tom Izzo and Billy Donovan), three mid-major darlings (Butler, Old Dominion and Gonzaga) and the most successful college program in history (UCLA) and the Southeast Regional is a perfect mix for March entertainment.
Three main storylines:
1. Is this finally the year for Pitt?: Few teams have had more regular-season success the past five years than Pittsburgh. But Panthers fans still are waiting for that first Final Four appearance. Even though the 2009 Pittsburgh team came within one Scotty Reynolds drive of hitting the goal, none of Jamie Dixon's teams has been better situated to make a deep run than this group. Pitt finally has veteran offensive weapons to go along with their trademark defensive intensity, giving them a perfect tournament makeup. Throw in the good fortune of the easiest bracket in the field, and Pittsburgh seems on the verge of finally making the tournament's third weekend.
2. The Jimmer Show: Jimmer Fredette was without question the game's top star this season. His ability to shoot at a torrid pace and play with an understated flair gained Jimmer a legion of followers from all over America, and even caused the most hardened hoops blogger to become a little giddy in the process. When his Cougars were rolling only a few weeks ago, it seemed that Jimmer could take his show all the way to the Final Four. And after an honor code violation became the No. 1 punch line on the late night talk show circuit, the prognosis doesn't seem quite as bright. But Fredette's 52 points in the MWC tournament showcases that he still has the ability to dazzle, and a couple of magical performances over the next couple of weeks could move him from college basketball star to pop culture phenomenon.
3. Can Izzo do it again? You go ahead and write Tom Izzo off. Make note of the fact that his Michigan State Spartans have 14 losses, including an eye-bleeding Big Ten tourney semifinal loss to Penn State. I prefer to recognize that this is March. And in March, no one is better than Tom Izzo, especially when you have counted him and his team out of the equation. The road isn't easy for Michigan State, opening with UCLA and Florida, but it also contains no obvious insurmountable road blocks. I am not saying he is headed to another Final Four, but I certainly wouldn't count him out.
Southeast Regional Picks:
Who will win: Pittsburgh: This is finally the year Dixon's team translates all the regular-season success into a Final Four trip. This Pittsburgh team is more able to compete against multiple styles and they will see no team that can play up tempo enough to exploit its one obvious weakness. The Panthers couldn't have asked for a better 2-3-4 seed combo than Florida-BYU-Wisconsin and they hold significant matchup advantages over all three. This is the year of the Panther.
Southeast Regional
Columns
Clark Judge Matt Norlander
No. 1 seed Pittsburgh: 10 things to know Read >>
Related links
* Pittsburgh receives top seed
* Norlander: Five must-see first-round games
* No. 3 BYU matches highest seed
* Brackets: Viewable | Printable | Experts
* Bracket Science: Seed guide | Key indicators
* Eye on College Basketball blog
* Tourney history | Year-by-year | Seeds
Regional coverage
* East | West | Southeast | Southwest
Video
* Southeast Regional unveiled: Pitt No. 1
* Possible March Madness upsets
Dark-horse pick: Kansas State: The one team that Jamie Dixon probably doesn't want to see in the Sweet 16 is Kansas State. The combination of Kansas State's top-flight athleticism and the scoring prowess of Jacob Pullen make the Wildcats the type of team that could give Pittsburgh fits. When Pullen plays at a high level, as he did over the past few weeks of the season, Kansas State has one of the most talented starting lineups in America. Inconsistency and defensive lapses have plagued Kansas State all season, but with Pullen in his last go-around, Kansas State's focus should improve. In a wide open region, you sometimes go with the hot hand. Pullen could easily fill that role.
Most likely upset: Utah State over Kansas State: That's right. Kansas State also has the best chance to fall victim to a first-round upset. Utah State has been closing in on a breakthrough tournament win the past few years and this year's team is poised to make it happen. With Kansas State's feast or famine play, I have the Wildcats picked to either make the Final Four or lose in the first game. Neither result would surprise me.
Best mascot: UC Santa-Barbara (Gauchos): A gaucho is a South American cowboy, meaning UCSB comes to the NCAA tournament with a bit more flair than their opponents. The mascot has shades of a Spanish Hamburgler, and when compared to the more simplistic Gators, Panthers and Badgers, it clearly will dominate the mascot club scene in the Southeast regional.
Best guard: Jimmer Fredette (BYU): Fredette can score many ways and essentially is un-guardable by one player. The best a team can do is lock down his teammates and hope Jimmer attempts to do too much to help his team win. But when he is locked in, the Jimmer Show is a thing of beauty. Expect it to see magic happen at least once during the Cougars' tournament run.
Best post player: Matt Howard (Butler): The region is filled with a lot of great perimeter play, but little in the way of interior threats. Howard gets the nod because of his tournament experience and the crucial role he plays in his team's success. When Butler played well at the end of the regular season, it was because Howard was consistently solid. Butler's draw is deadly, with Old Dominion followed by Pittsburgh, but with Howard's experience should keep Butler in every game it plays.
Best coach: Tom Izzo: Every year it is the same story. Michigan State struggles through some part of the regular season. The pundits say Michigan State isn't a contender. Then comes the postseason, and Izzo has his team playing its best ball of the year and a Final Four often follows. If I were starting a program tomorrow, Tom Izzo would be among my first three coaching choices. He is the best coach in the region and has one of the most dangerous 14-loss, 10 seeds in the history of the event.
Best reputation: UCLA Eleven national championships and the best NCAA tournament history of any team in the game. John Wooden is a coaching legend, players who have worn the uniform are a who's who of college basketball and Sam Gilbert tied up the loose ends (I kid because I love). When you think college basketball, you think six programs, one of which is UCLA (the others are Kentucky, North Carolina, Duke, Kansas and Indiana).
Five stars on display
Jimmer Fredette (BYU): When you watch a Jimmer game, count how many times the announcers try to compare him to some star of their youth. Fredette has a game that almost requires people to compare him to someone, that is usually (a) old, and (b) their childhood hero. If you want to have fun, take a shot with your friends every time you hear Pete Maravich in a sentence used with Jimmer. Just make sure you don't have anywhere to be afterward.
Jacob Pullen (Kansas State):
No one player turned the fortune of his team around more dramatically than Pullen. Not only does the Kansas State guard have the best facial hair, but when he gets rolling, he is absolutely unstoppable. The best mix of an inside/outside scoring perimeter guard in America and a player who can lead his team on his back to the Final Four.
Dwight Hardy (St. John's): No player hit bigger shots more often than Hardy, who helped the Johnnies win five games over ranked opponents on their home floor. Hardy made himself a future NBA player by stepping up his game and his leadership role, which had made him one of my favorite players in America. In any other region, he would be the most dynamic scorer, but he is in a loaded bracket individually here.
Jordan Taylor (Wisconsin): For 10-minute spurts, no player in America looks better than Taylor. When Jordan Taylor runs the offense to perfection, Wisconsin is one of the most efficient teams in the country. And Taylor becomes one of the best players. Consistency is the key, and if Taylor finds it Wisconsin is as good as any team in this region.
Chandler Parsons (Florida): As Parsons goes, so goes Florida. The SEC Player of the Year is the centerpiece of the Gators and can score in a multitude of ways. As the year went on, Parsons lost his outside shot, but has instead focused on scoring via offensive rebounds and a mid-range game. It isn't always clear how Parsons is effective but if Florida is to live up to its lofty seeding, he must play big in every game.
Five random notes
1. The return of Steve Lavin: College basketball is better when St. John's is playing at a high level and the same is true for its charismatic coach as well. Steve Lavin is a contender for national coach of the year because he took a group of experienced seniors and got them to reach a level higher than they had earlier in the season. Lavin had the Garden rocking again and is in a region where his team's propensity to knock off higher ranked foes could lead to a deep tournament run.
2. Florida gets a seeding break: There is no argument to justify Florida being given a No. 2 seed. Gene Smith basically admitted that the committee locked the Gators in as a No. 2 seed before the SEC tournament final on Sunday afternoon, which makes sense as no one would have placed Florida there after the egg the Gators dropped against Kentucky. Now with the fortuitous placement, the Gators must try and take advantage, something they didn't do in 2003, when they were placed in Tampa as a 2 seed and were upset by Michigan State in the second round.
3. Gonzaga as underdog again: A decade ago, Gonzaga was everyone's lovable spunky upstart, ready to go into another NCAA tournament and play with one of the big boys. But then slowly the Zags became a big boy and went from a team that could surprise to a team that continually disappointed. Early exits and disappointing flameouts made most of America sour on a team that at one time looked like the country's darling from the Pacific Northwest. Now the Zags are back as an underdog again, an 11 seed playing a team from big bad New York City. With no expectations, can our old Zags return and give us a non-BCS school to rally around again?
4. 3-4-5 seeds on upset alert: The most likely big upsets of the tournament always take place in the 3-4-5 seed range, but the Southeast Regional seems especially susceptible to a couple of shockers. We already mentioned Utah State and Kansas State, but BYU and Wisconsin should be on heightened upset alert as well. BYU is a team that Wofford can stay with athletically, and if Jimmer hits a cold night it could come down to the wire. And Belmont was everyone's sexy pick to pull off an early upset. Wisconsin is a tough draw, as their poise makes an upset more difficult. But a Belmont pick will be a popular one, and from strictly a talent standpoint the two teams are not dramatically far apart.
5. UNC Asheville knowledge: UNC Asheville still holds the NCAA record for tallest player to ever compete in an NCAA game. Kenny George stood 7'7" and before his injuries, was very effective during his career. This Asheville team has no such height but does list on its website that its two most famous alumni are both meteorologists. Smart money says that both facts will at some point be spoken by Jim Nantz, Clark Kellogg and Steve Kerr in the game on Tuesday night.
The Southeast Regional figures to be wildly unpredictable. When you are filling out your bracket, this is the region to pick a flier. Pittsburgh is my pick to win the region, but if the Panthers, Florida, Wisconsin, Kansas State, BYU, Michigan State, UCLA or St. John's won, I would not be surprised. New Orleans will be completely unpredictable and thus the most entertaining, if not best-played, regional in the tournament.
