From East to West, Here's the Best

It's NCAA Basketball Tournament time, and we just couldn't resist a little commentary. People warned us to stop that slapping before someone got hurt. But we just couldn't help it. Here it is, by region:

East: If the Tar Heels finally realize that point guard Kenny Smith (16.9 points per game) is the man who should be taking the big shots, then North Carolina should win the East. Joe Wolf and Jeff Lebo are fine college shooters from the perimeter and freshman J.R. Reid can score with ease against less physical defenders, but Smith is the guy who should be netting 20 every game.

Syracuse has a good team without many weaknesses. Big men Rony Seikaly and Derrick Coleman thrived on posting up undersized (Villanova, Georgetown) or slow (St. John's, Providence) Big East counterparts. But Carolina is too strong in the middle to be exploited. Unless the Orange guards shine, Syracuse stands little chance.

In a couple of openers, look for Michigan over Navy, and Western Kentucky over West Virginia. David Robinson will dominate Michigan's weak inside and look good doing it, but look for some great athletes on the Wolverines to expose the overall mediocrity of the Midshipmen. Western Kentucky and its powerful front line is hot and could even give Syracuse a scare.

Southeast: Georgetown is the No 1 seed in the Southeast, and it will be tested early by Kentucky, which has the ball movement to evade the smothering defense of the Hoyas. Georgetown should make it by the Wildcats on the strength of its superior inside game, but an upset is not out of the question. The third round should be easier for G-Town, as Clemson (25-5) is fading and Kansas is downright unattractive after star Danny Manning.

The real strength of the Southeast lies in second- and third-seeded Alabama (26-4) and Illinois (23-7). Both have senior backcourt players who shoot well--often from three--in their triple-guard offenses. The guards for both teams can open up the middle for their big men, Derrick McKey and Ken Norman.

In one of the Tourney's high points, give the edge to 'Bama over the Illini, if only because McKey has, in Michael Ansley, the powerful frontcourt partner that Norman lacks. Look for Alabama to make it to New Orleans, beating a limited Georgetown team that won't find many weaknesses to exploit in the Tide.

Midwest: The only explanation for the Midwest regional is that someone wants Indiana and pretty boy Steve Alford to make the Final Four--bad. Why else would the NCAA put the two unproven top teams, Temple and Depaul, in the same regional? The sometimes brilliant play of Nate Blackwell makes Temple a threat. DePaul and Dallas Comegys, however, could easily be upset by St. John's if Mark Jackson plays at his peak rather than repeating his horror show versus Providence.

West: We all know UNLV's tournament history, but it just doesn't matter this year. No one in the top half of the West regional has the inside firepower to exploit UNLV's 6-ft., 8-in. 190-ib. Jarvis Basnight. Freddie Banks leads an offensive machine that has doubled the three-point output of any of the UNLV's early-round opponents, and the power game of Armon "Hammer" Gilliam (23.2 p.p.g., 9.3 r.p.g.) will put the nail in the coffin.

No. 4 UCLA will send top rebounder, 6-ft., 1-in. "Pooh" Richardson (5.0 r.p.g.), crashing the boards, while centers Jack Haley & Co. do whatever it is they do in lieu of scoring and rebounding. Look for a very early exit by the Bruins.

An Oklahoma-Pitt second-round matchup will feature two immensely talented but inconsistent teams. Oklahoma has the superior backcourt, and Darryl Kennedy and Harvey Grant can score with Pitt's outstanding front line. But Oklahoma's defensive lapses will probably tell in the end. Iowa (27-4) is tough, but Pitt, led by Jerome Lane (13.8 r.p.g.) is one team that can rebound with the Hawkeyes. If Curtis Aiken stops building houses from three-point range, the Panthers could go to the regional final.

Unfortunately, neither Pitt nor Iowa has the horses to take out UNLV. Banks and Wade will make either backcourt look inadequate, and unless Charles Smith takes it stronger than usual, UNLV's headed to New Orleans.

Don't you feel good, getting through all this? Have a Mars bar. Really.

Peter E. Scher contributed to this story.