Sean's Elite 8

USC is not supposed to be here, but they have won 2 tough games in a row with their athleticism and heart. Unfortunately, the 3 game tourney run will end Saturday. The Blue Devils had an awful shooting night against UCLA and were lucky to escape with a win as the final score did not indicate the closeness of the game. USC has the potential to upset again as they have the shooters and scrappers to do it, but I think Duke will rebound with an explosive shooting game sparked by the ridiculous abilities of PG Jason Williams and will capitalize on USC's tendency to turn the ball over. Duke wins a wild one over the Trojans.

This may be the best matchup of the tournament. It is East vs West with two similar teams. They both play a similarly balanced game and should provide some interesting matchups. The inside battle between Lonnie Baxter/Terence Morris and Jason Collins/Jarron Collins will determine the flow of this game as both teams flow inside-out. However, the outcome of the game will hinge on the play of Casey Jacobsen for Stanford and Juan Dixon for Maryland. They should both have scoring opportunities, but I think Jacobsen will win this matchup as he is playing more consistent basketball right now. Stanford will beat Maryland in a game that will come down to the wire.

It must be said that John Cheney deserves Coach of the Year consideration after bringing his team back from a 4-7 start to the Elite 8 of the NCAA tourney. His reward for this amazing feat...playing #1 seed Michigan St. This is a tough game for Temple as the Spartans are an extremely physical team which Gonzaga found out on Friday night. Lynn Grier is the spark for this Temple team, but I believe he will be neutralized by Charlie Bell and Marcus Taylor. Kevin Lyde-Andre Hutson will be an interesting matchup inside, but I believe MSU's frontcourt depth will help the Spartans win the paint battle. Michigan St. will bully their way to victory over the Owls.

Arizona didn't look very explosive against Mississippi scoring only 66 points while missing all 8 of their three point attempts. However, it did prove that they can win ugly and that is important as they will be playing a very physical Illinois team. The Fighting Illini just plain outmuscled and outhustled Kansas, and PG Frank Williams was a dominant force on both the offensive and defensive end of the floor. Jason Gardner is on a different level than Kansas point guard Kirk Hinrich and will provide a significant challenge for Williams. This game will be a war for 40 minutes, but I look for Arizona's superior team athleticism to be the difference and give the Wildcats a trip to the Final Four.