Shocks Galore in Store in the West

Syracuse was bumped to the fourth #1 seed but will this stop the Orange getting to Indy? Al Dannity says you discount Jim Boeheim’s team at your peril.

Bring on the Upsets
If you want shocks in the NCAA tournament this year then look West. In the first round the big one is #13 Murray State (+135) to beat #4 Vanderbilt (-160). The Racers shoot over 50 percent from the field and have a much better record on defense than the Commodores. Look for the efficient Murray State to pull of the shock of the weekend. They’ll be joined in the second round by #12 UTEP (+125) who will upset #5 Butler (-145). The Bulldogs haven’t been tested enough lately while UTEP was dominant against the much harder challenges the Miners found in Conference USA.

I’m also backing the call of Sports Interaction’s sports book for #9 Florida State (-120) to upset #8 Gonzaga (+100), the Seminoles seeding was hurt by playing in a weakened ACC but they played well in it and this is not the overachieving Gonzaga of previous years. Finally the trend of shocks will continue into the second round where I fancy BYU to take down an over-rated Kansas State.

The Beasts from the Big East
For all the potential shocks in the early rounds it’s hard to look past the big guns once the Sweet Sixteen comes around. By my predictions Syracuse will face UTEP, while the chalk pick has Vandy meeting the Orange. In either scenario Syracuse, with or without Arinze Onuaku, will be too strong for their opponents. Don’t read too much into the Orange’s last two defeats. A road loss in a meaningless game against a charging Louisville team and an early conference tournament exit when the #1 seed was already locked up hardly signal the Apocalypse. Expect the real Syracuse to show up once there is something on the line.

Pittsburgh meanwhile faces BYU in my forecast or Kansas State if it goes chalk. Again I fancy the Panthers in both situations. Pittsburgh finished second in the toughest conference in the nation and got pretty much no love for it. The tournament will see that righted and Pitt will put in some blue-collar performances to bully their way to the regional final.

Sweet Revenge for Syracuse
Pittsburgh gave Syracuse its first defeat of the season, Jim Boeheim will return the favor by giving the Panthers their last loss of 2010, and with it an Elite Eight exit. The Orange’s coach will be reminding his players of the 10-point shellacking dished out by Pitt in the Carrier Dome and I expect his team to do a lot worse to Pittsburgh in the regional final. This won’t be close and it will be ugly. Syracuse will make a statement as they march into the Final Four.

For all the College Basketball betting action in the West and all four regions of the NCAA tournament check out Sports Interaction’s online sports book.