Plenty to look forward to in Big Dance

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Having trouble with your bracket? The State News is on the job. Men’s basketball reporters Alex Altman and Cash Kruth dissect this year’s field of 65.

Midwest Region

Alex’s pick — Louisville. The Spartans make another respectable run, but they trip and fall against a Louisville team that looks poised to win the championship. The Cardinals have everything you look for in a tournament team, and they have them in spades: balanced scoring, great defense and a seasoned coach. Louisville’s zone defense and pesky full-court press fluster an MSU team that has been prone to turnovers.

Cash’s pick — MSU. Yes, I’m going with the Spartans to go to the Final Four. I’m not a fan of Louisville, which I have losing to a very quick Wake Forest team in the Sweet 16. The only other top team I see with the potential to go deep is Kansas.

Alex’s sleeper — West Virginia: I really like this West Virginia team, especially forward Devin Ebanks and forward Da’Sean Butler. The Mountaineers are tough as nails, a reflection of head coach Bob Huggins.

Cash’s sleeper — West Virginia. Just like Alex and everybody else around the country.

Alex’s upset special — No. 12 Arizona over No. 5 Utah and No. 4 Wake Forest. Forward Jordan Hill is the best player nobody outside Pac-10 country knows, averaging 18.5 points and 11 rebounds. If they can clamp down on defense.

Cash’s upset special — No. 6 West Virginia over No. 3 Kansas. If you call a six seed over a three seed an upset.

East Region

Alex’s pick — Pittsburgh. Of all the teams in the field, Pittsburgh has the easiest route to the Final Four. I just don’t see one team in this region that can match its physicality up front. Duke and Villanova are dangerous squads to be sure, but neither have the bodies to neutralize DeJuan Blair or Sam Young.

Cash’s pick — Pittsburgh. The big three of Levance Fields, Blair and Young will lead one of the most overrated teams in the nation down the easiest road to Ford Field.

Alex’s sleeper — Tennessee. The Volunteers underachieved during the regular season, but they have a deep pool of talent and do a nice job of imposing their frenetic style onto their opponents.

Cash’s sleeper — UCLA. Lots of analysts out there think Virginia Commonwealth will upset the Bruins in the first round. I don’t buy it.

Alex’s upset special — No. 5 Florida State over No. 4 Xavier. There’s a lot of chatter about Texas making a run, but I don’t buy it. There’s a reason the Longhorns finished with seven losses in a deplorable Big 12. I think No. 5 Florida State will pull an upset — if you would call it that — over No. 4 Xavier.

Cash’s upset special — No. 7 Texas over No. 2 Duke. Texas’ A.J. Abrams will go off on the Blue Devils, which have been extremely over-hyped all season.

South Region

Alex’s pick — Syracuse: Yes, I’m going with four Big East teams. All season, I’ve really liked this Syracuse team, especially guard Jonny Flynn. Flynn can score with the best of them, as displayed during the Big East Tournament. Fatigue could be an issue, but the Orange have the goods to make a run.

Cash’s pick — North Carolina*. The asterisk is there for one reason and one reason only — Ty Lawson’s toe. If it’s good to go, the Tar Heels should breeze to the Final Four. If Lawson’s toe is troublesome, Oklahoma will come out of the region after a tough Sweet 16 matchup against Syracuse.

Alex’s sleeper — Syracuse. If any team can exploit Lawson’s injury, it’s Syracuse, which if all goes to plan, will butt heads with the Tar Heels in the Elite Eight.

Cash’s sleeper — Syracuse. The Orange showed a lot of meddle in the Big East Tournament and Flynn, Eric Devendorf and company have the potential to knock out both Oklahoma and North Carolina.

Alex’s upset special — No. 11 Temple over No. 6 Arizona State — I have great respect for James Harden as a scorer but very little respect for the Pac-10. Temple’s Dionte Christmas is primed to get out of the first round this year.

Cash’s upset special — No. 12 Western Kentucky over No. 5 Illinois and No. 4 Gonzaga. The Illini aren’t the same team without Chester Frazier, while the Bulldogs will run into the latest version of themselves.

West Region

Alex’s pick — Connecticut: The loss of Jerome Dyson is a setback, but Connecticut has the personnel to overcome his absence. The Huskies are deep, versatile and have an unquestioned leader in Hasheem Thabeet.

Cash’s pick — Memphis. The Tigers aren’t anywhere close to as good as last year and anyone who thinks they deserved a No. 1 seed is crazy. Still, I have No. 1 seed Connecticut falling early, and I can’t bring myself to put two Big Ten teams (MSU and Purdue) in the Final Four.

Alex’s sleeper — Purdue. After a lackluster regular season, Purdue is finally hitting its stride.

Cash’s sleeper — Maryland. The Terrapins have star power (Greivis Vasquez), a heck of a coach (Gary Williams) and have already knocked off better teams (MSU, North Carolina and Wake Forest) this season.

Alex’s upset special — No. 6 Marquette over No. 3 Missouri. No team has endured more misfortune the last few weeks than Marquette. Despite the loss of Dominic James, Marquette still has great guards in Jerel McNeal and Wesley Matthews.

Cash’s upset special — No. 5 Purdue over No. 1 Connecticut. The Boilermakers are peaking at the right time and with Dyson out, the Huskies are vulnerable.

Final Four

Cash — MSU over Memphis, North Carolina over Pittsburgh.

Alex — Louisville over Connecticut, Pittsburgh over Syracuse.

National Championship

Cash — North Carolina over MSU. In a rematch of Dec. 3’s gong show, the Spartans stay closer than 35 points but still lose by double digits. *If Lawson’s toe isn’t 100 percent, then the title goes to Oklahoma.

Alex — Louisville over Pittsburgh: Rick Pitino captures his first title with Louisville, as the Cardinals’ athletic wings are too much for the Panthers to handle.

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