Breaking down the South

For starters, I can't say I'm disappointed with Stanford's draw. With only 18 wins and such a shaky end to the regular season, you can't argue with a #8 seed. That being said, you can't argue with the fact that we would have been better off being a #10 seed. The bottom of the South bracket, with Kentucky, Oklahoma and Utah, is extremely beatable. But as it stands, in order for Stanford to get through to the Sweet 16, they'll have to beat two great big men: Lawrence Roberts of MSU and Shelden Williams of Duke. I just have horrible visions of Rob Little having one of his "two fouls in three minutes" games when trying to defend a superior pivotman. If we employ a double team, think we have a solid chance against Roberts, but that strategy simply wouldn't work against Duke, who could just as easily kill us from the outside.

I've read that a lot of peoplepicking Syracuse to knock off Duke in the Sweet 16. Again, I think the allure of the familiar is at work. Jim Boeheim is a college basketball institution, Gerry McNamarra is practically a household name, so people fall in love with the 'Cuse. Too bad the Orangemen have been inconsistent all season. Sure, they're talented enough to win three or four in a row, but that doesn't mean it's gonna happen against the cold-blooded Blue Devils. As much as I would love a few crazy upsets in this bracket, it will be #1 seed Duke beating #2 seed Kentucky in the regional final.