Notre Dame snuck up on the field and nearly played itself into a No. 1 seed. Instead, the Fighting Irish lost in the semifinals of the Big East Tournament in New York and ended up a No. 2 seed. But they might be the most dangerous of the second-seeded teams.
Just how far can Notre Dame go? The Irish are a real threat to Kansas and everyone else in this region, which has some tough competition. But the Irish are intriguing.
Senior guard Ben Hansbrough provides passion and an enormous offensive punch for a team that won 26 games and finished second in the Big East during the regular season. Hansbrough, the Big East player of the year, is complemented well by 6-foot-8 senior forward Tim Abromaitis (averaging 15.3 points and 6.1 rebounds). Carleton Scott is the third scorer who makes it tough for opponents to focus on the 6-3 Hansbrough and Abromaitis. But the big question isn’t if the Irish are a dangerous bunch (they’ve won 12 of their last 14 games). It’s, do the Irish have what it takes to win it all? Time will tell.
Southwest Regional
Favorite: Kansas
The Jayhawks spent most of the season cruising along without much issue. They even successfully integrated highly touted freshman guard Josh Selby part way though the season. The Morris twins may be the nation’s deadliest forward duo. They combine to average more than 30 points and 15 rebounds per game. Coach Bill Self knows what it takes to get a team to the Final Four.
Sleeper: Purdue
Odd, yes, that a No. 3 seed can be a sleeper, but not many folks are counting Purdue as a team that can win a title. Without standout Robbie Hummel, who was lost before the season with an ACL injury, Purdue has gotten big performances from JaJuan Johnson and E’Twaun Moore to stay potent.
Upset alert
Richmond over Vanderbilt: Expect this to be a lower-scoring affair between two teams that are among the nation’s leaders in field-goal percentage defense. Vanderbilt, which started the season strong, stumbled down the stretch by losing four of its last seven games.
Bracket breakdown
Kansas is the favorite to get to the Final Four out of this bracket, but it will not be easy. There are a bevy of fabulous defensive teams in this bracket, so points will be tough to come by. Add the fact challengers such as Notre Dame, Purdue, Louisville and Georgetown give this region as much depth as any. Georgetown should be back to full strength with the return of guard Chris Wright, who missed three games due to a broken hand. Texas A&M is also a team to watch.
