Rank the Regions

[Bevo-Stevo]

1) Midwest - Kansas/G-Town/Whisky/Vandy plus you have Clemson, K-State, and a very good Davidson

2) South - Memphis/Texas/Stanford/Pitt plus Marquette, Michigan St., and Kentucky

3) East - N. Carolina/Tennessee/Louisville/Wash. St. plus Notre Dame, Indiana, and a very under-seeded Butler.

4) West - UCLA/Duke/Xavier/U-CONN plus Drake, Purdue, and a good BYU team.

 

[Aragorn]

South, East, Midwest, West.

 

[cochamps]

East South Midwest West

 

[bierce]

Record against other top 4 seeds:

MW
Kansas 1-1
Georgetown 2-4 (both wins against Louisville)
Wisconsin 1-1
Vandy 1-1
Total 5-7

South
Memphis 2-1
Texas 3-2
Stanford 3-3
Pitt 4-2
Total 12-8

East
UNC 1-1
Tennessee 3-2
Louisville 2-3
Wash. St. 0-5
Total 6-11

West
UCLA 5-1
Duke 2-2
Xavier 0-1
UConnn 2-2
Total 9-6

I'd say the South is the toughest, being +4, but that should come with a caveat--Washington State doesn't belong as one of the 4 seeds, and that is where Stanford got all three of its victories. Likewise, UCLA's record might be considered inflated by included 2 wins over WSU (and let's not forget the bs against Stanford).

On a more subjective note, I would say Xavier hasn't faced the level of competition they are about to see, Duke is on an unroll, and UConn is rpi 19 (second worst to WSU's 20), so I would tend to rate the West as the weakest.

When you think that the South 3 seed basically played the West 1 seed even in their last two meetings and the South 2 seed played the Midwest 1 seed basically even to the last minute of the two games they split, you should get the idea. But I don't think Stanford is that great (they look awfully slow to me), so I can't really decide which is the toughest among East, Midwest, and South.

 

[SL Xpress]

I don't really know how to rank it.

Midwest:

If I'm Kansas, I'm facing the 2/3 matchup I'd least like to see, but I have a pretty good path up to then.

If I'm Georgetown or Wisconsin, it's probably the opposite seed I'd least like to face. The game will be in Detroit, so Wisconsin should have a good representation.

If I'm Vandy, I'm hoping I play on the road better than I have. They have to get past a really athletic Clemson squad that is playing well right now. That's hardly a gimme.

South:

I do know if I'm Memphis, I'm facing the 4/5 bracket I'd least want to see. Pittsburgh or Michigan State? Blech!

Stanford with the Lopez's shotblocking and interior scoring aren't fun, but it's better than facing Georgetown/Louisville/Wisconsin, so it certainly could have been worse. Stanford can't be all that excited about playing Texas in Houston.

Pittsburgh has to be drooling to go against Memphis. Michigan State should be a war of attrition, but of all the #1 seeds, Memphis is the one least suited for the grind it out game that either Michigan State or Pittsburgh will be as comfortable as a hog in slop to play in.

East:

I like this region the best overall, but UNC only has to face one team from the bottom of the bracket. They'll need to beat either Notre Dame or Washington State (and I think it will be Notre Dame) but again, they could be playing Pittsburgh.

I love the way Louisville is playing right now, and I think Pitino is an excellent coach. It will be interesting to see who comes out of that side of the bracket for the regional final.

What would be the score of a Tennessee-UNC regional final? That would be craziness!

West:

If I'm UCLA, I'm buying tickets and reserving hotel space in San Antonio right now.

Duke got jobbed a little having to face the winner of WVA/Arizona in the second round. It sure would be sweet seeing them go out in one of the first three rounds. It's also highly rewarding for me seeing them have to get shipped out for their regional after so many years of enjoying a home court advantage to the Final Four.

UConn has a tough road. Their last national championship came through the Phoenix regional, so they have that going for them, but at that time they were the #1 seed, and there were a bunch of upsets in their bracket which made the regional a cakewalk.

Still, I'd rather face UConn than Pittsburgh as a #4 seed, although both of them are a step above Vandy or Washington State, IMO.

 

[Horns83]

East South Midwest West

 

[Third Coast]

I agree with whoever said that there is a fine line between the strength of the regions. The East does look the best to me though - at least as far as the top seeds are concerned.