NCAA Bracket 2011 Preview: Southwest Region Teams Led By Kansas, Notre Dame

Big 12 regular season and tournament champion Kansas heads up the Southwest Region, which concludes in San Antonio next Friday and Sunday, March 25 and 27. The Jayhawks will be looking to stick around a bit longer than they did in 2010, when Northern Iowa stunned them in the second round (third round this year). Bill Self’s team is once again among the favorites, though not as overwhelmingly so as they were last season, especially since Ohio State has top billing in the bracket.

This quarter of the bracket is full of intriguing potential matchups. Eighth-seeded UNLV would have been Kansas’ opponent in the second round last season had they not become the first victim of Panther Power two days earlier. Plus, Runnin’ Rebels’ head coach Lon Kruger faces Illinois, one of his former employers, in his team’s first game. And who did Bill Self coach before Kansas, the Fighting Illini!

Record: 23-10, 9-7

Player to watch: Jenkins. Scoring 19.5 points per game, the six-foot-four sophomore guard changes Vandy’s game when he’s on the floor. Without him, they’re sluggish and struggle to score.

by Mike Prada

Record: 21-10, 10-9 in the Big East (21-6, 10-4 before Wright’s injury)

by David Coleman

The Texas A&M basketball team has certainly played well enough to dance this March in the NCAA Tournament. They are just good enough to stay ahead of the middle of the Big 12, but not good enough to consistently beat the best of the Top 25. Head coach Mark Turgeon is in his fourth season at A&M and is hoping to lead the Aggies to a sixth straight NCAA appearance. Whether his team can make it back to the Sweet Sixteen is an open question. Right now, most of the projections show the Aggies as a sixth seed, but with a costly loss to Baylor on Feb. 26 and a grueling Big 12 Tournament upcoming, A&M could easily drop to as low as an eighth seed.

Record: 23-7, 10-6 in Big 12 as of

RPI: 30 (as of March 9th.)

Key wins: Dec. 11, 2010: 63-62 victory over No. 21 Washington - Toughest test of early season. Kept five game winning streak alive despite fending off furious comeback by Cougars.

Jan. 15, 2011: 91-89 overtime victory over No. 12 Missouri - Showdown of two Top 15 teams. A&M prevailed to stay perfect in Big 12 play and at home.

Key losses: Jan. 29, 2011 - 57-48 loss at Nebraska - Aggies may have been looking ahead to two key home games against Texas and Baylor. As it is, they dropped a game to a tough defensive team in the Huskers.

Jan. 31, 2011: 69-49 loss to No. 3 Texas - Second of two blowout losses to Longhorns. This one came on A&M’s home court. The Aggies were down by 10 early in the first half and were never even close to competing.

Feb. 26, 2011: 58-51 loss at Baylor - The Aggies closed at halftime, but couldn’t stop Baylor’s interior presence. Second of two big losses to the Bears, who may be headed to the NIT.

Player to watch: Small forward Kris Middleton - The sophomore from South Carolina has been the leading scorer in 13 of A&M’s 29 games this season. He’s leading the Aggies in scoring (14.4 ppg), minutes played and free throw percentage (.818). He’s also second on the team in rebounds per game with 5.2 and steals with 34 and is third on the team with 84 assists. Middleton has worn down a little in the tail end of the Big 12 season as teams focus more effort on stopping him, but his combination of outside shooting, ball skills and rebounding make him a big threat offensively and defensively.

by Mountain West Connection

For more coverage of the Runnin’ Rebels, please visit our Mountain West blog, Mountain West Connection.

Record: 21-13, 12-4 America East

Key wins: Vermont, 66-64 (OT) (Feb. 27, Burlington, VT): This win completed the season sweep of Vermont (Boston U also won at home on Jan. 9, 75-65), giving the Terriers two wins against the America East conference’s regular season champs (23-8, 13-3).