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NCAA Basketball Tournament 2012 Predictions: East Region First And Second Round Matchups

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16 predictions down, 16 to go! The East looks to be a pretty formidable region, but then again you could say that about all of them if you were talking to someone that didn't know what you were talking about. They wouldn't know the difference. Gonzaga plays in this region though, so that's exciting! Except for the people that hate them.

(1) Syracuse vs. (16) UNC Asheville

Yeah ok.

(8) Kansas State vs. (9) Southern Mississippi

This is kind of weird:

200px-southern_miss_golden_eagles_logo 200px-ksuwildcats_logo

via upload.wikimedia.org

Tough call. I say KSU advances by virtue of the fact that they use purple.

(5) Vanderbilt vs. (12) Harvard

Here is where I tell jokes based on the premise of Harvard being one of the more prestigious academic institutions in the country. And here is where I point out that Vanderbilt is no slouch in that department either. And finally, here is where I state the obvious in saying that I think Vanderbilt will win.

(4) Wisconsin vs. (13) Montana

There's a pretty compelling argument to be made that Wisconsin was under-seeded, and there's every reason to believe Montana will give the Badgers a pretty tough game. In fact, in nature one would think a Grizzly bear would put a pretty serious hurting on a badger. This is basketball though, so I don't think that's really applicable. Wisconsin advances.

(6) Cincinnati vs. (11) Texas

I would be inclined to pick Cincinnati in this game. I say "would" because I happened to find myself in a pub during the Big East tournament championship game. After seeing that Bearcats performance, I cannot imagine this team ever winning another game of basketball, ever.

(3) Florida State vs. (14) St. Bonaventure

Bonnies? Seriously? I mean, Seminoles is bad in a different way but man. I cannot imagine taking any team called "the Bonnies" seriously and I'm a rabid European soccer fan. Florida State will win by 60.

(7) Gonzaga vs. (10) West Virginia

Gonzaga is the only team with any chance of bringing the joy of a deep tournament run to more than a few isolated fans in the Pacific northwest. This clearly isn't the best team in the school's history, but they should have enough to get past a (relatively) mediocre West Virginia team into the second round where they'll get to be underdogs again! It's 90s night at the dance!

(2) Ohio State vs. (15) Loyola (MD)

See the thing with this game is that if you're the least bit inclined to not pick Ohio State, nothing I can possibly say will convince you otherwise. You're either being ironic, or think this is the kind of wacky thing that has to happen for someone to win their office pool, or you've found some totally meaningless statistic that has convinced you that Loyola are destined to pull off a legendary upset. So fine, smart guy. Go ahead and throw your pick away. I hope you get a paper cut tearing your bracket to shreds.

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