The West region of the NCAA Tournament features the Duke Blue Devils on one side of the bracket and the San Diego State Aztecs on the other. It's the old guard, a staple of March Madness, in Duke against the hot team from a small conference in San Diego State. The West region is full of intriguing teams, making it a group to keep an eye on as the NCAA Tournament begins.
Look at Ken Pomeroy's rankings, Texas should actually be the fourth No. 1 seed, setting up an interesting regional semifinal game if the Longhorns and Blue Devils survive. Kemba Walker also finds himself in the West region; his streaking UConn Huskies earned the No. 3 seed. Add it all up and you have a tough region and murder's row.
Be sure to grab a printable bracket and make your own picks ahead of the start of the NCAA Tournament on Tuesday.
Second Round
No. 1 Duke over No. 16 Hampton. None of the four No. 16 seeds will break through this year.
No. 8 Michigan over No. 9 Tennessee. Bruce Pearl is one-and-done after the Wolverines take care of business.
No. 5 Arizona over No. 12 Memphis. Arizona should easily take this one. Memphis is so far down in the rankings, it's not even funny.
No. 4 Texas over No. 13 Oakland. Oakland has been a trendy upset pick, but Texas is deserving of a No. 1 seed, if KenPom is to be believed.
No. 6 Cincinnati over No. 11 Missouri. The Tigers skidded down the stretch, losing four of their last five. Doesn't exactly inspire confidence.
No. 3 Connecticut over No. 14 Bucknell. Kemba Walker. That is all.
No. 10 Penn State over No. 7 Temple. A dead-even matchup in the 7-10 game. Temple is No. 38 and Penn State is No. 39 in KenPom's rankings, making this a complete toss-up. With that in mind, I flipped a coin. Penn State won.
No. 2 San Diego State over No. 15 Northern Colorado. The Aztecs roll easily.
Third Round
No. 1 Duke over No. 8 Michigan.
No. 4 Texas over No. 5 Arizona. Sticking with Texas because of its nation's best defensive efficiency.
No. 3 Connecticut over No. 6 Cincinnati. Once again Kemba Walker and the Huskies keep the winning streak alive.
No. 2 San Diego State over No. 10 Penn State. I still have an irrational love for San Diego State. Go with it.
Regional Semifinals
No. 4 Texas over No. 1 Duke. This should be an incredibly close matchup as the Blue Devils are ranked second by Ken Pomeroy and Texas is ranked fourth. I'll take Texas in a coin-flip.
No. 2 San Diego State over No. 3 Connecticut. The Kemba Walker show ends as San Diego State is too much.
Regional Final
No. 2 San Diego State over No. 4 Texas. Sure, why not?
For more bracket predictions, check out the rest of our NCAA Tournament predictions StoryStream. To break down the bracket with Gonzaga and Washington fans, be sure to stop by SB Nation's The Slipper Still Fits and UW Dawg Pound.