Bracket Thoughts: East Region

POTENTIAL CINDERELLA: (5) Temple. #5 is high for a Cinderella story, but I really respect the Atlantic 10 this year. Temple is very well-rounded, and they finished the season as strongly as you could possibly hope to do so. Cornell is a tough 12-seed, but Temple is the better team, and they should make it past both the Big Red and Wisconsin en route to a showdown with Kentucky.

Honorable mention: (14) Montana. If you didn't see Anthony Johnson beat Weber State 1-on-5 in the second half of the Big Sky tournament championship, you missed one of the great individual performances in college basketball this season. If left unguarded, he WILL make shots, and he could give third-seeded New Mexico major headaches in the first round.

MOST OVERSEEDED TEAM: (7) Clemson. Find me one NCAA game Clemson has won in the past several years. You can't. The makeup of the team never changes from season to season. They have several good athletes who take plays off and who do not knock down free throws when they matter. I actually had them OUT of my field of 65, and as much as I don't like Missouri, I think the Big 12's Tigers send the ACC's Tigers back to South Carolina.

POTENTIAL GAME TO WATCH: (5) Temple vs. (12) Cornell, first round. Two hungry mid-majors going at it for respect. Watching Cornell's Jeff Foote trying to muscle defenders around in Temple's staunch defense will be a treat, as will seeing if sharpshooter Ryan Wittman can help carry the Big Red to victory. As I said earlier, I think the Owls win, but that doesn't mean the game won't be hotly-contested from tip to buzzer.

WHO WINS THE REGIONAL: (2) West Virginia. The Big East is the best conference in college basketball, and at least last week, the Mountaineers were the best team in it. They play suffocating defense, and they have plenty of athletes who can dribble, pass, and score as well as anyone in the country. It's a tough group, and as good as Kentucky is, I think experience and being battle-tested wins out this time of year.

HOW IT HAPPENS:

(1) Kentucky over (16) ETSU
(8) Texas over (9) Wake Forest
(5) Temple over (12) Cornell
(4) Wisconsin over (13) Wofford
(6) Marquette over (11) Washington
(3) New Mexico over (14) Montana
(10) Missouri over (7) Clemson
(2) WVU over (15) Morgan State

(1) Kentucky over (8) Texas
(5) Temple over (4) Wisconsin
(6) Marquette over (3) New Mexico
(2) WVU over (10) Missouri

(1) Kentucky over (5) Temple
(2) WVU over (6) Marquette

(2) WVU over (1) Kentucky