Recently in Louisville Category

The last region is the South, which could go a million ways. Lots of name teams in this region.

Overall theme:
Is Duke back to being Duke? The Blue Devils' name has taken a hit in recent years, as Duke hasn't been to the Final Four since 2004 and has been knocked out as a higher seed in every year since. The Blue Devils haven't had the athletic, NBA-bound 6-8 wing player in recent years like they did in their power years with Grant Hill, Corey Maggette and Luol Deng and seem to be lacking that player this year. However, Duke does have capable veteran guards and more size than its had in the recent past. Will be interesting to see if that helps.

Watch out for: No. 3 Baylor
Baylor is everyone's sleeper final four pick and for good reason, as the Bears have NBA talent and can flat out put the ball in the hoop. LaceDarius Dunn is a big guard that goes for about 20 points per game while Tweety Carter is a lightning-quick point guard. But the biggest key to Baylor's success may be 6-10 forward Ekpe Udoh, a transfer from Michigan that has added an elite defensive presence along with 13 points per game. Don't be surprised if the Bears are in Indianapolis in a couple weeks.

Stay away from: No. 4 Purdue
The Boilermakers have been dead team walking since star forward Robbie Hummel blew out his knee in late February. Prior to that, Purdue looked like a No. 1 seed and the class of the Big Ten, but since then the Boilers have lost at home to Michigan State and were bombed in the Big Ten tourney by Minnesota. They play a No. 13 seed in Siena that has pulled upsets the last two years, so there's a good chance the Boilers go down there. If not, the Texas A&M-Utah State winner should finish the job.

High risk, high reward: No. 5 Texas A&M
The Aggies have one of the better guards in the region in senior Donald Sloan and several interchangeable, physical post players that can rebound and defend. They are also tournament savvy, as A&M has won its first-round game four years in a row. Texas A&M has all the tools necessary to make a long run to the Elite 8 or even the Final Four. So why are the Aggies in this category? Because they are facing one of the more proficient 3-point shooting teams in the country in Utah State. If the USU Aggies are hot, the A&M Aggies will go home early.

Upset special: No. 9 Louisville over No. 1 Duke, second round
Obviously I'm skeptical about Duke being back to being Duke. Louisville seems woefully underseeded as a No. 9, as they defeated West Regional No. 1 Syracuse twice and won 11 games in a tough Big East. While the Cardinals are ugly at times, they have two elements that have given Duke fits in the past - height on the perimeter and athleticism everywhere. Duke is a skilled team, but not a team of greyhounds. If Louisville can dictate pace and fluster Duke with its size, its bye-bye Blue Devils.

Lead-pipe lock: The guard play will be outstanding
It's been said that the NCAA Tournament is a guard's tournament. If that's true, then the South Regional is ground zero. All the key players, Duke (Jon Scheyer and Nolan Smith), Villanova (Scottie Reynolds, Corey Fisher, Corey Stokes), Baylor (Dunn and Carter), A&M (Sloan) have elite-level guards, while teams like Notre Dame (Tory Jackson) and California (Jerome Randle) have little guys that can play huge. Should be fun to watch.

Went 2-0 today, much to my dismay since the Pitt loss pretty much took me out of a high-money pool I was leading. Hopefully I'll go zero for two today if you catch my drift.

Midwest Regional Final
No. 2 Michigan State vs. No. 1 Louisville
The Spartans pulled out their bag of tricks to get past defending-champion Kansas on Friday, as point guard Kalin Lucas made a tough and-1 leaner to break a 62-62 tie. If Michigan State hopes to pull the upset, Lucas will have to have a big game, as point guard is one of the few positions that the Spartans have a personnel advantage over the Cardinals.
MSU will also have to slow the Louisville press-and-run attack quite a bit. The Cardinals played their best game of the tournament - and perhaps the best game of any team in the tourney - in killing Arizona 103-64. They are deep, quick, talented and motivated. If they force MSU into turnovers - an occasional bugaboo for the Spartans - the Cards win this going away.
Pick: Louisville

South Regional Final
No. 2 Oklahoma vs. No. 1 North Carolina
Just in case anyone was wondering if Blake Griffin was worthy of being the No. 1 pick in this summer's NBA Draft, Griffin has gone for roughly 30 points per game in his first three games. He's going to have to continue that type of production against the Tar Heels, who can score against and with anyone in the nation.
However, the key may be how the Griffins - Blake and older brother Taylor - deal with Hansbrough inside. They have the athletic advantage over the bullish Tar Heel senior and if they can frustrate him, they can keep UNC based on the perimeter. That, plus big performances from guards Willie Warren and Tony Crocker, would give the Sooners a chance. But I don't see it.
Pick: North Carolina

I went three for four in my predictions on Thursday, which I'll take every day of the week. Let's see if we can't go perfect today.

No. 12 Arizona vs. No. 1 Louisville
The Wildcats qualify as a Cinderella this year, though its a pretty big stretch to call Arizona an underdog. This "Cinderella" has three potential NBA players in Jordan Hill, Chase Budinger and Nic Wise and have the longest streak of consecutive tournaments made at 25. Many people rued Arizona's inclusion into the field this year, but they seem to have risen to the challenge.
Can Arizona keep its roll on. The Cardinals have struggled a bit in the tournament, taking more than a half to break away from play-in game winner Morehead State and having to fend off Siena late. Louisville hasn't played its best, but its depth and athleticism will get it through to Sunday.
Pick: Louisville

No. 3 Kansas vs. No. 2 Michigan State
This is a rematch of a January matchup in East Lansing won convincingly by the Spartans. It might be harder for Michigan State this time around, as the defending champion Jayhawks looked impressive in outscoring North Dakota State and subduing Dayton. Sophomore center Cole Aldrich has been dominant thus far, though he'll be matched up with a Michigan State team with a lot of big men, though only Goran Suton is a scoring threat.
The big key to the game is how Kansas handles the penetration of Kalin Lucas and if Michigan State can get production from athletic wings Raymar Morgan, Durrell Summers and Chris Allen. That happens, the Spartans cruise. If not, MSU struggles like it did against USC. I think Sparty has enough to move on.
Pick: Michigan State

Here is the complete breakdown of Division I-A and Division I-AA signees per high school and per college.

By High School:
1. Upland 4; 2 tie. Cajon 3; Colony 3; 4 tie. Arroyo Valley 2; Diamond Ranch 2; Etiwanda 2; Los Osos 2; Rancho Cucamonga 2; Redlands 2; Redlands East Valley 2; 11 tie. Aquinas 1; Ayala 1; Bloomington 1; Colton 1; Diamond Bar 1; Eisenhower 1; Kaiser 1; Norco 1; Pomona 1; Roosevelt 1; San Bernardino 1; San Dimas 1; Yucaipa 1.

Obviously Upland was the big winner individually, especially since they had two Pac-10 guys (Josh Nunes and Osahon Irabor) and a Big Ten guy (Davion Fleming). But the city of San Bernardino had seven players (Aarein Booker, Chris Bradford, Daron Griffin, Walter Kazee, Michael Philipp, Marlon Pollard and J.P. Ragan) sign, with Colton's Nat Berhe giving the SAL another signee.

By University
1. UCLA 5; 2 tie. Oregon State 3; San Diego State 3; 4 tie. Fresno State 2; Idaho 2; New Mexico State 2; Northwestern 2; 8 tie. Air Force 1; Arizona State 1; Cal Poly SLO 1; Colorado State 1; Columbia 1; Louisville 1; Montana 1; Navy 1; New Mexico 1; Northern Arizona 1; South Florida 1; Southern Utah 1; Stanford 1; SUNY Stony Brook 1; UNLV 1; Utah 1; UTEP 1; Washington State 1.

A couple things stand out to me. The first one is the dominance of UCLA. Rick Neuheisel seems to recognize the growth of the Inland Empire and made great efforts out here, signing Marlon Pollard, Jayson Allmond, Richard Brehaut, Jared Koster and Brandon Sermons. San Diego State, who "hasn't been out here in years" according to Cajon coach Kim Battin seems to be making an IE effort under new coach Brady Hoke. Oregon State had a big year, while Fresno State continues its steady haul of local talent.

A couple of oddities exist as you go further. One is Northwestern, which picked off Fleming and Arby Fields from the Baseline League despite its location in suburban Chicago. Another is SUNY Stony Brook, who signed Taj Johnson from Upland this year, took Dominick Reyes from Hesperia last year and was in on Daron Griffin. Seems like this Long Island school is a player.

Also, look out for New Mexico State and Eastern Michigan in the future. The Aggies are now coached by former UCLA defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker - who is well-versed in the area - while Eastern Michigan is now being coached by Ganesha graduate Ron English. English recruited Southern California well for Michigan while on Lloyd Carr's staff and pulled Titus Teague from Pomona for Louisville while serving as defensive coordinator there this past season. Don't be surprised if the Eagles start coming up in conversation among 2010 recruits.