Regional Breakdown of 2009 NCAA Tournament Seeding and Bracket

Selection Sunday has come and gone, and with it the filling of the remaining spots for the 2009 NCAA Basketball Tournament. Below then is a regional breakdown of the tournament seeding , along with a preview of who to follow in each region of the Tournament:

South Region:

1- North Carolina

2- Oklahoma

3- Syracuse

4- Gonzaga

5- Illinois

6- Arizona State

7- Clemson

8- LSU

9- Butler

10- Michigan

11- Temple

12- West. Kentucky

13- Akron

14- Stephen F. Austin

15 - Morgan State

16- Radford

The South Region features powerhouses North Carolina and Oklahoma. Though North Carolina (ranked #1) is 28-4 this season, a recent loss to FSU indicates that the Tar Heels are beatable. Still, led by Tyler Hansbrough, who average 21.5 points and 8.2 rebounds per game, the Tar Heels will not roll over for any team in the region. Equally strong is Oklahoma (ranked #5) who at 27-5 put in an impressive season behind future NBA lotto pick, Blake Griffin. Griffin had a year worthy of Player of the Year honors, scoring 21.9 points per game, and leading the nation in rebounding with a 14.3 boards per game average. Both of these teams are a cut above the rest and should advance through the bracket to meet in the Regional Finals.

East Region:

1- Pittsburgh

2- Duke

3- Villanova

4- Xavier

5- Florida State

6- UCLA

7- Texas

8- Oklahoma State

9- Tennessee

10- Minnesota

11- VCU

12- Wisconsin

13- Portland St.

14- American

15- Binghamton

16- E. Tennessee St.

East Region:

Duke (ranked #9) is coming off an ACC title with an easy victory over FSU, while FSU (ranked #22) was strong enough to upset North Carolina in the ACC Tournament. Look for Duke to do well, and FSU to surprise in this bracket. While Bracket favorite Pittsburgh (ranked #2) is a strong contender behind offensive rebounding machine DeJuan Blair. Blair who averaged 15.6 points, and 12.2 rebounds per game, led the nation in offensive rebounding (5.5 per game) giving Pitt plenty of second chances.

West Region:

1- Connecticut

2- Memphis

3- Missouri

4- Washington

5- Purdue

6- Marquette

7- California

8- BYU

9- Texas A&M

10-Maryland

11-Utah St.

12- Northern Iowa

13- Miss. State

14- Cornell

15- CSU Northridge

16- Chattanooga

West Region:

Connecticut (ranked #3) is led by 7-3 Center Hasheem Thabeet , an imposing figure who rejected shots at a 4.6 per game clip. Getting past the Huskies will mean getting shots to drop over the towering Thabeet. The Memphis Tigers (ranked #4), who have a 31-3 record this year, just might be the team up to the task in this bracket. Look for both of them to square off in the Regional Finals.

Midwest Region:

1- Louisville

2- Michigan State

3- Kansas

4- Wake Forest

5- Utah

6- West Virginia

7- Boston College

8- Ohio State

9- Siena

10-USC

11-Dayton

12- Arizona

13- Cleveland State

14- North Dakota St.

15- Robert Morris

16- Alabama St./Morehead St.

Midwest Region:

Possible the weakest region in the Tournament this year, the Midwest Region is led by Louisville (ranked #5) who finished first in the Big East. Behind Louisville, are Michigan State (ranked #7) and Kansas (ranked #11). If a major upset is slated for this year's Tournament, chances are that it will come from this grouping.