The NCAA's Sour 16- Ain't Nothing Sweet About It: MIDWEST

Every year, I go into tournament play with a great deal of confidence that only a small select group of teams will have a chance to make the Final Four. This year’s tournament has flipped that theory on its head. With the overwhelming favorite Kansas being knocked out by the newly minted Cinderella Northern Iowa, it seems that after a wild first round of play, we still have no idea what could happen in the coming weeks. Let’s take a look at the remaining teams, region by region, to see how they got here, and how they plan on reaching the 2010 Final Four in Indianapolis.

MIDWEST Region:

Northern Iowa: After taking down Mountain West powerhouse UNLV in round one, UNI’s shocking upset of top seeded Kansas has been by far the most impressive win of this tournament so far. Sharpshooter Ali Farokhmanesh nailed a 3-point dagger in the Jayhawks heart that buried the national title favorite. Out of nearly 5 million brackets filled out on ESPN.com, 48% chose KU to win it all. No more Rock Chalk Jayhawk. If these guys duplicate their shooting efforts and intensity against Michigan State, they have a very good chance of reaching the Elite Eight.

Michigan State: Kalin Lucas carried Michigan State with a career high 25 points in the Spartans 70-67 win over New Mexico State in the first round. But after going down with a ruptured Achilles tendon in Michigan State’s win against Maryland, Tom Izzo’s club is going to need Raymar Morgan, Durrell Summers, and round two hero Korie Lucious to step up and carry MSU’s scoring load against UNI if they want a chance at the Elite Eight.

Tennessee: Despite only squeaking by first round opponent San Diego State, Tennessee proved they belonged with the major conference big dogs in a 83-68 win against upset-minded Ohio, who took out 3 seed Georgetown in the first round. Bruce Pearl’s Volunteers have demonstrated elite athleticism night in and night out. However, it is a question of their maturity, poise, and demeanor-- particularly from seniors, Wayne Chism and JP Prince-- that have people second-guessing an upset bid against second ranked Ohio State in the Sweet 16.

Ohio State: Evan Turner is the heavy favorite to win National Player of the year. It’s not a frequent occurrence that the Player of the Year also win the National Championship, but I think there’s a damn good chance of it happening in 2010. Regardless of his no show in round one against UC Santa Barbara (which his teammates picked up the slack for), Turner decided to completely take over Ohio State’s second round matchup with Georgia Tech. Playing the entire 40 minutes, he finished with 29 points, 9 rebounds, and 9 assists. Now that heavily favored Kansas is out of the picture, the Buckeyes become the natural favorite to emerge from the Midwest bracket and reach the Final Four. But there’s no doubt OSU’s got a big target on their back now, and its up to Turner to shoulder the load and lead his team to national prominence once again. With David Lighty, Jon Diebler, and William Buford anchoring the wings, and Dallas Lauderdale down low, Thad Matta’s boys look well poised to make a run at Indianapolis and the National Title.