Sherron Collins and company are the favorites in a tough Midwest bracket.

Kansas
Kansas has a lot of things going for them. The Jayhawks play great defense, have a solid backcourt/frontcourt balance, a very good head coach leading the way and Kansas is flat out en fuego right now. The Jayhawks may need the bench to contribute a bit more the deeper they get into the tournament, but other than that, no glaring weaknesses ... they should at least reach the regional final.

The committee got the seeding in this region mostly right.

(6) Tennessee
Tennessee has beaten some of the best teams in the nation, had an RPI of 14 and a strength of schedule of 19 ... yet for some reason is the sixth seed in the toughest bracket? Interesting.

Travis Ford is not only an excellent actor (The 6th Man) but a solid head coach for Oklahoma State.

(7) Oklahoma St. / (10) Georgia Tech
While the top six seeds of the midwest region get major love from college basketball analysts - and rightfully so - if you're looking for a sleeper in the Midwest region, check out this game right here. In my opinion, the Oklahoma State-Georgia Tech game is one of the toughest to predict in all of the tournament and both have the star power (Georgia Tech's Derrick Favors and Oklahoma State's James Anderson) to could give Ohio State a run for the Buckeyes money in the second round.

(11) San Diego State over (6) Tennessee
Yes, I'm well aware the Volunteers have beaten both Kansas and Kentucky. And yes, I know San Diego State is traveling across country to play this game. I just think out of all the six seeds in the tourney, SDSU matches up best with Tennessee. The Aztecs have a glut of athletes - most notably Malcolm Thomas, Billy White and Kawhi Leonard - who should be able to keep up with the Volunteers. I wouldn't be surprised if Tennessee survives SDSU's attack, but there's no fun in not picking an upset in a region ... I'm going with San Diego State.

(11) San Diego State over (6) Tennessee
See above.

(12) New Mexico St. over (5) Michigan St.
I know Michigan State has struggled in the final weeks of the season - compiling a 5-5 record - but the Spartans are hands down a better team than New Mexico State. In all facets of the game: coaching, veteran leadership, guard play ... etc. New Mexico State used a late run to knock off WAC favorite Utah State, but their stay in the NCAA tournament will be one and done.

(7) Oklahoma St. vs. (10) Georgia Tech
See Darkhorse category for explanation. Solid 7-10/Big 12-ACC match-up, I can see the winner giving Ohio State a good game in the second round. Oklahoma State has the better backcourt, Georgia Tech has the better frontcourt. If GT turns the ball over less than 20 times, the Yellow Jackets will have a good chance of winning ... I just don't see them being able to do that.

(4) Maryland vs. (5) Michigan St.
One of the best potential match-up's of the second round, heck maybe the entire tournament. Two historic traditioned programs, two hall of fame coaches and two solid veteran Big 3's (Maryland's Greivis Vasquez, Eric Hayes and Landon Milbourne vs. Michigan State's Kalin Lucas, Raymar Morgan and Durrell Summers) going up against each other. Maryland blew out Michigan State last season in the Old Spice Classic over Thanksgiving 2008, but it's safe to say this game would be much closer this time around and with much bigger implications.

(13) Houston & (14) Ohio
Both Houston and Ohio were 7-9 in conference play, caught fire at the right time and then upset the league favorites in the conference tournament final.

(1) Kansas vs. (3) Georgetown
Kansas is the nation's best team and should be able to make it to the regional final without too much trouble. In the lower half, both Georgetown and Ohio State are clicking right now, I just think the Buckeyes may have trouble stopping the Hoyas Big 3 (Greg Monroe, Chris Wright and Austin Freeman). In the regional final, the Jayhawks depth and experience will take push the Hoyas to the limit and send Georgetown back to DC and Kansas to Indianapolis.