Predictions

Duke is head and shoulders above the crowd. If they stay healthy (Langdon is nursing a sore ankle) there is no reason they can't roll over teams on their way to the Final Four. Duke will come out of the East Region.

This could be the year for Connecticut. They got a good draw in the West Region (they've already beaten two-seed Stanford) and have two great players in Hamilton and point-guard Khalid El-Amin. Expect to see the Huskies in St. Petersburg.

The South could be the weakest of the four regions. Auburn stumbled in the SEC tourney and Maryland is without its center. St. John's, who took Duke to OT earlier in the season, could slip in and make it to the Final Four as a three-seed.

Michigan State is the one-seed in the Midwest. They have a tough bracket with Kentucky as the three-seed. The Wildcats could make a return trip to the Final Four if they can get past the Spartans. Utah, the two-seed, will miss the up-front presence they had last year with Michael Doleac.

Kentucky should be the sole survivor from the Midwest Region.

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