http://www.yardbarker.com/content/player/20688 Recent articles about Will Thomas en-us With Round 1 games set to begin this afternoon, we are all scrambling to fill out our brackets before office pool and online deadlines arrive. To give you a little more insight into the NCAA Tourney, FIO staff writer Dan Rossi clues you in on some sleeper teams to watch this year. In addition, find out which teams definitely got the shaft by the selection committee. Thu, 20 Mar 2008 08:41:52 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/211816 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/211816 With the NCAA Tournament officially underway with an opening round win by Mount St. Mary`s over Coppin State, let`s look ahead to some intriguing matchups on Thursday, the first day of the First Round: (12) Temple at (5) Michigan State: What a way top start off a tournament with a classic 5-12 game with potential for an upset. Temple comes out as out of the hottest teams in the country and are finally playing to their ability. Dionte Christmas and Mark Tyndale are two very underrated players in the NCAA`s and will be the keys to the Owls success in this game. On the Spartans side, no question that guard Drew Neitzel is what makes this team go. He needs to run his Michigan State squad against a tough Temple defense. If Temple can slow down the game and slow down Michigan State`s offense, an upset may occur. SFB Prediction: Temple wins 69-63 (9) Kent State at (8) UNLV The 8-9 matchup has produced some very good games and these teams are usually the most evenly matched. UNLV won the Mountain West title this year and Kent State won the Mid-American. The Golden Flashes of Kent State were very impressive in their Bracket Buster win over fellow tournament team, St. Mary`s, and perhaps is the game that put them into the NCAA Tournament. With four starters averaging in double figures, Kent State is a dangerous squad. However, the Rebels of UNLV are just as capable to win this game. Wink Adams averages over 16 points per game and is a great playmaker. SFB Prediction: Kent State wins 85-83 in overtime (13) Oral Roberts at (4) Pittsburgh So the Pittsburgh Panthers come into the Big East Tournament as the #7 seed and win the whole thing and get a #4 seed in the NCAA Tournament. They have players like Levance Fields, Sam Young and DeJuan Blair. So they have a great team with great momentum, right? Well remember in 2005, Syracuse went along a similar path and were upended by feisty #13-seeded Vermont in the First Round. Could this happen again with Oral Roberts pulling off an upset? Robert Jarvis is a phenomenal guard for the Golden Eagles and this team has been to the tournament before (similar to Vermont when they beat Syracuse). A lot of comparisons to that matchup in 2005, so don`t be so sure the Big East post-season champs will move in so easily. SFB Prediction: Pittsburgh wins 78-69 (11) Kansas State at (6) USC When sports fans saw the Kansas State Wildcats will be playing the USC Trojans in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament, everyone thought of the matchup between the Wildcats` Michael Beasley and USC`s O.J. Mayo. Both these players are outstanding and will most likely be Top 5 picks in this year`s NBA Draft. However, I say look at the supporting cast matchups for this game. USC`s Taj Gibson, Davon Jefferson and Dwight Lewis versus Kansas State`s Bill Walker and Jacob Pullen may be what determines the outcome of the game. USC is more deep and balanced than the Wildcats, but Beasley can potentially just take over the game. SFB Prediction: USC wins 75-62 (9) Texas A&M vs. (8) Brigham Young Gotta love these 8-9 matchups. The Texas A&M Aggies started off the year very solid and were ranked in the Top 25, but have tailed off towards the end of the year. The Aggies have 6 players averaging more than 8 points per game starting with leading scorer Josh Carter and ending with center (and NBA prospect) DeAndre Jordan. The BYU Cougars were the runner-up in the Mountain West Conference and they have 3 players averaging more than 13 points per game. Center Trent Plaisted is a monster inside and an on the glass scoring 15.6 points per game and pulling down just under 8 rebounds per game. This is another great 8-9 matchup. SFB Prediction: Texas A&M wins 71-67 (10) Arizona vs. (7) West Virginia The Arizona Wildcats are one of those teams that many think do not belong in the tournament. Well, even though their Pac-10 Conference record does not show it, this team is battle-tested (#2 strength of schedule) and talented. Potential 1st round NBA Draft pick Jerryd Bayless scores just over 20 points per game and forward Chase Budinger is a great all-around player. But the West Virginia Mountaineers have a forward named Joe Alexander, who had 34 points against Connecticut in the Big East quarterfinals. The key to this game will be whether Alexander can score for the Mountaineers and if Budinger can stop him. SFB Prediction - West Virginia wins 83-82 in overtime (12) George Mason vs. (5) Notre Dame Everyone picking their bracket this year remembers how the George Mason bracket absolutely tore the bracket apart 2 years ago in 2006 with their Final Four run. Will Thomas and Folarin Campbell are still left over from that starting lineups that beat Michigan State, North Carolina and Connecticut in the Big Dance. But this still is not the same team from 2 years ago and they can thank William & Mary for upsetting Virginia Commonwealth in the Colonial Semi-finals in order for Mason to make it to the tournament once again. The Fighting Irish of Notre Dame have forward Luke Harangody leading the way, averaging about 21 points and 10 rebounds per contest this season. Harangody may be a little too much for the Patriots to handle, but don`t be surprised to see Mason bust another bracket. SFB Prediction: Notre Dame wins 78-68 Enjoy the games on Thursday and fill out your bracket on Sports Fan Base.com! Wed, 19 Mar 2008 00:08:01 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/209248 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/209248