First Round Upset: No. 12 Western Kentucky over No. 5 Illinois: The traditional 12-5 upset seems to be looming in the South. Illinois has lost three of its last four games, which does not bode well against a hot Hilltopper squad.
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Western Kentucky has won seven straight to close out the season in strong fashion. The guard play of the boys from the Sun Belt looks great on paper, having four guards that average over 12 points per game. Specifically, Illinois will have trouble containing Orlando Mendez-Valdez and A.J. Slaughter. The Illini will try to pound the ball inside to 6-foot-9 Mike Davis, who has 20 pounds on his 6-foot-9 counterpart, Jeremy Evans. The advantage down low clearly goes to Illinois, but Western Kentucky has proven to be a handful come NCAA Tournament time. And as for the non-believers in the strength of schedule of the Sun Belt, take a look back to non-conference play on Nov. 30 when the Hilltoppers beat the regular season and tournament champions of the Big East, the Louisville Cardinals.
Sleeper Team: Clemson
Will an early exit at the hands of Georgia Tech in the ACC Tournament and some added rest translate to an upset over Blake Griffin and Oklahoma? My vote for now is yes (but I'll probably change my mind another 10 times before Thursday).
The Tigers are a very well balanced team with an inside post presence in Trevor Booker and do-it-all forward K.C. Rivers. Terrence Oglesby is also the kind of point guard that has worked his whole life for this time in the spotlight.
Count on him taking advantage of his time to shine with his ridiculous .396 three-point field goal percentage. On paper, Clemson appears to be too deep for an Oklahoma team that has not seen this kind of a look and likes to slow the game down by running half-court sets. We will finally see just how tough Booker is, and Clemson's full-court press will give the backcourt of Willie Warren and Austin Johnson all they can handle.
Impact Player: Ty Lawson
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