Collegiate Times

The midwest region is home to the number overall seed, the Louisville Cardinals, led by senior All-American guard Peyton Siva.

Louisville was much deserving of the number one overall seed after winning the Big East tournament this past Saturday.

The Big East is arguably the best conference in college basketball, and this year, the Cardinals made playing in it look easy, with dominating performances in both regular season and tournament play. They finished with an overall record of 29-5 and a conference record of 14-4. 

Despite having the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament, Louisville has arguably the toughest bracket to go through to make it to Atlanta. With teams like Duke, Michigan State, Oklahoma State and even Saint Louis, this is no cakewalk for any team coming out of this region.

Duke — the No. 2 seed in this region — was once being looked at for a No. 1 seed in the tournament, until it was bounced by Maryland in the ACC tournament. The Blue Devils will be looking to rebound from that, as last year's loss to the 15-seeded Lehigh left an uneasy feeling in the stomachs of players and coaches.

Michigan State is another very dangerous team out of the region. The Spartans have made six Final Four appearances during the Tom Izzo era, and they'll look to make it for a seventh this year. The play of Michigan State’s big men down low give them a good chance to win every game.

There are often front-runners to make the final four from each region, but this year seems different, as the spot in Atlanta is compltely up for grabs. Although Louisville is the No. 1 overall seed, it has arguably the toughest competition to go through, as teams like Duke, Michigan State, Oklahoma State, Saint Louis and even Creighton are not going to make it easy for the Cardinals to reach the Final Four. 

A version of this article appeared in the Mar 21 issue of the Collegiate Times.