Collegiate Times

It?s only fitting that the tricky, tricky Tigers from Memphis hold the No. 1 seed in the Oakland regional ? perhaps the most difficult region to pick apart when looking at the field of 64.

It?s fair to say Memphis is the team most poised to earn that trip to Indianapolis for the Final Four. The Tigers started the year at No. 12 in the country and have only lost to Duke (a fellow No. 1 seed), Texas (No. 2 seed) and UAB (No. 9 seed). Because they come from a now dismantled and lack-luster Conference USA, the question is: How battle tested are the Tigers? Considering they have beaten the No. 2 seed (UCLA) and No. 3 seed (Gonzaga) in the Oakland regional, I?d say John Calipari?s team, behind Rodney Carney and Darius Washington Jr., is ready to roll.

Attempting to give the Tigers fits will be Gonzaga, UCLA, Kansas, Pittsburgh and a handful of other "pretty good" teams.

The four times I have seen Gonzaga play live this year I have not been impressed, to say the least. Adam Morrison and his ratty mustache know what it?s like to wear the glass slipper come March. However, Cinderella?s choice footwear will be used against them when San Diego State finds out it too can attend the ball.

The Bruins of UCLA have really elevated their game, winning 12 of their last 14 contests. Having a freshman forward with the name Luc Richard Mbah a Moute makes anything possible. The trio of Arron Afflalo, Jordan Farmar and Josh Shipp in the backcourt will make this team tough, but not tough enough to win 13 in a row (UCLA is on a seven-game win streak).

The team that poses the biggest threat to Memphis are the Panthers of Pittsburgh if their freshman center Aaron Gray decides he wants to play with a mean streak in the NCAA Tournament (I have no idea how he averages a double-double). Holding the No. 5 seed, Pittsburgh has a potential Sweet 16 battle with the mighty Tigers ? if the Panthers knock off the No. 4 Kansas Jayhawks (again assuming the seeds hold true). If Pitt?s backcourt tandem of Carl Krauser and Ronald Ramon, both from the Bronx, do something extreme like put out lit cigarettes on Gray to get him ticked off, they have a legitimate shot of reaching the Final Four.

Overall, the Oakland bracket should be a bundle of fun with match-ups such as No. 7 Marquette vs. No. 10 Alabama and No. 8 Arkansas vs. No. 9 Bucknell ? although they?re not exactly headliners, you?ll get the chance to see very different styles of basketball ranging from very structured (Bucknell and Marquette) to the "how did he do that" (Arkansas? Ronnie Brewer).

In a bracket that has given me fits since it was released Sunday, I?ve boiled the Oakland regional down to the following hodgepodge. First round winners: Memphis, Arkansas, Pittsburgh, Kansas, San Diego St., Gonzaga, Alabama and UCLA. Second round winners: Memphis, Pittsburgh, San Diego St. and UCLA. Sweet 16 winners: Memphis and UCLA. Winner: Memphis. Only because I highly doubt Krauser and Ramon actually smoke cigarettes.