Published: March 20, 2008 02:12 pm      

Cali breaks down the 2008 bracket

It’s probably not a good idea to bet the farm with these picks, but here’s a look at the 2008 NCAA men’s college basketball, Cali-syle.

Let’s get right to the Madness, region by region ...

EAST

In my humble opinion, the toughest region of ‘em all. But unfortunately for the rest of the 15 teams in the East, North Carolina will prove too tough for them all.

The Tar Heels will breeze to victories over Mount St. Mary’s, the Kelvin Sampson-less Indiana Hoosiers and Notre Dame before butting heads with a good Tennessee team in the Elite 8. But Carolina has too much fire power and advances to the Final Four.

The Oklahoma Sooners should get by St. Joseph’s with a little guard play but Louisville with shoot past OU with its vaunted 3-point attack before meeting up with Tennessee.

Upset Special in the East: I don’t see any biggies here, but Butler’s star backcourt could give the Volunteers trouble in the second round.

MIDWEST

I don’t like to jump on the No. 1-seed bandwagon, but the Kansas Jayhawks are far superior to any team in this bunch.

The Jayhawks shouldn’t break a sweat with wins over Portland State, UNLV and Clemson. Second-seeded Georgetown could hang with Kansas for a while, but it looks like this KU squad won’t be making any early exits in ‘08.

Upset Special in the Midwest: 11th-seeded Kansas State will ride stud Michael Beasley as far as he can take them. And folks, he’s that good. I look for him to take his game to another win and lead the Wildcats past USC and third-seeded Wisconsin before Georgetown finally turns Beasley away.

SOUTH

Here’s where the bracket is really busted.

If I had any guts, I’d take Mississippi State over top-seeded Memphis in the second round, but the Tigers will be stopped cold by a red-hot Pittsburgh team that has won seven of eight games entering the Big Dance. The Panthers are also one of the most physical teams in the region, but foul trouble and a home court advantage will cost Pittsburgh against second-seeded Texas in an Elite Eight contest played in Houston.

The Longhorns just do survive a Sweet 16 showdown with Stanford and its twin towers — Brook and Robin Lopez.

Upset Special in the South: Besides Pittsburgh knocking off Memphis, the 11th-seeded Kentucky Wildcats seemed to have meshed over the last half of the season (11-3) and will toppled No. 6 Marquette in the first round before bowing out to Stanford in a second-round contest.

WEST

How will the West be won? By the coaching genius of Mike Krzyzewski.

Sure the second-seeded Dukies kind of stumbled down the stretch, but if anyone can turn a team around — especially a talented team like the Devils — it’s Krzyzewski.

Top-seeded UCLA should power past Mississippi Valley State, Texas A&M and UConn but its run through the West will be derailed by Duke, which moves on to the Final Four.

Upset Special of the West: I’ve got two surprises in this part of the bracket.

No. 12 Western Kentucky blazed into the tournament by winning 17 of its final 18 games and will dispose of a No. 5 Drake team making its first appearance in the Big Dance in 37 years. Standout Courtney Lee (a 6-5 forward) will then lead the Cinderella Hilltoppers past UConn into the Elite 8. But the glass slipper will crack against UCLA.

And how can you bet against a Georgia team that won two games on the same day en route to a spell-binding run to the SEC postseason tournament title. The Bulldogs enter with a not-so-glossy 17-16 record and only went 4-12 in conference play. But the magic continues for Georgia in victories over No. 3 Xavier and No. 6 Purdue until Duke ends the madness.

THE FINAL FOUR

In what I believe should be the title game, North Carolina outlasts Kansas in a thriller to advance to the title game.

And in the other semifinal — a battle of No. 2 seeds — Texas gets another strong effort from D.J. Augustin and the red-hot A.J. Abrams to knock off the Blue Devils of Duke.

THE CHAMPIONSHIP

This showdown will feature two of the top players in the nation in UNC’s Tyler Hansbrough and Augustin. But the Tar Heels have a little better supporting cast and won’t be denied the school’s fifth national championship. North Carolina’s last title came in 2005.

Final Score: North Carolina 72, Texas 65.

Editor's Note: We'll keep you updated on the official 2008 Ada Evening News March Madness contest as the tournament progresses. Super guest James Myers — winner of the 2007 Ada Evening News Football Prediction Race — is predicting another title while the Beasley Boys continue to plod after their first-ever championship.