faniq.com Terrence Williams and his Louisville Cardinals look to stay hot after winning the Big East.

Louisville
Louisville reeled off wins over Pittsburgh, West Virginia, Villanova and then cruised through the Big East tournament to be crowned '09 Big East champs. The Cardinals get their scoring in bunches, have one of the nation's best players in Terrence Williams and don't have many flaws other than poor free throw shooting and an occasionally off shooting night from beyond the arc. Louisville returns four starters from last year's Elite 8 team and have a realistic shot of getting back there.

(12) Arizona and (5) Utah
It's funny how two of the most controversial seedings are facing each other in the first round. One can make the case Utah didn't deserve anything better than a 6 (I had them seeded as a 7), while Arizona may not belong at all (I had St. Mary's in over Arizona as my last team in).

The committee got the seeding in this bracket mostly right.

Lindy's James Johnson and Wake Forest look to bounce back from an early exit from the ACC tourney.

(4) Wake Forest
This is an easy choice here. No one in the country - especially in the Midwest region - wants to play Wake Forest right now. They can beat you inside, they can beat you outside and they can wear you out on both sides of the floor. Wake possesses three future NBA players on their roster and are heading into the NCAA tournament with extra motivation, after bowing out early in the ACC tournament.

(12) Arizona over (5) Utah
While some may feel Arizona doesn't belong, I would not be surprised to see them win a game to make a statement. While the success depends on mainly three Wildcats players, those three are very good ones in the junior trio of Nic Wise, Chase Budinger and Jordan Hill. Both teams beat San Diego State and lost to UNLV and California, but I think the Wildcats have extra motivation going into the dance.

(12) Arizona over (5) Utah
See above.

(13) Cleveland St. over (4) Wake Forest
I've seen this upset picked a lot already on brackets online and by various analysts, I'm scratching my head as to why. Sure Cleveland State upset Syracuse earlier this season, but Wake Forest has knocked off two number one teams this season. They will have extra motivation heading into the tournament and have the talent to match Louisville in the Sweet 16.

(6) West Virginia vs. (11) Dayton
These teams match-up very well and the key in this game will be whether Mountaineer guard Alex Ruoff can knock down open looks from the perimeter. I have WVU winning and moving on from this one, but wouldn't be surprised to see it go either way.

(2) Michigan St. vs. (7) Boston College
Two teams with different styles, personnel and strengths; but one thing they share in common is great coaching. Michigan State has had ups and downs verses the flex offense this season (blowout loss to Maryland, blowout win over Wisconsin) and will face a more physical version of the flex against Boston College. Would be a very good ball game.

(14) North Dakota State
NDSU is making its first NCAA tournament appearance in its first year of eligibility. While Kansas will most likely take care of business, it's still Very impressive, nonetheless.

(2) Michigan St. vs. (4) Wake Forest
Yes, the biggest upset in the tournament, and you heard it here first. Wake Forest and Louisville will meet up in the Sweet 16, setting up for what could be one of the best games of the tournament. The two teams are physical down low and guards that can beat opposing defenses off the dribble, should be a good one. I just like James Johnson and company to upset Rick Pitino's squad. In the bottom half of the bracket, one should never count Tom Izzo and his Spartans, I think junior forward Raymar Morgan really steps up to have a big tourney and leads Michigan State to the Final Four.