I wrote this piece for The Big Lead, but why not spread the know? Here ya go…

One of the things that makes a blank bracket so beautiful is those first matchups that you peek at on Sunday night. How will this game turn out? Oh, jeez, I don’t even know WHO to take in this one. Sometimes you can allow yourself to be tricked by a mere number next a team’s name. While everyone will want to talk snubs, let’s look at those who DID get in, what games are the five most intriguing matchups in the first two days…

Midwest: No. 6 USC vs. No. 11 Kansas State. You know why. With so much sex appeal, figure this game to be put in primetime for sure. You’ve got the freshman phenom factor with OJ Mayo and Michael Beasley, so everyone should be dialed in. USC’s got plenty of flare factor with Davon Jefferson and Daniel Hackett. Meanwhile, don’t forget about the fact that Kansas State has been struggling, losing five of its last seven games. (You could also make a reasonable argument that USC should be a 5 seed.) Beasley won’t be alone, as Bill Walker can really drop some jaws from time-to-time. Regardless, we’ve got some serious television draw with this one. Can Beasley single-handedly push the Wildcats? Will this begin a possible Elite 8 run for the Trojans?

East: No. 7 Butler vs. No. 10 South Alabama. Oh my, the mis-seeding! Butler as a 7? No way. This team is better than last year’s (which was a 5 seed and almost beat Florida) and only has three losses. Now, how good is South Alabama? You don’t know anyone that saw them play one regular season game, so they almost deserve this draw, because they should have to prove themselves against a small guy that’s done it before. Inversely, Butler, in many minds, are a 4 or a 5, so they should get a squad like this in order to get a win they deserve. I don’t think the game has a lot of upset potential, but I do think you should watch this just to see how pissed the Bulldogs are over the committee’s decision. What’s better? Butler would probably play Tennessee in Round 2, which might be the best second-round game out there.

Midwest: No. 8 UNLV vs. No. 9 Kent State. You don’t know a lot about either of these schools, but this is definitely the most evenly matched, toughest-to-pick game of all the 8/9s; I might not even make my write-it-in-ink decision until Wednesday night. Both teams won their conference tournaments and the schools have won a combined 18 of their past 20 games. Peaking, for sure, this matchup deserves a late-night television placement, so we can all watch as it goes down to the wire past midnight.

West: No. 4 UConn vs. No. 13 San Diego. Upset. Special. I was at Madison Square Garden for part of the Big East tournament. I can tell you that Jim Calhoun looked very, very worried about this team after its loss to West Virginia. Look at UConn: They lost some flow once Jerome Dyson came back from his suspension, Thabeet has looked slow and UConn might have reached their ceiling this year. Bottom line: They look very tired. San Diego is the opposite. The Toreros play very, very well as a team, have had time to rest after winning their conference tournament about two months ago and they are a good team (they have four wins against Tournament squads.)

Midwest: No. 7 Gonzaga vs. No. 10 Davidson. The Midwest region has a lot of must-see-TV (Siena-Vanderbilt has upset appeal, too.) Someone is going to prove people right in this 7-10 matchup. Is Gonzaga truly in a down year? Are they really as good as their seeding? No one quite knows what to think of the Zags right now. Meanwhile, if the Bulldogs do win, then what about Davidson? Were they over-seeded? Did Davidson only accrue all those great wins against inferior opponents? Remember, they went 0-4 against RPI Top 100 competition. (Gonzaga is ranked 30th.) Two mids going against each other always feels weird (like the committee might purposely be doing it), but it also ensures that someone gets to play on the weekend.

Quirky, honorable mentions:

Midwest: No. 2 Georgetown vs. No. 15 Maryland-Baltimore County. Love the local flavor.

South: No. 3 Stanford vs. No. 14 Cornell. Battle of the smarties.

South: No. 6 Marquette vs. No. 11 Kentucky. Don’t know why, but it smells of an overtime game.

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