As part of our annual March Madness coverage, we not only provide a complete NCAA Tournament bracket breakdown, but we also break down each individual region as well.
Below is everything you need to know about the Southwest regional, including: ticket links and discount codes; the matchups, TV schedule, announcer assignments, and point spreads; and my predictions for how the bracket will play out.
(Note: my complete bracket predictions can be found here.)
In this post, we break down the Southwest Region Bracket. Follow the links to see our East Region Bracket Breakdown, the Southeast Region Bracket Breakdown, and the West Region Bracket Breakdown.
Southwest Regional: San Antonio, Texas (University of Texas-San Antonio)
- Southwest Regional Semi-Final and Final Dates: March 25th and 27th (Fri/Sun)
- Southwest Regional Site: Alamodome
- Southwest Regional Tickets: March Madness 2011 Tickets – Southwest Regional Semi-Final (Sweet 16) and Final (Elite 8) in San Antonio
For tickets to first and second round games, or to price shop regional semi-final and final tickets, use the links below.
RazorGator: March Madness 2011 Tickets
For RazorGator, MSF readers are encouraged to use the following discount codes to save money on their ticket purchases:
- $30 off on all orders of $300 or more: RG300J
- $20 off on all orders of $150 or more: RG150J
- $10 off purchase over $110 or more: ORDR10RG
- Free shipping on all orders of $$100 or more: FSOVERRG
Additional links:
- Ticket Liquidator: March Madness 2011 Tickets
- Vivid Seats: March Madness 2011 Tickets
- TickCo: March Madness 2011 Tickets
- Ace Ticket: March Madness 2011 Tickets
And now, onto the bracket, and then my picks.
Obviously I cannot fill in the table until the brackets are announced, but I’ll be doing so in real-time on Sunday and then updating this table as games are played and TV schedules are announces.
Southwest Region Bracket, TV Schedule, Sites, Announcers
| Game | Matchup | Date | Time | Location | Announcers | TV | Spread |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FIRST ROUND | |||||||
| For 11 seed: VCU 59 def USC 46 | Wed, 3/16 | 9:00 ET | Dayton | Gus Johnson & Len Elmore | truTV | USC -4.5 | |
| SECOND ROUND | |||||||
| 1 | #1 Kansas 72 def #16 Boston U 53 | Fri, 3/18 | 6:50 ET | Tulsa | Marv Albert & Steve Kerr | TBS | KU -23 |
| 2 | #9 Illinois 73 def #8 UNLV 62 | Fri, 3/18 | 9:20 ET | Tulsa | Marv Albert & Steve Kerr | TBS | UNLV -1.5 |
| 3 | #13 Morehead State 62 def #4 Louisville 61 | Thu, 3/17 | 1:40 ET | Denver | Verne Lundquist & Bill Raftery | TBS | LOU -10 |
| 4 | #12 Richmond 69 def #5 Vanderbilt 66 | Thu, 3/17 | 4:10 ET | Denver | Verne Lundquist & Bill Raftery | TBS | VAN -1.5 |
| 5 | #2 Notre Dame 69 def #15 Akron 56 | Fri, 3/18 | 1:40 ET | Chicago | Spero Dedes & Bob Wenzel | TBS | ND -13 |
| 6 | #10 Florida State 57 def #7 Texas A&M 50 | Fri, 3/18 | 4:10 ET | Chicago | Spero Dedes & Bob Wenzel | TBS | TAM -1 |
| 7 | #3 Purdue 65 def #14 St. Peter's 43 | Fri, 3/18 | 7:20 ET | Chicago | Spero Dedes & Bob Wenzel | TNT | PU -15 |
| 8 | #11 VCU 74 def #6 Georgetown 56 | Fri, 3/18 | 9:50 ET | Chicago | Spero Dedes & Bob Wenzel | TNT | |
| THIRD ROUND | |||||||
| 9 | #1 Kansas 73 def #9 Ilinois 59 | Sun, 3/20 | 8:40 ET | Tulsa | Marv Albert & Steve Kerr | TNT | KU -8.5 |
| 10 | #12 Richmond 65 def #13 Morehead State 48 | Sat, 3/19 | 5:15 ET | Denver | Verne Lundquist & Bill Raftery | CBS | RICH -4 |
| 11 | #10 Florida State def #2 Notre Dame | Sun, 3/20 | 9:40 ET | Chicago | Spero Dedes & Bob Wenzel | TBS | ND -5.5 |
| 12 | #11 VCU 94 def #3 Purdue 76 | Sun, 3/20 | 7:10 ET | Chicago | Spero Dedes & Bob Wenzel | TBS | PU -9 |
| SWEET 16 | |||||||
| 13 | #1 Kansas v #12 Richmond | Fri, 3/25 | 7:27 ET | San Antonio | Marv Albert & Steve Kerr | TBS | KU -10.5 |
| 14 | #10 Florida State v #11 VCU | Fri, 3/25 | 9:57 ET | San Antonio | Marv Albert & Steve Kerr | TBS | FSU -4 |
| ELITE 8 - REGIONAL FINAL | |||||||
| 15 | Game 13 Winner v Game 14 Winner | Sun, 3/27 | San Antonio | Marv Albert & Steve Kerr |
———-
Southwest Region Picks and Champion Prediction
First Round Picks:
- For #11 seed: USC over Virginia Commonwealth
When I was preparing to do these picks, I gathered stats for every team that I thought might have a conceivable shot at making the tourney. I did not get stats for VCU. Let that be yet another knock on their legitimacy as a tourney team.
Second Round Picks:
- #1 Kansas over Boston U
- #9 Illinois over #8 UNLV
- #13 Morehead State over #3 Louisville
- #5 Vanderbilt over #12 Richmond
- #2 Notre Dame over #15 Akron
- #7 Texas A&M over #10 Florida State
- #6 Georgetown over #11 USC
- #3 Purdue over #14 St. Peter’s
Obviously the Morehead State over Louisville pick jumps out here. I know that Rick Pitino is a good tournament coach, but remember that the Cardinals have overachieved this year with relatively subpar talent. Morehead State, however, has Kenneth Faried, who is a legit NBA prospect. Because of Faried, Morehead State is outstanding on the glass. They also have an experienced backcourt that should be able to deal with battle-tested Louisville.
Texas A&M-Florida State was a 3-3 tie, and I chose the Aggies because of the uncertainty surrounding Chris Singleton’s injury. Illinois was a 5-2 winner over UNLV based on their talent and backcourt. The Illini have been disappointing, but they have the talent to make a tourney run.
Third Round Picks:
- #1 Kansas over #9 Illinois
- #5 Vanderbilt over #13 Morehead State
- #2 Notre Dame over #7 Texas A&M
- #3 Purdue over #6 Georgetown
Kansas-Illinois is an interesting matchup because of the Bill Self connection. Illinois has the talent to compete with Jayhawks, but I’m glad the stats predict Kansas because I think the Jayhawks are out to avenge last year’s early exit, and Illinois has just been too inconsistent to trust. Vandy gets the nod over Morehead State because they have more NBA talent and do a better job protecting the ball and making their free throws. Purdue is a pretty easy choice over Georgetown, though both teams struggled at the end of the season.
Sweet 16 Picks:
- #1 Kansas over #5 Vanderbilt
- #3 Purdue over #2 Notre Dame
Kansas really has a pretty easy road to the Elite 8, all things considered. But then again, no one thought they would lose to Northern Iowa last year, so who knows what an “easy road” really means anyway. The Jayhawks are far superior to Vanderbilt though, so I’d be shocked to see an upset here.
In the battle for the Hoosier State, Purdue gets the nod over Notre Dame because the Boilers have more talent with E’Twaun Moore and JaJuan Johnson, and they also have more experience in the backcourt. It’s close to a toss-up though, so I would not be surprised either way. As a native of Indiana, I’d just love to see this matchup.
Elite 8 Picks:
- #1 Kansas over #3 Purdue
I’ve been pretty impressed with Purdue all season, and have said that they have Final 4 potential. They do, but they better hope someone knocks of Kansas before the Elite 8. The Jayhawks have more talent than Purdue, and the Morris twins would ultimately be the difference in this matchup, propelling Kansas to the Final 4 they should have made last year.
Southwest Region Champion: Kansas Jayhawks
**********
About Jerod Morris
