Why Michigan State will Win the South

It's the Sweet 16 or better known as the 2nd weekend of the NCAA Tournament when the casual fans have been weeded out and many folks have already shredded their brackets. Yup, the lady from accounting no longer has an interest in hearing about the tournament, because she picked Oral Roberts and it didn't quite work out. Hopefully, you're still alive and breathing in your brackets, but if not...that's no reason to tune out.

In fact, despite what the ESPN suits have been promoting on the air waves...this is in fact a GREAT tournament. And it has the makings and pairings to continue to be just that. Upsets? Really, nobody is a fan of upsets? Huh, could've fooled me. Anyhow, this week as I've done all year...I plan to impart the marginal College Hoops wisdom I might have with all 5 people brave enough to heed my advice. Why not start things off with the South Regional?

And let me be the first to say...I told you so. Michigan State was MY sleeper pick to make a run in this tournament along with Davidson, West Virgina and Clemson. Well, three out of four ain't so bad. Moving on, most people have already begun to slurp the Sparty kool-aid and for good reason. The shame in it all is that it took a couple of gutsy and tough wins for everyone to realize Izzo is an elite coach with an elite program. Um, apologies to Duke, but the Spartans have been far more prevalent in terms of success this decade.

Question that all you want. It's quite sad that Izzo continually needs to defend his team and his program and needs to somehow validate himself year in and year out. Isn't it about time that we can accept and respect what the man has done? Done and done, good...no more complaining. Now, let me explain just how Michigan State is going to clear the latest hurdle and advance to yet, another Final Four.

1. Size and Depth: You might start laughing when you think about a red-head and goofy looking dude named Suton. Well, factor in Gray and Ebok off the bench and that's a ton of fouls to throw at anybody in this bracket. Let's consider they have to toss around those fouls against Dorsey and Dozier, where's the harm? Last check, those guys can't hit free throws.

OK, so they draw the Lopez brothers in the Elite Eight. They certainly have nobody capable of matching the Lopez brothers offensively, but they sure as hell can make it a rough time getting easy buckets. Something about the Lopez brothers just reeks of a couple head cases. Seems like a couple hard fouls from Gray or Naymick and things could come unraveled.

If it's Texas...we'll their one flaw happens to be lack of size. And yes, they've already beaten Texas this season.

2. Izzo's Smarts and Toughness: Again, this is always a topic in my eyes, because it always makes me bitter each year to hear people question Izzo. Anyhow, what he does is toughen his team throughout the season. He builds a team brick by brick and hopefully, they've evolved into a solid structure for the stretch run. He preaches defense over finesse and it may not always be pretty, but you've gotta be getting the sense that this team is coming together just in time.

3. The Parallels of 2005: Yes, you'll surely here this comparison time and time again. In 2005 the Spartans were a mediocre regular season team, seeded #5 in the South. They beat #1 seed Duke with their toughness and outlasted Kentucky to advance to the Final Four. Oh yes, that Regional was in Austin, TX. Um, sound similar?

4. Drew Gettin' his roll on: It's taken a while and he's taken a beating from the local media, but Drew Neitzel is a friggin' warrior. And he's starting to come through as most expected he would this season. You could just sense on Saturday night that he was NOT ready to see his College career end. It'd be hard to imagine him letting it end this weekend without one hell of a fight. He's got it in him and it's on the verge of erupting.

5. Kalin Lucas: He's one of the quickest players in the country and not a single person is mentioning his name. He used his speed to burn Pitt and scored at will in the lane on Saturday night. He's on the rise and on the cusp of having a breakout weekend that will catapult his name into the mainstay of College Hoops stars.

6. Still waiting for Morgan: We are all still waiting for him to join the show. If he does, the Spartans become a much different and BETTER team. If that comes this weekend...you can punch the Spartans ticket to San Antonio.

And that folks is how the South will be won.