Girl’s Guide to NCAA March Madness Round 2 Matchups: West Region

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The opening round of the 2010 NCAA Men’s Basketball tournament is over! The opening round was amazing! Full of buzzer beats, OTs, upsets and magical moments!

How did you do in your brackets? I didn’t do as well as I did last year when I went 28-4 going into Saturday’s games but, considering I did my brackets in literally, 5 minutes, I’m not mad.

Now, it’s on to Round 2! For the Lucky 32 I’ve given a complete breakdown of all the teams and their matchups. Oh, and I threw in my bracket picks too so you can see how I’m doing!

Who do you have advancing to the Sweet 16? Leave me comment or send me a tweet @StilettosportsJ and let me know where you stand!

NCAA March Madness Round 2 Matchups: West Region

No. 1 Syracuse vs. No. 8 Gonzaga

Syracuse

Big East
Location: Syracuse, NY
Nicknames: Orange, Orangemen
Mascot: Otto The Orange
School Colors: Orange….. are you noticing a theme here?
Coach: Jim Boeheim
Home Court : The Orange play in the Carrier Dome–I’ve even heard of it! It’s the largest domed college stadium in the country. My school had a dome. It was small.
Players: Arinze Okanadu (Jonny Flynn, last years key player is now a player in the NBA on the Minnesota Timberwolves)
Fame: VP Joe Biden

Gonzaga

Western Athletic Conference
Location: Spokane, Washington (You have no idea how long I’ve wondered where it was. I always assumed it was in the Southeast)
Nickname: Bulldogs ( I really wish it was Gonzo from the Muppet Babies). Players are also called Zags
What is a Gonzaga?: I feel kinda bad because it really always has reminded me of the Muppets but the school is actually named for the young Jesuit saint, St. Aloysius Gonzaga.
Mascot: Spike the Bulldog
School Colors: Blue, White, and Red
Coach: Mark Few
Player to Know: Matt Bouldin

In My Brackets: I am very much Go ‘Cuse in my brackets being an upstate NY girl. But I do have a soft spot for the ‘Zags so I won’t be mad if they come and bust my bracket

No. 5 Butler vs. No. 13 Murray State

Butler

Horizon
Location: Indianapolis, Indiana
Mascot: Bulldogs
Student Fan Section: The Dawg Pound
School Colors: Blue and White
Coach: Brad Stevens
Claim to Fame: The final championship in the 1986 movie Hoosiers was filmed in Butler’s basketball arena!
*** This is a great little team to root for. Once a virtual unknown, in the last decade, they have really made a name for themselves as a regular in the NCAA tourney!

Murray State

Ohio Valley Conference
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Nickname: Racers (They used to be the Thoroughbreds. Which was shortened to T-Breds. And then Race Horses. And finally… Racers)
Mascot: Racer One & The Dunker
School Colors: Navy Blue and Gold
Coach: Jamie Dixon
Rivals: Western Kentucky & Austin Peay
Fight Song: “The Old Grey Mare”
Fame: According to wikipedia: Murray State has had 14 appearances in the NCAA Tournament and has been recognized as one of the top 30 basketball programs in modern history by ESPN. …..cept no one seems to have a clue who they are…
Upset Watch: in the past Murray State has almost knocked of Michigan State when they were seeded No. 1, Duke when they were a No. 2 UNC when they were a No. 3.

In My Brackets: Well, since I didn’t pick Murray State to make it past Round 1, and I had Vanderbilt moving on a bit….my brackets are little screwed! I think I’m going to go out on a limb and pick Murray State to be the Cinderellas right now. Mostly because Erik told me to. I do think Butler is a great little team to root for, but I’m a sucker for a potential Cinderella story!

No. 6 Xavier vs. No. 3 Pittsburgh

Xavier

Atlantic 10
Location: Cincinnati, Ohio
Nickname: Musketeers
Mascot: “D’Artagnan the captain of Musketeers of the Guard” and also, The Blue Blob. Um. Okay.
School Colors: Navy Blue, Grey, White
Coach: Chris Mack
Rivals: Cincinnati Bearcats. They play each other in the Skyline Chili Crosstown Shootout

Pittsburgh

Big East
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Nickname: Panthers
Mascot: Roc the Panthers
School Colors: Blue and Gold
Coach: Jamie Dixon
Rivals: West Virginia
Fanatical Fans: The Oakland Zoo. Pitts fans have been ranked the top in country and labeled “phenomenal” and “formidable.” Oakland refers to the neighborhood in Pitts where the college is.

In My Brackets: Technically I think I have Pitts. But here I’ll admit how torn I am. See, I hate the state of Ohio where Xavier is from. But I also hate all things Pittsburgh. And over the years Xavier has wormed its way into my heart much like Gonzaga has. Even though, on paper brackets I think it’s going to be Pitts, I’m going to put this in my upset alert category and align myself with Xavier.

No. 7 BYU vs No. 2 Kansas State

BYU

Mountain West
Location: Provo, Utah
Mascot: Cougars
School Colors: Blue and White
Coach: Dave Rose
Players: CBS called him “The Biggest Secret in the NCAA Tournament” Except he really is top secret. No one really knows he is. Even Senior Correspondent Erik Sweetland had to look him up! Jimmer Fredette. He’s a junior guard from….Glens Falls, NY! Right up the road from where I’m from! He’s good people!
In Case You Didn’t Know: Brigham Young University is a Morman College owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
Random Facts: That means that they have very strict codes of conduct including: dress code, no sex before marriage and no drugs or alcohol. Um…. well that certainly takes away from the whole college experience now doesn’t it (**I mean no disrespect in any way. I actually have friends that went to BYU and they loved it. My college, on the other hand, was a little….looser…..on their codes of conduct).

Kansas State

Big 12
Location: Manhattan, KS
Nickname: Wildcats
School Colors: Purple and White
Coach: Frank Martin
Rivals: Kansas. They even have a Sunflower Showdown between the two teams
Famous Alumns: Michael Beasley, Miami Heat

In my Brackets: Same thing as Xavier-Pitts. In my real brackets I have Kansas State. Mostly because there is very vague chance they could meet Kansas down the road. But I’m very interested to see what BYU and Jimmer Fredette can do. It’s not like I actually like Kansas State (impossible since I’m a KU girl!) but I think they will most likely win. But I’d like this to be an upset.

About the author: Jennifer Taglione is the owner of this fabulous website Stiletto Sports. Despite writing well over 500 posts, she still maintains that she is not a sports writer! She is however a huge fan of Kurt Warner, Larry Fitzgerald, Mark Sanchez, the Celtics, and totally kicks butt on March Madness brackets! Connect with her by following her on Twitter @StilettoSportsJ and subscribing to her weekly newsletter. For more info check out the About the Editor page!

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