NCAA Tournament Predictions: Top 4 Seeds in Each Region for Next March Madness

These 16 teams will be the top four seeds in each region in the 2011-12 NCAA tournament. Going by region, these will be the top four ranked schools in each.

Seeds do not matter very much in March, and being ranked high is not a guarantee of anything, but these are the early predictions of how the seeding will look.

The East Region

No. 1 Overall Seed North Carolina

The Heels are returning Harrison Barnes, Tyler Zeller and John Henson. They also have kept Kendall Marshall and Dexter Strickland.

They have snagged two top-20 recruits in James McAdoo and P.J. Hairston. Even with Leslie McDonald out for the season, the Tar Heels are a formidable foe.

No. 2 Louisville

The Cardinals are one of the best teams in the nation, due largely to the fact that they have only lost Terrence Jennings and Preston Knowles.

The team still has most of their team, Jared Swopshire will return from injury and two All-Americans (Wayne Blackshear and Chane Behanan) have been brought in.

Rick Pitino and the Cardinals are going to be one of the best teams in the nation this season.

No. 3 Connecticut

The Connecticut Huskies have lost Kemba Walker, but they are still a formidable opponent. Even without Walker, the Huskies still have Jeremy Lamb, Shabazz Napier and Roscoe Smith, who will all be sophomores.

Alex Oriakhi will be back, but Jamal Coombs-McDaniel is transferring to the school this season.  The Huskies signed two talented recruits, DeAndre Daniels and Ryan Boatright, who bolster a well-balanced Connecticut team.

No. 4 Wisconsin

The Badgers lost  Jon Leuer, and he will be their biggest loss. They do have five solid returning players ( Jordan Taylor, Josh Gasser, Mike Bruesewitz, Ryan Evans, Jared Berggren) and four good recruits (Jarrod Uthoff, Frank Kaminsky, Traevon Jackson, George Marshall), so they do have a solid team.

Bo Ryan is a crafty coach, and we should not underestimate his team.

The Southeast Region

No. 1 Kentucky 

The Wildcats lost a few good players in Brandon Knight, DeAndre Liggins and Josh Harrellson. Knight led their team last season, but it seems that they have replaced him.

Kentucky has brought in three top-10 recruits in Anthony Davis, Marquis Teague and Michael Gilchrist. Add these three to the returning mix of Doron Lamb, Terrence Jones, Darius Miller, Jon Hood, Eloy Vargas and Stacey Poole Jr., and you have yet another stellar Kentucky team.

No. 2 Duke

The Blue Devils lost Nolan Smith, Kyrie Irving and Kyle Singler from their No. 1-seeded team from a year ago. Duke has a solid team returning with Mason Plumlee, Miles Plumlee, Seth Curry, Ryan Kelly, Andre Dawkins, Tyler Thornton and Josh Hairston.

Match them with their recruiting class of Austin Rivers, Quinn Cook, Michael Gbinije, Marshall Plumlee and Alex Murphy, and you have a great team. The Blue Devils lack leadership however, and they will have to rely heavily on freshman Austin Rivers.

No. 3 Vanderbilt

The Commodores have only lost Andre Walker, yet they have recruited Dai-Jon Parker, Kedren Johnson and Shelby Moats. The Commodores still have their top nine scorers from last season.

They have been ranked anywhere from the top 20 to the top 10, and there have been a lot of questions surrounding them. They have the leadership, but I see them disappointing, although they will still snag one of the top seeds in their region.

No. 4 Arizona

The Wildcats lost Momo Jones and Jamelle Horne along with Williams, but they still have Solomon Hill, Kevin Parrom, Jesse Perry, Kyryl Natyazhko, Kyle Fogg, Brendon Lavender and Jordin Mayes. The Wildcats recruited Josiah Turner, Nick Johnson, Angelo Chol and Sidiki Johnson.

The Wildcats are very deep, and Sean Miller is going to lead them to a good season.

The Southwest Region

No. 1 Ohio State

The Buckeyes lost David Lighty, Jon Diebler and Dallas Lauderdale, but they still have Jared Sullinger, William Buford, Aaron Craft and Deshaun Thomas. They also have some excellent newcomers in Amir Williams, LaQuinton Ross, Shannon Scott, Sam Thompson, Trey McDonald and Evan Revenel (Boston College transfer).

Buford and Sullinger will lead the way for the Buckeyes, who could be almost as good as last year.

No. 2 Pittsburgh

The Panthers are no longer good enough for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament, but they are good enough for one of the lower No. 2 seeds. The Panthers lost Brad Wanamaker, Gary McGhee and Gilbert Brown, but they kept Ashton Gibbs, Nasir Robinson, Travon Woodall, Dante Taylor, Talib Zanna, J.J. Moore, Lamar Patterson, J.J. Richardson, Isaiah Epps (redshirt) and Cameron Wright (redshirt).

Their recruiting class is one of the best, consisting of Khem Birch, Malcolm Gilbert, Durand Johnson and John Johnson. The Panthers are still a great team, and with Gibbs returning, they will gain a No. 2 seed in their region.

No. 3 Memphis

The Tigers have only lost Will Coleman since last season, but they still have Tarik Black, Will Barton, Joe Jackson, Wesley Witherspoon, Antonio Barton, Charles Carmouche, Chris Crawford and D.J. Stephens.

This young, talented group of kids from a year ago has matured nicely, and adding recruit  Adonis Thomas to the mix will be highly effective.

No. 4 Kansas

The Jayhawks were the second-best team before the NCAA tournament, but upstart VCU upset them. The team has lost the Morris twins, Tyrel Reed, Josh Selby, Brady Morningstar and Mario Little.

They still have Tyshawn Taylor, Thomas Robinson, Travis Releford, Ben McLemore, Elijah Johnson and Jeff Withey coming backs, and new faces in Ben McLemore, Naadir Tharpe, Jamari Traylor, Braeden Anderson, Mervyn Lindsay, Kevin Young (JUCO transfer).

The team is not as good as they were last season, but they are still a very solid team.

The West Region

No. 1 Syracuse

The Orange lost Rick Jackson, but they still have Kris Joseph, Scoop Jardine, Brandon Triche, Dion Waiters, Fab Melo, C.J. Fair, James Southerland, Baye Moussa Keita, DaShonte Riley and Mookie Jones.

They also have a good recruiting class in Rakeem Christmas, Michael Carter-Williams and Trevor Cooney. The team will have a plethora of great guards. They will also have a good mix of talented sophomores and All-American freshmen.

Jim Boeheim is going to have a good group of guys this year.

No. 2 Florida

The Gators have lost Chandler Parsons, Vernon Macklin and Alex Tyus, but they still have Erving Walker, Kenny Boynton, Erik Murphy, Patric Young, Casey Prather, Scottie Wilbekin, Will Yeguete and Cody Larson (redshirt). Florida's recruits are Bradley Beal and Walter Pitchford.

The Gators are going to have one of the deepest group of guards in the country, and that will make for a lot of fast-paced scoring. The Gators should be feared again, and they may even be better than last season.

No. 3 Baylor

The Bears lost LaceDarius Dunn and Stargell Love, but they have still improved. Matching recruits and transfers like Quincy Miller, Deuce Bello, Pierre Jackson (JUCO transfer), Brady Heslip (Boston College transfer) and Gary Franklin (California transfer) to a returning mix of  Perry Jones, Quincy Acy, A.J. Walton, Anthony Jones, Fred Ellis and J'mison Morgan.

The Bears will have a formidable frontcourt, led by Perry Jones, and they should be a threat to any team they play.

No. 4 UCLA

The Bruins lost Tyler Honeycutt and Malcolm Lee, and lost their hopes of a title at the same time. They still have Reeves Nelson, Josh Smith, Lazeric Jones, Jerime Anderson, Brendan Lane, Tyler Lamb and Anthony Stover, but they are not the same as Honeycutt and Lee.

UCLA will be bringing in Travis and David Wear (UNC transfers), Norman Powell and D'End Parker (JUCO transfer), and they will contribute immediately. UCLA has a very deep frontcourt, and that is going to help them a lot.

Most other people don't have the Bruins so high, but their depth and length will make them an extremely talented team and one to be feared.