NCAA Brackets 2012: What Experts Are Saying About the West Regional

This is the time of the year where even the greatest experts look ridiculous. That is going to happen again this year. 

Here we have one-quarter of the bracket, the West Regional. We have three experts with three different opinions. Some are going to look great, others a little foolish. Let's see who is going to fall in what category when the Final Four rolls around.

Jay Bilas, ESPN

With the exception of No. 9. St. Louis over No. 8 Memphis in the first round, Bilas is taking a completely chalk bracket. This is certainly a safe way of projecting the tournament. Ultimately, he believes that Michigan State will defeat Missouri to earn a trip to Atlanta and the Final Four.

Dixon's Take

Our first rounds are pretty well in line. The only disagreement is in the No. 8 vs. No. 9 matchup. I believe that Memphis will win. 

After that, I deviate a little from the chalk predictions. Marquette is not terribly impressive to me (nor is any Big East team), and Murray State is a well-oiled machine. The Racers put up a lot of points and we can't forget that they only lost one game during the season. 

So, Bilas and I disagree in that one second-round game. He has Marquette knocking out Murray State, while I have the Racers winning. Other than that, we're pretty well aligned.

The final exception is that I have Missouri advancing to the Final Four. The Tigers shoot incredibly well, are deep and will be too much for Michigan State in the regional final. 

Pat Forde, Yahoo! Sports

Unike Bilas, Forde is putting his neck out here in this region. The first round is pretty simple. Like Bilas, he is going chalk, with one exception. Unlike Bilas, Forde has No. 12 Long Beach State vs. No. 5 New Mexico as the upset. 

Getting into the Round of 32, things look mighty interesting. The only No. 1 seed that Forde doesn't think will make the Elite Eight is Michigan State, which he has falling to Memphis. As a matter of fact, he has Murray State downing the Tigers the regional final, which is anything but chalk.

Dixon's Take

I don't see the upsets here, especially that deep. Michigan State is a really good team and Tom Izzo knows how to coach in the tournament. His team will be ready in the second round and will end up winning convincingly. 

On the other half of the bracket, Murray State won't take Missouri out. Mizzou is a deep scoring force and will be too much for the Racers. Forde will look like a genius if this comes anywhere close to true, but there are too many upsets that don't add up. 

Matt Norlander, CBS Sports

No earth-shattering surprises here, with the No. 2 seed winning the region, but Norlander is taking plenty of odd turns along the way. 

Like the other two, Norlander has only one upset in the first round, this time with Davidson upending Louisville. After that, things get a little weird.

In the top half of the bracket, we have Memphis and New Mexico locking up in the Sweet 16, with the Lobos winning. He also has Murray State taking out Marquette. From there on out, the high seeds win as, according to Norlander, Mizzou will beat New Mexico in the Elite Eight.

Dixon's Take

A little more upset-oriented than I would like, but we arrived at the same solution.

In no way do I see Michigan State not seeing the second week of the tournament. I could see a way that Louisville would beat the Spartans in the Sweet 16, but not before. While we're on the subject, the Cardinals are too good to get knocked out in the first round. 

As for the bottom half of the bracket, we are in complete agreement on. Again, a lot of early upsets, but Norlander is with me on the regional champ. 

West Regional

1.	Michigan State
2.	Missouri
3.	Marquette
4.	Louisville
5.	New Mexico
6.	Murray State
7.	Florida
8.	Memphis
9.	St. Louis
10.	Virginia
11.	Colorado State
12.	Long Beach State
13.	Davidson
14.	BYU or Iona
15.	Norfolk
16.	LIU

For your printable NCAA bracket, click here.

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