NCAA Bracket 2011: Sweet 16 Analysis and Predictions

This year's NCAA Tournament has been one of the most entertaining I've ever seen.

There have been numerous buzzer-beaters, close finishes and great upsets, including Butler's win over No. 1 seed Pitt.

Heading into the second weekend of the tourney, we've got eight fantastic matchups to look forward to in the Sweet 16. Let's break them all down.

East: 1. Ohio State vs. 4. Kentucky

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TAMPA, FL - MARCH 19: Brandon Knight #12 of the Kentucky Wildcats gets set to shoot a free throw attempt against the West Virginia Mountaineers during the third round of the 2011 NCAA men's basketball tournament at St. Pete Times Forum on March 19, 2011

Ohio State: 

Second-round blowout vs. UTSA

Third-round blowout vs. George Mason

Kentucky: 

Second-round close win vs. Princeton

Third-round close win vs. West Virginia

Key Player: Brandon Knight

Prediction: Kentucky defeats Ohio State in a close game, led by Brandon Knight's 30 points and 10 assists. OSU's Jared Sullinger gets 20 points and 10 rebounds, but it isn't enough to avoid an upset at the hands of the Wildcats.  

East: 2. North Carolina vs. 11. Marquette

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CLEVELAND, OH - MARCH 20: Joseph Fulce #21 and Darius Johnson-Odom #1 of the Marquette Golden Eagles celebrate with teammates after defeating the Syracuse Orange during the third of the 2011 NCAA men's basketball tournament at Quicken Loans Arena on March

North Carolina:

Second-round easy win vs. Long Island

Third-round close win vs. Washington

Marquette: 

Second-round easy win vs. Xavier

Third-round close win vs. Syracuse

Key Player: Harrison Barnes

Prediction: UNC defeats Marquette in an easy win behind Barnes' 30 points. Marquette doesn't have anything left in the tank after their win over Syracuse. 

West: 1. Duke vs. 5. Arizona

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TULSA, OK - MARCH 20: Derrick Williams #23 of the Arizona Wildcats celebrates after defeating the Texas Longhorns 70-69 in the third round of the 2011 NCAA men's basketball tournament at BOK Center on March 20, 2011 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. (Photo by Ronald

Duke: 

Second-round blowout win vs. Hampton

Third-round close win vs. Michigan

Arizona: 

Second-round close win vs. Memphis

Third-round close win vs. Texas

Key Player: Nolan Smith

Prediction: Duke defeats Arizona in a great game behind Smith's 20 and Singler's 20. Derrick Williams has 20 for 'Zona along with 10 rebounds, but after great plays at the end of each of their first two tournament games he doesn't come through at the end of this one.  

West: 2. San Diego State vs. 3. Connecticut

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WASHINGTON - MARCH 19: Kemba Walker #15 of the Connecticut Huskies celebrates their 69-58 win over the Cincinnati Bearcats during the third round of the 2011 NCAA men's basketball tournament at Verizon Center on March 19, 2011 in Washington, DC. (Photo

SDSU:

Second-round easy win vs. North Colorado

Third-round OT win vs. Temple

UConn:

Second-round blowout win vs. Bucknell

Third-round easy win vs. Cincinnati

Key Player: Jeremy Lamb

Prediction: UConn defeats SDSU in a close game behind Kemba Walker's 20 points and Jeremy Lamb's five three-pointers. SDSU puts up a good fight, but Kemba and Lamb are too much for them on the offensive end.  

Southwest: 1. Kansas vs. 12. Richmond

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DENVER, CO - MARCH 19: Darien Brothers #3 and Conor Smith #31 of the Richmond Spiders celebrate after defeating the Morehead State Eagles during the third round of the 2011 NCAA men's basketball tournament at Pepsi Center on March 19, 2011 in Denver, Col

Kansas: 

Second-round easy win vs. Boston University

Third-round easy win vs. Illinois 

Richmond: 

Second-round close win vs. Vanderbilt

Third-round easy win vs. Morehead State

Key Player: Marcus Morris

Prediction: Kansas defeats Richmond in a blowout behind Marcus Morris's 30 points and his brother's 20. They bring Richmond back down to earth and end their Cinderella season. 

Southwest: 10. Florida State vs. 11. Virginia Commonwealth

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CHICAGO, IL - MARCH 20: Joey Rodriguez #12 of the Virginia Commonwealth Rams celebrates as he leaves the game in the second half of the game against the Purdue Boilermakers during the third round of the 2011 NCAA men's basketball tournament at the United

Florida State:

Second-round Close win vs. Texas A&M

Third-round easy win vs. Notre Dame

VCU:

First-round easy win vs. USC

Second-round easy win vs. Georgetown

Third-round easy win vs. Purdue

Key Player: Chris Singleton

Prediction: Florida State defeats VCU in a great game. Singleton has 20 points in just 15 minutes of playing time, helping FSU end VCU's Cinderella season. 

Southeast: 4. Wisconsin vs. 8. Butler

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WASHINGTON - MARCH 19: After making the game winning free throw, Matt Howard #54 of Butler is embraced by teammates Zach Hahn #3 and Khyle Marshall #23 in the third round of the 2011 NCAA men's basketball tournament at Verizon Center on March 19, 2011 in

Wisconsin:

Second-round easy win vs. Belmont

Third-round easy win vs. Kansas State

Butler:

Second-round close win vs. Old Dominion

Third-round close win vs. Pitt

Key Player: Jordan Taylor

Prediction: Wisconsin defeats Butler in a blowout behind Taylor's explosion for 30 points and 10 assists. Butler can't make it quite as far as they did last year.  

Southeast: 2. Florida vs. 3. BYU

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DENVER, CO - MARCH 19: Jimmer Fredette #32 of the Brigham Young Cougars walks off of the court after defeating the Gonzaga Bulldogs during the third round of the 2011 NCAA men's basketball tournament at Pepsi Center on March 19, 2011 in Denver, Colorado.

Florida:

Second-round blowout vs. UC Santa Barbara

Third-round close win vs. UCLA

BYU:

Second-round close win vs. Wofford

Third-round easy win vs. Gonzaga

Key Player: Jimmer Fredette 

Prediction: BYU defeats Florida in a close contest behind a big game from Jimmer. Florida just doesn't have the defense to contain the Jimmer Show. 

Elite Eight and Final Four

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NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 12: Kemba Walker #15 of the Connecticut Huskies reacts after a play against the Louisville Cardinals during the championship of the 2011 Big East Men's Basketball Tournament presented by American Eagle Outfitters at Madison Square Ga

Elite Eight:

East: Kentucky over UNC

West: UConn over Duke

Southwest: Kansas over Florida State

Southeast: BYU over Wisconsin

Final Four:

UConn over Kentucky

Kansas over BYU

National Championship Game:

UConn 76, Kansas 72

MVP: Kemba Walker