By Max Sass, Sports Editor

National Champion: Ohio State

The Buckeyes have the most dangerous starting lineup in America, with apologies to Kansas. The Buckeyes are 20-2 since junior guard Evan Turner returned from his back injury. The Jayhawks are good, but not great. The difference between the two teams is their star player. Senior guard Sherron Collins is an excellent player but not quite at the level of Evan Turner. Turner can control an entire game, from offense to defense to rebounding and dishing out assists. Turner is also complimented by guards William Buford and David Lighty as well as sharpshooter Jon Diebler.

Tournament Most Outstanding Player: Evan Turner

Only John Wall can compete with Turner for this award and seeing as Turner’s team will win the National Championship he should bring home the MOP hardware as well.

Runner-Up: West Virginia

Not only do the Mountaineers have tremendous talent on the floor but also they are coached by one of the best coaches in the nation, Bob Huggins. West Virginia showed how dangerous they are when they won the Big East Tournament, the nation’s best conference. Devin Ebanks and DeSean Butler are both dangerous offensive players and Daryl “Truck” Bryant is a dangerous third scoring option.

Final Four: Ohio State, West Virginia, Pittsburgh and Villanova

Pittsburgh comes out of a very weak West bracket. No. 1 seed Syracuse has little depth. The orange are seven players deep all season and now with center Arinze Onuaku injured their depth could plague them into an early upset. No. 2 seed Kansas State is talented but if guard Jacob Pullen does not play well there is not enough talent around him to make up for it. They also have not shown an ability to win big games, demonstrated by their inability to defeat Kansas at home in a game they controlled. Sophomore guard Ashton Gibbs will be the key for Pittsburgh. His shooting ability will help make up for the Panthers’ lack of an offensive presence in the paint.

Villanova has incredible guard depth in Scottie Reynolds, Corey Fisher and Corey Stokes. Each is capable of scoring 25 points any given night but Reynolds will be the difference maker. Duke finished the season strong but is a bit overrated. Georgia Tech exposed them earlier in the season and while Kyle Singler and Jon Scheyer are good, Villanova’s guards should be able to score points in bundles on the Blue Devils.

Shocking first round upset: No. 13 Siena over no. 4 Purdue

Siena has won their past two first round games and Purdue has not been the same dominant team since Robbie Hummel was injured. Purdue has gone 3-2 in their last five games but both losses came against NCAA Tournament teams, Michigan State and Minnesota, while all three wins came against non-tournament teams (Indiana, Northwestern, Penn State).

Cinderella Story: Cornell

Cornell rumbled through the Ivy League without much opposition. They are a dangerous shooting team led by Ryan Wittman. Wittman averages 17.5 points per game and shoots 42% from the field. They have a decent path to the sweet-16, facing Temple and Wisconsin before looking at a matchup with Kentucky. None of those games will be easy, but it is hard to defeat a team that knows how to win and shoots lights out from 3-point range.

Biggest Snub: Mississippi State

By far the biggest snub of the tournament was Mississippi State. The Bulldogs finished the regular season with an impressive 24-11 mark in a very competitive SEC which includes no. 2 Kentucky, no. 22 Vanderbilt, and no. 14 Tennessee. A thrilling overtime loss in the SEC tournament final against Kentucky should have helped MSU’s chances of making it to the big dance, but for some reason, the Bulldogs were overlooked. Led by senior forward and All-SEC honoree Jarvis Varnado, Mississippi State will have to settle for a number one seed in the NIT tournament.