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2013 NCAA Tournament Bracket Midwest Region Instant Analysis

Peyton Siva

Louisville’s Peyton Siva, at front of gorup, poses for photographs with teammates after an NCAA college basketball game against Syracuse for the Big East Conference men’s tournament title, Saturday, March 16, 2013, in New York. Louisville won 78-61. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

AP

The top overall seed in the 2013 NCAA Tournament, the Louisville Cardinals, receive the perk of landing in the Midwest Region which will culminate in Indianapolis.

The Cardinals, who shared the Big East regular season title and won the conference tournament, open with the winner of the opening round game between Liberty and North Carolina A&T.

Duke, which entered the tournament as the number one team in the RPI, received the two-seed and will begin play in Philadelphia against 15-seed Albany. Rounding out the top four seeds in the region are three-seed Michigan State and four-seed Saint Louis, which won both the Atlantic 10 regular season and tournament titles.

(CLICK HERE: To browse through the rest of our 2013 NCAA Tournament Previews)

Your Midwest sleeper: Saint Louis, whose skill should not be a secret by now. Interim head coach Jim Crews has done one of the best coaching jobs in the country following the passing of Rick Majerus, and they’ve got experienced players throughout their rotation. The 5/12 matchup also jumps out as Oklahoma State takes on Pac-12 tournament champion Oregon, who may have been under-seeded by the selection committee.

This bracket could provide a matchup of Tom Izzo (Michigan State) and Mike Krzyzewski (Duke) in the Sweet 16, but both teams may face tough games beforehand. The 7/10 matchup between Creighton and Cincinnati will be an interesting match of styles, as the Bluejays will look to run while the rugged Bearcats can’t afford get into offensive shootouts.

Memphis is the six-seed in the Midwest, and they’ll take on the winner of Middle Tennessee and Saint Mary’s in Auburn Hills. Outside of the top three seeds that may be the storyline of this region, as the Blue Raiders were rewarded for their non-conference strength of schedule.

MW

Raphielle also writes for the NBE Basketball Report and can be followed on Twitter at @raphiellej.