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2013 NCAA Tournament Bracket South Region Instant Analysis

APTOPIX B12 Kansas St Kansas Basketball

Kansas players celebrate after winning the Big 12 men’s tournament title game against Kansas State on Saturday, March 16, 2013, in Kansas City, Mo. Kansas won the NCAA college basketball game 70-54. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

AP

Kansas earned the second No. 1 seed, getting slotted in the South Region. The Jayhawks, who won a share of the Big 12 regular season title and blew out Kansas State in the Big 12 tournament final, gets Western Kentucky in the opening round.

But that’s not the interesting matchup.

If the Jayhawks win, they have a potential matchup with North Carolina -- the No. 8 seed -- and old coach Roy Williams in the round of 32 if the Tar Heels can get by Villanova. Oh, and we also get

Georgetown earned the No. 2 seed in the south, earning an opening round matchup with a Florida-Gulf Coast team that owns a win over Miami this season. A win, and the Hoyas will get the winner of San Diego State and Oklahoma. Florida earned a No. 3 seed in the South despite losing to Ole Miss in the SEC title game this afternoon.

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

Michigan earned the No. 4 seed, getting the honor of taking on South Dakota State in the first round, giving us a delightful matchup of Trey Burke and Nate Wolters, arguably the two best point guards in the country. The Jackrabbits might be able to pull off that upset, but don’t bet on the No. 12 seed winning in the south; Akron lost their starting point guard and will get an opening round matchup with VCU’s Havoc. Nightmare.

The most interesting matchup in the opening round of the South Region? No. 6 UCLA and No. 11 Minnesota. Not only did the Bruins lose Jordan Adams, but they don’t have much size and struggle with athletic teams. The Gophers dominate the offensive glass and have as much athleticism as anyone in the country. Which Minnesota team shows up? The one that beat Indiana or the one that lost 11 of their last 16 games?

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You can find Rob on twitter @RobDauster.