Back from my much needed vacation to So Cal who would have thought so much could happen within a week.

First Penn State upsets then #17 ranked Indiana at home in overtime no less, then loses to the Illini in the Big Ten tournament, then Illinois goes on to make a run to the final of the tournament. If only we could have the first round game back.

And now Pryor has stirred up even more chaos by announcing that he is finally ready to announce.

Whats more, now banished ‘Michigan Man’, the coach of Stanford was apparently right when they discovered Michigan is as academically challenging as your local community college.

And on the day of my return? The NCAA announces their seeds and bracket for this year’s tournament.

So without further ado, heres a comparison of the best So Cal’s has to offer (pictures courtesy of Chris W. who was part our our entourage west) and the regional brackets.

Midwest Regional
Many would assume Wisconsin has the best chance out of the four Big Ten teams to make a deep run into the tournament due to their #3 seed, but like surfing, things are a lot harder than they look from a distance. When you are paddling out into the ocean, minute waves look ten feet tall and catching a good wave takes skill, determination and lots of luck. Wisconsin will need alot of luck just to make it out of this regional. Beating #14 CS-Fullerton will most likely bring a matchup with Pac 10, OJ Mayo led USC. If they even make it past USC, Georgetown will probably loom next and there is always Kansas to look forward to in this regional.

East Regional
In our Eastern corner, standing at 25-7, we have Indiana seeded #8 simply because they’ve been struggling since the departure of Coach Sanctions. In my honest opinion, if the Big Ten had its pick of the four teams they would most like to send to the tournament, I would have replaced Indiana with Ohio State. Hear me out before I am banned from the Hoosier state. Ohio State beat #15 Purdue, and #17 Michigan State to end the season before falling to the revenge minded Spartans in the tournament. Indiana on the other hand lost to Penn State (who did not even make the NIT) and Minnesota in the first round of the tournament, not exactly a ‘hot’ streak to walk into the tournament with. They face an Arkansas team that made the SEC final by beating #4 Tennessee and #18 Vanderbilt before falling to eventual tournament champion Georgia. So one teams regressing, the others rising, odds are Indiana will struggle to even make it out of the first round. Like Shamu at SeaWorld, Indiana is a trapped team. Their reward for beating a hot Arkansas team? A second round date with North Carolina the top seed in the entire tournament. At least Shamu gets a break now and again between shows, Indiana faces a non-stop gauntlet of a tournament.

West Regional
Anyone who has ridden the Tower of Terror in Disneyland knows the horror of being dropped repeatedly from a high altitude. The West Regional in our opinion is the toughest region of the tournament. Yes, many of the big hitters are all seeded in other regions, but the West is competitive across the board. The team with the worst record in this region? Georgia at 16 losses from the SEC. The very same Georgia that just won the SEC tournament. Then theres Purdue, surprise conference contenders from the Big Ten, UCLA beast from the West, UConn and everyone’s arch nemeses, Duke.

South Regional
When the Hollywood sign began to deteriorate in the 1940s, the city of Los Angeles decided it was a landmark and should be repaired with the help of famous donors. The new and current sign was unveiled in 1978 on its 75th anniversary. But like the top seed of the South Regional, Memphis, this Southern California landmark is overrated. When you go 33-1 in Conference USA play, it means exactly as it sounds. Granted their early season victories over Georgetown, Arizona, and USC were nice, it is just so much easier to cruise through a mid major conference than it is to grind it out game in and game out. And whats even more ridiculous is the lack of big hitters to impede Memphis’ way to the Final Four in this conference. Texas as the #2 seed? The same Texas that lost to both Michigan State and Wisconsin was the best the selection committee could come up with to challenge Memphis. You would think after the Hawaii debacle that Memphis should be facing the toughest road to the Final Four by virtue of their ridiculous conference simply to see if they are worthy. More to come on this ridiculous obsession with Cinderella mid majors, but Memphis is simply not that invincible.