By Cody Marshall-Sultan of Sports

GALWAY–Tonight, the 2012 NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship Tournament begins with two of the First Four first round games. The Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils will take on the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers at 6:40pm at the University of Dayton Arena. Western Kentucky made headlines last week after winning the Sun Belt Championship as a 7 seed in the tournament, making them the only team to make the tournament with a losing record at 15-18. The Hilltoppers are making their 22nd appearance in the tournament. The last time the Hilltoppers made the tournament, they lost to Gonzaga in the second round (now considered the third round) in 2009. In fact, the Hilltoppers have made it passed the opening round and first round in each of their last two trips to the dance. Meanwhile, the Delta Devils are making their fifth appearance in the tournament and first since 2008 when they lost to UCLA in the first round. The Delta Devils won the regular season and tournament title for the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC). The winner will move on to face the #1 overall seed Kentucky Wildcats.

The second game will be between the Cougars of BYU and the Iona Gaels. Making the tournament as an at-large bid after losing their semifinal game to Fairfield in the MAAC Tournament, Iona has caused chatter around the nation as to whether they should be in the big dance. They played Purdue to overtime, but ultimately lost. However, the Gaels do have the nation’s assists leader at the guard position with Scott Machado. Also, the Gaels lead the nation in points per game with an average of 83.3. This will be the 9th appearance for the Gaels, who have just one win in nine total games. The lone victory came back in 1980 when the Gaels defeated Holy Cross 84-78 before losing to Georgetown 74-71. The Gaels last appearance was cut short when they lost to LSU 80-64 in the first round. Meanwhile, BYU enters the tournament after their first year of competing in the West Coast Conference. BYU didn’t win the conference regular season or championship tournament, but they managed to finish third behind Saint Mary’s and Gonzaga (who both made the tournament as 7 seed in the Midwest and East regionals respectively). This will be the 27th appearance for the Cougars, who are 14-29 in 43 games. This will be the first time the Cougars will be in the tournament since the graduation of Glens Falls native Jimmer Fredette. The winner of this matchup will move to the second round to face Big East opponent, the #3 Marquette Golden Eagles.

As for the tournament as a whole, I really liked Kentucky going in, but that message didn’t make it to the pen I was filling out my brackets with. In my original bracket, my Final Four consisted of Kentucky, Missouri, Ohio State, and Kansas. In the final, I like the Jayhawks to stun the Wildcats in New Orleans. However, in my ESPN bracket I have Kentucky, Marquette, Ohio State, and Kansas with Kentucky winning the battle with Kansas. Then, this morning I had Missouri beating Kansas as well. The other two there were Indiana and Ohio State.

Since it’s March and some of us still need help filling out brackets, here’s a few things that have run through my mind when selecting winners. First, Syracuse’s number 1 seed in the East is good for them, but they aren’t the best team there. I wouldn’t be surprised if Kansas State knocks them out in the third round. If not, the Vanderbilt or Wisconsin coulkd surely be the ones to end the Orange’s dream season. Simply put, the Big East was not very good this year, even if it did manage to send 9 teams. The Big Ten is the best conference this year, but only Michigan State managed to claim a number 1 seed, and they have been mentioned as a team that could make an early exit. As for picking upsets, I always try to pick a 13 over a 4, or a 12 over a 5, as those are 2 of the three highest upsets made in history. This year, my favorite 12 seed is Harvard, while my 13 seed that could make a run is the Bobcats of Ohio. Vanderbilt has been known to fall early, and seeing them lose to Harvard wouldn’t be much of a shocker to me.

Those of you who are believing in VCU this year after the run to the Final Four last year, don’t get your hopes up. Wichita State has too much for VCU to handle and will oust the Rams in the second round. If you’re looking for a true sleeper this year, I have my eyes on the West Region, where Murray State is looking to prove that they should’ve been higher than a 6 seed. Their second round game with Colorado State will be intense, but probably not as interesting as when they could take on Marquette.