Love and Loathing in the West Regional

Note: As a wholly obsessive supplement to my latest FOXSports.com column, welcome to Love and Loathing in the NCAA Tournament. The first in a four part series that will provide my totally biased and baseless evaluation of each team in the tournament.

Also known as: "The Last Tournament Breakdown you'll ever need."

Check back daily as I'll be revelaing a new quarter of the bracket in the days leading up to Thursday's tip-off.

WEST

1. Kansas – Loathe - When I was a stupid high school kid, I really wanted to go to Kansas and I can’t quite remember why, but they didn’t offer me anything in terms of money so Creighton it was. That simply cemented my hatred towards the Jayhawks because I already loathed their success and dominance over the Big 8/12. Whether it’s true or not, I’ve always convinced myself that the Sunflower state is full of Jaycats: KU basketball fans and KSU football fans and that simply will not stand.

16. The Play-in Game – Loathe – I really hate this. It just seems cruel to make one of those little guys, making their only nationally televised appearance during Championship week, win their tournament and then celebrate like they’re going to the tournament, only to find out that they have to win one more game for anyone to pay attention.

So sorry...

16A. Niagara – Love – Follow me. Without Niagara there would be no Frank Layden and without Frank Layden there would be no witty repartee with Marv Albert and without witty repartee with Marv Albert there would be no Dazzling Dunks and Basketball Bloopers. Can you live with that? I can’t.

and...

16B. Florida A&M – Love – Whenever there’s a question as to whether the true athletes at the school are on the court or in the band, well, that’s a team for me. Go Rattlers!

8. Kentucky – Love – I love the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Bourbon, burgoo, thoroughbreds, the Rexclamation Point. How could you not?

7. Villanova – Love – See Pitt corollary below. Nova!

5. Virginia Tech – Loathe – If a Hokie sounds ridiculous to you, imagine being a member of the VT swim team, which actually goes by H20kies. The only good thing about VT? Smoked turkey legs.

12. Illinois - Loathe - I'll never forget you Chief Illiniwek.

4. Southern Illinois – Loathe – As Creighton’s primary rival and a team that’s dominated the Jays in the regular season, I have no choice here. But it’s not that hard when you take a look at a saluki and realize it’s one of the ugliest dogs you’ve ever seen. Only thing uglier is SIU’s brand of basketball.

13. College of the Holy Cross – Loathe – Between Shaughnessy and Simmons, both alumni, perhaps no schools has had as much impact on the way an entire region reads about sports than Collegium Sanctae Crucis. With that said, Worcester just doesn’t seem like a very fun place to be.

6. Duke – Loathe – When there’s an entire book, and a great one at that, devoted to Duke hatred, I’m not sure how much more there is to say. That dirty elbow that Coach K tried to cover up is going to derail Carolina, just you watch. Hansbrough didn’t look the same in the ACC tourney.

11. Virginia Commonwealth – Loathe – As I noted last week, aside from their stellar medical school, VCU is perhaps most notable for hosting the largest French Film Festival in the U.S. Is there anything less intimidating than that? Let’s make a deal: if the Rams make it to the Sweet 16 I won’t watch a second of any of the games from that round. Instead, I’ll spend my Thursday and Friday night gagging down surrealist slop.

3. Pitt – Love – I like teams that are better known as abbreviations of their actual name. Simple, short, powerful.

14. Wright State – Love – I was never cool enough to truly like Guided by Voices but I was always impressed by their prolific ability to pump out albums. In 17 years they released somewhere in the neighborhood of 16 albums and as many EPs, making Ryan Adams look even more like a slacker than he already does. The creative leader behind GBV, Robert Pollard, is not only a Wright State alum, he also threw the school’s first no-hitter.

7. Indiana – Love – Two words: striped pants.

10. Gonzaga – Loathe – As a fan of a mid-major, I suppose I should delight in the Zags recent success, but I don’t. I’m just jealous.

2. UCLA – Loathe – Simply a reflection of Bill Walton’s undying affection for the school. Really, if I have to hear one more story about how far out you were back then, I may take action.

15. Weber State – Loathe – In a world full of Wildcats, I can only support one team with that moniker and this one ain’t it. Sorry Harold Arceneaux.

Up Next: the East.