Miami

C.L. Brown, Brian Hamilton and Sam Vecenie — all chose the Ramblers over the Canes in round one. The Sporting News’ Mike DeCourcy had Loyola as his sleeper pick in the South, and said Miami-Loyola would be the best first-round game in the region.

“This game will be a test of Loyola’s excellent defense, which ranks 24th in efficiency and held Florida to 59 points in a nonconference victory,” he wrote. “It’s possible no team is better than Miami at isolating opposing defenders and preventing them from helping each other. The Hurricanes rank 265th in assist rate, because that’s how they play it: their man vs. your man. Just try keeping Lonnie Walker or Chris Lykes out of the lane.”

Sports Illustrated called Loyola “everybody’s favorite Cinderella candidate,” and thinks this’ll be the South’s must-see first-round game. However, SI warned, “dismiss a Jim Larranaga team at your own risk — you may recall Larranaga knows a thing or two about plucky 11-seeds,” referring to George Mason’s 2006 Final Four run.

Yahoo Sports’ Pat Forde called 6-3 senior guard Ben Richardson, the Missouri Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Year, one of the tournament’s players who does the most without scoring. ESPN’s Joe Lunardi was a first-round believer in UM, saying its floor is a round of 32 loss, and the ceiling is a Sweet 16 bid. CBS Sports’ Chip Patterson put a bold prediction on the line: Miami makes the Elite Eight.

“The raw talent and depth of this roster could carry Miami into the second weekend, maybe further,” Patterson wrote. “Miami showed during its late-season charge to the 3-seed in the ACC Tournament that if things click the Canes can beat anyone. Jim Larranaga’s team is a little banged up almost the entire season, but it’s also rounded into a deep team with lots of ways to beat you.”