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The top two teams in the West Region are the same as in the 2014 bracket, just flipped. Wisconsin is the top-seeded team and Arizona the No. 2 seed, setting up a potential rematch of last season's terrific overtime battle in the Elite Eight. A matchup of those two teams would be an absolutely terrific outcome for college basketball, but there are quite a few landmines that could befall those two teams before we get there. 

Three initial thoughts on the region

1. Could we see a rematch of last season's Wisconsin-Arizona Elite Eight game?

The Badgers and Arizona are clearly the top two teams in this region, and they match up spectacularly in their contrasting styles offensively and defensively. However, will they get that far? Wisconsin has a couple of up-tempo teams that can match their talent in the frontcourt in their half of the region in North Carolina and Arkansas. Each team would represent a challenge they didn't really see in Big Ten play. On the other side, Arizona could have D'Angelo Russell waiting in the second round, and a tough matchup in the Sweet 16 against Baylor, whose zone could really stagnate the Wildcats' offense. 

2. Lower seeds are dominated by terrific individual talents

That starts obviously with the No. 10 seed Ohio State, who features Russell, a top-five talent in the country and a potential All-American. But they aren't alone. BYU has one of the NCAA's top-25 all-time leading scorers in Tyler Haws, Harvard's Wesley Saunders is an awesome throwback guard who operates in the midrange, and Georgia State's R.J. Hunter is a potential first-round pick that could get hot from distance and lead the Panthers to a potential first-round upset in the right situation. A lot of players to watch in this one.

3. Beyond Wisconsin, this region is filled with uptempo teams

Yeah, Wisconsin under Bo Ryan plays at a snail's pace. But beyond their games, you can expect quite a few uptempo matchups in this bracket. The West features three teams in the top-10 nationally in pace: No. 11 seed BYU (sixth), No. 5 Arkansas (ninth), No. 4 North Carolina (10th). Plus, VCU, Arizona and Oregon are all in the top quarter of the country in pace, and Ohio State and Mississippi are in the top-third. If you like basketball at a brisk, up-and-down pace, this is the region for you.

Five best players in the region

1. Frank Kaminsky (Wisconsin): Kaminsky is the national player of the year favorite, and is the best inside-out threat in the country. Be it from the block, from the 3-point line, or in transition, Kaminsky can do it all for the Badgers and is the main reason they have the best offense in the country.

2. D'Angelo Russell (Ohio State): Even while Ohio State struggled this season, the Buckeyes were still must-watch basketball because of Russell. He was the leading scorer among freshmen, and his mix of shooting, vision and basketball IQ has made him a potential top-five pick in the upcoming NBA Draft.

3. Bobby Portis (Arkansas): Portis was the SEC's player of the year this season and is one of the best two-way big men in the country. His ability to both score efficiently around the rim and step away and knock down jump shots is nearly unstoppable on offense, and his defensive ability both around the rim and on the perimeter is terrific for the up-tempo Razorbacks.

4. Tyler Haws (BYU): Haws is 23rd on the NCAA's all-time scoring list and should move into the top-20 during the Cougars game in Dayton against Ole Miss. He's an elite shooter, using his terrific midrange game to score on literally anyone that the defense can put in front of him.

5. Stanley Johnson (Arizona): I go with Johnson over the Wildcats' point guard T.J. McConnell. Purely on a talent level, he might be the best player in the region (even over Kaminsky and Russell). His athletic ability makes him one of the best two-way wings in the country, and his great play will be essential if the Wildcats are to make it to Indy.

Five bold predictions for the region

The biggest Round of 64 upset will be … BYU over Xavier. The Cougars are rolling right now, having won eight of their last nine, with only a loss to Gonzaga in the WCC championship to show for it. Mississippi dropped four of its final five games, and probably doesn't have the defense or solid guard play to slow down the Cougars. Then, in the Round of 64, Xavier has been inconsistent enough to where I'll take my chances that the Cougars can catch them on a rough day. Remember, even though Xavier has beaten teams like Georgetown and Providence, it's also dropped games to Seton Hall and DePaul. This could really go either way, but I'll live dangerously and go BYU.

The lowest-seeded school to make the Sweet 16 will be … North Carolina. This is the least fun possible pick, but I really do believe we'll see chalk in this region. Yeah, there are a lot of individual players that could cause issues in this region, but overall your four best teams are the top four seeds, and they have pretty solid matchups through their pods. The biggest threat for me among the lower seeds is Ohio State, but Arizona's defense would likely cause the Buckeyes all sorts of problems in the second round if they were to get past VCU.

The player the country doesn't know now but will know by Saturday is … Taurean Prince. Prince is Baylor's leading scorer, and he's been somewhat lost in the (albeit, rather large) shadow of Rico Gathers throughout the season. He's an athletic 6-foot-7 wing who knocks down 40 percent of his 3s, grabs a ton of offensive rebounds and slashes well to the rim on his way to nearly 14 points per game. Plus, he also plays terrific defense in Baylor's zone scheme. If Baylor is to get through to the Sweet 16, he'll be the guy beyond Gathers who gets them there.

The Elite Eight showdown … No. 1 Wisconsin vs. No. 2 Arizona. This region seems pretty chalky to me, as both Wisconsin and Arizona are playing like top-five teams in the country right now. That sets up an absolutely fascinating matchup, as it will pit Wisconsin's offense -- which is the best in the history of the KenPom database with a 124.2 adjusted offensive efficiency rating -- against Arizona's terrific defense, which has the fourth-best defensive efficiency in the county at 87.4. 

The champion of the Midwest Region will be … No. 2 Arizona. I think the athletes on the wing and ability to play small on defense against the athletic Wisconsin frontcourt will be key as the Wildcats look to avenge last season's loss. Yeah, their offense can go stagnant from time-to-time. However, Wisconsin's pick-and-roll defense was been a bit suspect over the course of the Big Ten Tournament, and McConnell is one of the best pick-and-roll guards in the country. Plus, the fact that the Staples Center will likely be "McKale North" means there should a decent home-court advantage for the Wildcats. Give me Arizona to get out of this region and matchup with Kentucky in the Final Four.