Duke is the favorite, but LSU has goods to stage coup

	SEC Player of the Year Glen Davis leads the Tigers in scoring (18.5 ppg) and rebounding (9.9 rpg) as a sophomore. Andy Lyons/Getty Images
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By Stewart Mandel, SI.com

Underrated: LSU
All the Tigers did this season was dominate the SEC (going 14-2), win at West Virginia and take both Connecticut and Ohio State to the wire (losing by one and two points, respectively) on their home floors. Not many opponents have the bodies to match up with big men Glen Davis and Tyrus Thomas.

Overrated: Texas
The 'Horns were anointed a Final Four-type team before the season, and for some reason nothing -- not even a 31-point loss to Duke, a 17-point loss to Tennessee and a 21-point loss at Oklahoma State -- has been able to skew that perception. Supposed star Daniel Gibson is too inconsistent.

Bracket Buster: Southern Illinois
The Salukis are no strangers to the Dance, having gone five straight years, reaching the Sweet 16 in 2002 and the second round last season. While this year's squad wasn't as dominant during the regular season as in past years, SIU's in-your-face defensive style (opponents average just 56.2 points per game) can cause problems for anyone.

Home Cooking: Duke
The Blue Devils return to the Greensboro Coliseum -- where they just won the ACC tournament -- for their first- and second-round games. Then, if they advance, they would play in Atlanta's Georgia Dome, the site from which they advanced to the Final Four two years ago.

Best Player You've Never Heard Of: Steve Burtt Jr., Iona
The senior guard is the nation's sixth leading scorer, averaging 25.2 points a game. He teams with classmate Ricky Solliver (16.2 points per game) to form the nation's highest-scoring backcourt duo.

Best Matchup: West Virginia-Southern Illinois
This should be a tough, grind-it-out slugfest between two teams that both practice a form of rare offensive patience and rely heavily on the three-point shot. It will come down to who's hotter, the Mountaineers' Mike Gansey and Kevin Pittsnogle or the Salukis' Tony Young and Jamaal Tatum.

The Pick: LSU
I'm going out on a limb -- particularly since Thomas is returning from an ankle injury -- but with Darrel Mitchell controlling the floor and Davis and Thomas banging up front, the Tigers have the right kind of offensive weapons to give top seed Duke fits. If they can get past the Blue Devils, they can get to the Final Four.