Southwest Regional Bracket Predictions

Round 1/Winners' Bracket
1. Baylor vs. Bye
Winner: Baylor

8. Austin QC vs. 9. Northern Colorado
Austin beat UNC 70-40* in bracket play and I expect that domination to continue. Austin is superior in the quaffle game and although, UNC caught the snitch in round one. Austin's lead will big too large to overcome in bracket play again. Winner: Austin QC

5. LSU vs. 12. Loyola NO
While I saw promise in Loyola when they beat Roadrunner QC and scored 40 on Texas, a bad loss to Arkansas (210*-50) shows that Loyola will be no contest for LSU. Winner: LSU

4. Texas A&M vs. 13. Roadrunner QC
A&M will easily cruise in this game, probably being able to rest their best players for the second round game against LSU. Winner: Texas A&M

3. Texas State vs. 14. Denver Dementors
Texas State has played well so far. Wins against Austin QC and UNC are especially telling. UNC has beaten the Denver Demontors last season so by common opponents, Texas State wins. Winner: Texas State

6. Arkansas vs. 11. Oklahoma State
Both teams suffered losses to high quality programs in pool play, Arkansas, 180-50* to Texas and Oklahoma State, 120*-30 to Baylor. In addition both teams are able to put up a lot of points. Arkansas scored 210* on Loyola and Oklahoma State scored 130 on North Texas. The difference between these teams is Arkansas has allowed 50 points against both Loyola and Roadrunner and OSU has allowed 90 and 80 points against UNT and Silver Phoenix and has not caught the snitch at all so far. Winner: Arkansas

7. Silver Phoenix vs. 10. Sam Houston State
Sam Houston State has probably been drained from playing both A&M and LSU in pool play whereas besides Baylor, the Silver Phoenix cruised through pool play. Winner: Silver Phoenix

2. Texas vs. 15. North Texas
Texas will beat North Texas. Consider the fact that UT has averaged 166.67 points a game. Winner: Texas

Round 2/Winners' Bracket
1. Baylor vs. 8. Austin QC
Baylor has been strong averaging about 150 points a game. Chasers Paul Willard and Beissy Sandoval have been strong. Austin's loss to Texas State makes me doubt whether they will be able to handle Baylor. Winner: Baylor

4. Texas A&M vs. 5. LSU
LSU is no longer part of the elite in the Southwest. They did not give A&M a close game in bracket play and lack the stars that A&M has. Guitierrez, DuPont, Wasikowski, Gregorie and the "three headed-monster" of Luke Wigley, Colin Tseng, and Andrew “Dirk” Hryekewicz will overpower LSU. Winner: Texas A&M

3. Texas State vs. 6. Arkansas
Both teams have yielded similar results so far today, but this past year, Texas State has gained a lot of experience playing against good teams. While I think Arkansas is a team to watch out for next year, (perhaps another Baylor) Texas State has the edge right now having played in big tournaments such as the Diamond Cup. Winner: Texas State

 2. Texas vs. 7. Silver Phoenix
Similar to Texas A&M, Texas has a great arsenal of players that include Kody Marshall and Augustine Monroe. Winner: Texas

Semifinals/Winner's Bracket
1. Baylor vs. 4. Texas A&M
Baylor has beaten Texas and LSU, but has lost twice to A&M. Why? Because Texas A&M is really good. Even if Willard and Sandoval win the matchup over Wasikowski and Gregorie, Texas A&M's seeking is superior. In finals or semifinals games in tournaments since the beginning of the fall 2012 season, A&M is 4/4 on snatches.

2. Texas  vs. 3. Texas State
Sorry Texas State, maybe next year you'll have a shot. Winner: Texas

Finals/ Winners' Bracket
2. Texas vs. 4. Texas A&M
Texas' strength is their speed and fast offense. The excellent core of beaters at UCLA couldn't keep up with Kody Marshall and Slipstream at WxSW. I believe that Texas' chasers will outrun A&M and jump out to a lead. Texas has scored 140 on LSU, 150 NAU and 180 on UCLA. In the UCLA game especially, UT was explosive at the start of the game. The problem is that in all of those games Texas failed to catch the snitch. The "three headed monster" that includes Luke Wigley, Colin Tseng, and Andrew “Dirk” Hryekewicz will be going up against Jake Alford. Alford did not play during the fall season but so far, in pool play, he and UT's seeking core is 1/3. This is the difference between winning the World Cup and losing in a World Cup bracket play game to a lesser opponent. Texas has the offensive skills to win, but their seeking has let them down. (Also, the seeking was at fault when Baylor beat UT) Texas A&M wins this game on a snatch, in my opinion, by 10 or 20 points. Winner: Texas A&M