Jeremiah Dominguez could be a problem for Kansas

As noon on Thursday creeps closer, here are my five best matchups to watch for in the first round of the NCAA Tournament…

1. Kansas’ Guards vs. Jeremiah Dominguez - Whenever Kansas takes the floor, their crew of guards - Russell Robinson, Sherron Collins and Mario Chalmers - are almost always the fastest players on the floor. They’ll have their hands full though with Portland State’s Jeremiah Dominguez in the first round. JD stands only 5-6, but can get up and down the floor as quickly as any guard in the nation. Dominguez grew up in Oregon playing ball with AND 1’s Professor and his PSU teammates keep track of who gets “Jeremiah’d” - that is, who gets put on their ass by one of his killer crossovers.

2. Clemson’s Press vs. Villanova’s Press - The Wildcats love to press. It’s one way they help negate their lack of size along their front line and when it works, they can dismantle teams (just ask LSU). If you watched the ACC Tournament game yesterday, you know that Clemson also relies on their press to disrupt teams. They made Boston College look like a high school team on Friday night and they very nearly beat UNC yesterday by slapping on their press after almost every made basket. So, in many ways, ‘Nova and Clemson are a lot alike. Except the Tigers also have a massive front line lurking at the back of their press.

3. O.J. vs. Michael Beasley - The Selection Committee never, ever loses sight of potential drama when they’re putting together the brackets and a Beasley/Mayo matchup was a no-brainer. They’ll lock up in prime time on Thursday night for what will be one of the most compelling star faceoffs in the Tourney.

4. Bob McKillop (Davidson) vs. Mark Few (Gonzaga) - McKillop and Few are the poster boys of upstart mid-majors. Two of the best coaches in the country, both McKillop and Few have turned their programs into serious mid-major forces and have rebuffed chances to go to more high-profile schools. They’ll face off on Friday and we think it’s Davidson’s turn to play Cinderella.

5. The Lopez Brothers vs. Cornell’s Backcourt - NBADraft.net has Brook Lopez going No. 3 in this summer’s NBA Draft and his brother Robin going No. 15 in 2009. That’s some serious talent along the front line for the Cardinal. They best be advised though to take the Ivy Champs seriously as their backcourt of Louis Dale and Ryan Wittman are one of the best duos in the country. The Ivy League hasn’t produced a combo like this since Penn’s Matt Maloney and Jerome Allen in the mid-’90s.