An ESPN SportsNation poll surveyed something like 150,000 people about who should be named the national player of the year, and came back with a dead 50/50 split between Michael Beasley and Tyler Hansbrough. In the spirit of our NBA 1-on-1 Tournament and the Big Dance, we’ve seeded the 32 best players in college hoops into two regions named after the leading POY candidates. We’re playing the first-round match-ups here, and will take it all the way until one guy is singing “One Shining Moment.”

The Rules: Your team has to be in the tourney to get in the bracket (sorry, James Harden). Teams can only send one player each.

**Hansbrough Region**

1. Tyler Hansbrough (23 ppg, 10.4 rpg) – UNC:
16. Wink Adams (16.4 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 3.1 apg) – UNLV:
* Hansbrough’s will to win is absurd as he proved during that Virginia Tech game. Though Wink’s game-winning celebration against TCU was much smoother than Hansbrough’s, this game wouldn’t be close enough to have to endure another arm-swinging fiasco.
WINNER: Hansbrough

8. Scottie Reynolds(15.6 ppg, 3.3 apg) – Villanova:
9. Luke Harangody (20.8 ppg, 10.2 rpg) – Notre Dame:
* Scottie has the quick release, first step, and swag to take down a blood-thirsty giant like Harangody. But Luke would gobble him up on point after point if Reynolds missed once. And doesn’t everyone want to see a Harangody/Hansbrough show-down in Round 2 anyway?
WINNER: Harangody

5. Brook Lopez (19.2 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 2.2 bpg) – Stanford:
12. Roy Hibbert (13.6 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 2.3 bpg) – Georgetown:
* Two oafs battling on the perimeter. I personally have nightmares about watching Hibbert play 1-on-1. It won’t be pretty, but…
WINNER: Lopez

4. Jerryd Bayless (20 ppg, 4.1 apg) – Arizona:
13. Sonny Weems (14.3 ppg, 2.7 apg, 4.6 rpg) – Arkansas:
* Bayless’ deadly rise-up jumpshot is one of the best in the nation. Weems is a smart defender – he knows that Jerryd only goes right. But as Kevin O’Neill alluded to earlier this year – no one has been able to stop Bayless even if he only goes in one direction.
WINNER: Bayless

6. Shan Foster (20.5 ppg, 4.9 rpg) – Vanderbilt:
11. Jerel McNeal (14.3 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 2.2 spg) – Marquette:
* The sexy 6/11 upset pick? Though Foster is a terrific 6-7 shooter, McNeal is one of the best defenders in the country and can go off on O. He’s coming off four strong games in the Big East Tourney: 22 and 6, 21 and 9, 28 and 6, 17 and 3. Ultimately, Foster is so accustomed to getting his shot off of a pass that McNeal could take advantage of Foster when he puts it on the deck.
WINNER: McNeal

3. Eric Gordon (21.3 ppg, 3.3 rpg) – Indiana:
14. Jamont Gordon (17.3 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 4.8 apg) – Mississippi State:
* In another version of the Gordon Bowl (not IU vs. Illinois), we’ve got one of the best freshman in the nation against the kid with the best play of the year. But here, Eric would use Jamont to create his own highlight reel.
WINNER: Eric Gordon

7. Drew Neitzel (14.2 ppg, 4 apg) – Michigan State
10. Hasheem Thabeet (10.4 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 4.5 bpg) – UConn
* The 6-0 guard has 28 and 26 points in his last two games. The 7-3 center has 16 blocks over his last three. Thabeet is much more athletic than people realize – and perhaps the best future pro of the 7-0 plus centers in college hoops. Neitzel can’t escape his monstrous reach and Thabeet simply dunks on Drew’s bald head.
WINNER: Thabeet

2. D.J. Augustin (19.8 ppg, 5.7 apg) – Texas
15. Josh Young (15.8 ppg, 1.3 spg) – Drake
* Augustin is widely considered the best point guard in the country. Josh Young is the best guy you’ve never heard of. Young can rain from deep (45% 3FG), but he doesn’t have another excellent component to his game. Even if triples aren’t falling for D.J., he has an uncanny ability to make tough shots with his man draped all over him.
WINNER: Augustin

**Beasley Region**

1. Michael Beasley (26.5 ppg, 12.4 rpg) – Kansas State
16. K.C. Rivers (14.7 ppg, 6.4 rpg) – Clemson
* Beasley’s hit the 30-point plateau 13 times this season and the 15-rebound mark on 7 occasions. The 6-6 junior from Clemson has scored 30 once. Though Rivers can score on Beasley for a couple of points, Mike has to wait another round for a real game.
WINNER: Beasley

8. Stephen Curry(25.1 ppg, 4.8 rpg) – Davidson:
9. Kyle Singler (13.6 ppg, 5.9 rpg) – Duke:
* When these two played on December 1st, Curry hit 8-17 shots for 20 points, while Singler had 14 and 12 boards. But in that game, it was the super athletic DeMarcus Nelson guarding Curry, not 6-8 Singler. Singler will be tripping over his feet when Curry pulls up for a J.
WINNER: Curry

5. Chris Lofton (16.1 ppg, 3.2 rpg) – Tennessee:
12. Terrence Williams (11.2 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 1.3 spg) – Louisville:
* Both Lofton and Williams are guys who could do serious damage down the stretch of this tourney. Lofton’s limitless range gives him an edge, but T-Will might be the most athletic of all 32 guys. The Seattle kid (Williams) is long enough to change Lofton’s shot and too explosive for Chris. 5-12 upset!
WINNER: Williams

4. Kevin Love (17.1 ppg, 10.6 rpg) – UCLA
13. Demetric Bennett (20.1 ppg, 5.9 rpg) – South Alabama
* Bennett is a 6-4 205 lbs. guard/forward who hits the glass just as well as he shoots three’s (41%, 90 3′s). This is a tough first-round game for the best rebounder in the Pac-10. But he overpowers Bennett and maybe even shows his own three-point touch.
WINNER: Love

6. Sam Young (18.3 ppg, 6.4 rpg) – Pittsburgh
11. Marcus Landry (11.3 ppg, 5.3 rpg) – Wisconsin
* Both Young and Landry were keystones to their teams’ conference titles. And as is the case with the real bracket, it seems that everyone wants to take Pitt deep into the Dance and send the Badgers home early. Despite Landry’s physical play, Young has the baseline jumper and the bunnies to send him home.
WINNER: Young

3. O.J. Mayo (20.8 ppg, 4.6 rpg) – USC
14. Mario Chalmers (12.4 ppg, 4.6 apg, 3.1 rpg, 2.4 spg) – Kansas
* When they met on December 2nd, Chalmers sunk a clutch triple down the stretch for a tough win in L.A. But now that O.J.’s taking better shots (24.3 points over his last eight), this is a superb match-up between one of the top scorers and the top defender in America. The last time someone tried to slap the floor and D up O.J., he left Lance Stephenson looking like a child.
WINNER: Mayo

7. Joe Alexander (16.8 ppg, 6.1 rpg) – West Virginia
10. Blake Griffin (15 ppg, 9.4 rpg) – Oklahoma
* Two super-athletic forwards. If you aren’t convinced about either one think about this: Griffin is projected as the top pick in the 2009 draft by some, and Bob Knight said that Joe Alexander might be more valuable to his team than anyone in the country. Alexander’s one-dribble pull-up jumper is old school, but works well in this setting to send the youngster packing.
WINNER: Alexander

2. Derrick Rose (13.9 ppg, 4.5 apg, 4.2 rpg) – Memphis
15. Mike Green (14.9 ppg, 5.1 apg, 6.6 rpg) – Butler
* Green took home Horizon POY hardwood after carrying Butler when A.J. Graves was nowhere to be found. But can anyone deal with Rose’s preposterous speed? Green can really handle the basketball, making it easy for him beat his man off the dribble. He could stun Rose and get him on his heels, but ultimately one missed shot can lead to a never-ending run for Rose. He’s simply too quick.
WINNER: Rose