Go West, Young Man

More specifically, go Mountain West time zone all the way up to PAC-12 territory.

Teams in the Mountain time zone region aren't always softer than their East Coast equivalents. But over the long run, their early demise happens with great regularity. Witness last season's New Mexico team. Their home court, The Pit, is famous as a rowdy environment. The Lobos brought a lofty 27-6 record into the NCAA Tournament. Out East, 27-wins leads to 1-seed talk. A Mountain time zone denizen receives a #5 seed and an eventual date with a bruiser team like Louisville. And an early trip home with a loss.

Move onward to last year's BYU team. They survived their play-in first round game but Marquette brutally disposed of them in the second round -- really the first round to Tournament purists. BYU's 30-win team from the year before couldn't even make it out of the Sweet 16 once they faced an Eastern power in Florida. Does anyone remember the 2002 Wyoming Cowboys? Head coach Steve "Don't call me John" McClain let W-Y-O into the NCAA Tournament for a rare trip -- and a first weekend exit.

I could go on and on.

It's not every team. Every dog has its day. Utah had some good teams with NBA talent under Rick Majerus. UNLV was a power program under Jerry Tarkanian. But over the long haul, I don't see a lot of Final Four teams from this region. Not since "Lou-Do" left New Mexico State for the tougher Big Ten. I can't easily explain the regular failures of Mountain time zone teams. Once you travel past Michigan and the last vestiges of the Big 12 into the Rocky Mountain area, teams seem soft. Is it the lack of physical play? The lack of talent? Not often playing in front of manic, large crowds like you'd find out East? Maybe a combination of the above. One thing I'm sure of -- if you're picking brackets, don't advance the bloated-record Mountain time zone teams too far. Their early exit destiny awaits.