First off, it disgusts me how when you are searching for a category for Western Kentucky, they don't have one. Instead, we are known as the Bowling Green Hilltoppers. We are Division 1A football now. Our basketball team is in the Sweet 16. What else do we need to do to gain a little respect?

Being a student at Western Kentucky University, let me quickly inform you what is going on around the campus. TV's are everywhere and they all have either Fox Sports or ESPN on,  banners are flying, and school spirit is at the highest it's been since Jim McDaniels took the Toppers to the Final Four in 1971. There is no campus that you should want to be at more than Western Kentucky right now. The atmosphere is incredible.

Every year the NCAA Tournament experiences what is to be considered a 'Cinderella' team. The most recently noted being George Mason University making it to the Elite 8. Coming off our win against San Diego, I knew that we would hear all week how easy of a pass UCLA has to the Elite 8 by playing us, a minky Sun Belt Conference team. Right there, I call Shenanigans. Here is why the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers COULD win:

1.) UCLA is a very good team, no doubt, but they also love to pace their game. The Hilltoppers love the fast break and try to take advantage of it by using their great speed. They also love the full and half court press. This could force UCLA to play a fast pace game they are not use to.

2.) Guard play. In my opinion, they cannot match up against our guards. Tyrone Brazelton, Courtney Lee, and now Ty Rogers.

3.) Momentum. This is the first time since Coach Horn was a player that we have made it to the Sweet 16. You cannot say we do not have momentum coming into this game.

4.) Pressure. Let's face it, the Toppers have nothing to lose going into this game. We are not expected to win. Over 80% of America didn't think they could possibly get this far. UCLA on the other hand almost came up short against Texas A&M, and they have the pressure of being the number one seed and being upset.

5.) Woody Paige says so.

6.) Courtney Lee. Unlike most of the UCLA players, Courtney Lee has something to prove. He is already a projected first round prospect in the NBA draft and has the small chip on his shoulder of proving he is worthy of that. Expect him to figure out a way to break-down UCLA's tough defense. He is also only 24 points away from Jim McDaniel's scoring record at WKU. Nobody wants to come up just short of a record like that. Tyrone Brazelton is also getting notice by NBA scouts. If he plays like he has been, he will get more notice. But in order to keep getting noticed, they have to move on.

7.) Everybody complains how we do not play the tough teams. Look back at the start of the season. We beat Nebraska (not a big win). We lost to Gonzaga by 3 in a game we should have easily won. We lost to Tennessee by 6 in a game where Lee and Brazelton were in foul trouble and didn't really play in the second half. Yes, we lost to South Alabama twice and Northern Arizona and Southern Illinois. Here is our problem: we play down to our competition. A lot like Vanderbilt does. But the good thing is (as proven throughout the season) we also play up to our competition. Our biggest loss this season was by 10 to Southern Illinois at what is arguably the hardest mid-major place to play. UCLA lost by 10 at Washington (a team that didn't even make the NIT). If we can continue to play up to our competition, we should be able to keep it close.

8.) Emotion. The Toppers could win this game on emotion alone. UCLA is a very young team and if Kevin Love decides to stay, they will most likely be the heavy favorites for next year. This is it for the Toppers. Courtney Lee, Tyrone Brazelton, Ty Rogers, Boris Siakam, and Adam Howard are all leaving. This is all of their's first Tournament appearance. They know they have the talent to win any game and play with any team. UCLA has nothing to lose. WKU will lose everything.

9.) The backcourt. UCLA loves to use their big men...a lot. In fact, all three of their starting big men play an average of over 30 minutes per game. With WKU's fast pace style, they will get tired. Only two of WKU's players average of 25 minutes per game (Lee, Brazelton). Coming off the bench, we have the speed of AJ Slaughter and Orlando Mendez-Valdez. We also have the defense in last year's Mr. Kentucky Basketball, Pettigrew, and Siakam. UCLA loves to stick to 8 or 9 men throughout the game. WKU uses 11 or 12. If WKU can make their speed effective and ware down the big men, UCLA will be forced to go to an inexperienced bench.

I'm not going to jump out and say WKU is going to walk away with this one. They won't. It will be a close game no matter who wins. UCLA is a very tough team and I realize that. With that said, I'm not going to make a final prediction. For one, I don't want to jynx anything. I will be pulling for the Toppers to come out with a victory.