Monday, March 13, 2006

NCAA Tourney Time! Serendipity baby!

March Madness is back!! Everyone get out your brackets, a pencil, and a really good eraser because I'm gonna tell you who's gonna win.

Atlanta Region: Let me just say it right now... Duke, Duke, Duke, Duke, Duke, Duke, Duke. With them in the Sweet 16 are Syracuse, West Virginia, and Cal with West VA losing to Duke in the Elite 8. I think Texas is a bit overrated and definitely beatable. Best game in the bracket ought to be Iowa and W. Viginia in the 2nd Round. GW will give Duke a run for their money in the 2nd, but ultimately I see Duke winning the region.

Oakland Region: I think this is a pretty tough region that offers the best shot for a middle seeded team to make it to the Final Four. Gonzaga, I think, will be the last team standing, but it won't be easy getting past Xavier or UCLA. But I'm not too confident that UCLA can get past Marquette. I don't want to pick UCLA to do too much this year ( I saw pretty much this same team play last year and I don't think they could have beat many high school teams then); they're still too young. Next year they'll be a force. Most likely upset: Bradley beating Kansas or SDSU over Indiana. Pitt vs Memphis will be the best game in the region.

Washington DC: This is UConn's region to lose, and I don't think anyone will beat them. I always count them out in the Tourney and they always bite me in the ass, so not this year. I think Tennessee is the worst 2 seed in the Tourney, so if a 15 has a shot to beat a No. 2 it'd be Winthrop. For my lowest seed making it the the Sweet 16, I've got Seton Hall. They always seem to play a tough regular season schedule, and this year I think it pays off for them. But I think they lose to UNC. The best game of the region will be UNC and Michigan State. Other upsets: Utah State over Washington.

Minneapolis: For me Villanova is the #1 least likey to make it to the Final Four. I don't like the 4 guard line-up and I think it will hurt them against BC who will pound them in the paint. The bottom half of this region is where the upsets are most likely. I think Georgetown has a good shot at beating Ohio State (OSU, I love you man, but I don't think you've got it this year) and I've got no confidence in Florida or Oklahoma. I think BC at the #4 seed wins this region.

Final Four: Duke, Gonzaga, UConn, and BC; Duke will beat UConn for the championship. That's my pick.

Of course I pick Duke to win almost every year, so you could take that for what you will...