My view of the bracket
IT'S HERE!!! The most wonderful time of the year! For some sports fans such as myself, this is the best 3 plus weeks of the year. I would take the NCAA tournament over the NFL playoffs, MLB season, and NBA playoffs. There is nothing like the madness of opening weekend, from the first tip at 915 Thursday morning until the final happens during the first week in April, it's pure enjoyment. This year is the most balanced bracket, that I have seen in a long time, and I am going to give you a preview of what I think the final four will be and who the eventual national champion will be. ( I will try to be as unbiased as possible)
Breaking down the Bracket:
Out West, Its pretty clear it's the softest bracket there is. The top 2 teams have the best shot to make the final four and neither Arizona or Gonzaga make the elite 8 something massive has happened. When it all boils down to It I see Arizona besting Gonzaga in the elite 8 and advancing to the final four.
In the East, I don't like Villanova's draw as much. Looking ahead with a potential match up with Duke it makes me wonder how the heck did the best number two end up with the top overall seed? Without looking ahead Villanova could get paired with a total under seed in Wisconsin. I am not quite sure how they ended up as an 8 but somehow the committee decided Wisconsin was as good as Northwestern, a team they just beat by 28 points. I am not believing in UNC Wilmington nor ETSU like some predictions I have seen, ultimately though and it pains me to say this, I think Duke advances to the final four out of that region after beating Villanova.
The south is the most loaded region in the whole tournament. Just having UNC, Kentucky, and UCLA in the same region is killer. If you keep reading below you will see my upset specials, and I don't think UK makes it past the first weekend. While UCLA can pose UNC a good threat, they don't play ANY defense, and if UNC can play a good 40 minutes of defense, they can beat anyone in the country. I have UNC advancing past this region and into their second consecutive final four.
In the midwest, Its a toss up. Personally, I have Louisville making it to the final four, I will let everyone in on an upset special and I have Rhode Island going to the sweet 16 beating both Oregon and Creighton to get there. Kansas has a tough draw, and I see them losing in the sweet 16 as well to Iowa state again this year. Lousiville will be the beneficiary of this beating Iowa State in the elite 8 to advance.
In the final four I have UNC beating Louisville again this year, and Duke ( this really pains me to say it) advancing to the title game beating Arizona in a tight close game. In the championship game I have UNC beating Duke since they seem to alternate wins and losses between them to capture the 3rd title of the Roy Williams ERA.
Lets finish by talking about the upsets, the Cinderella's as most folks put it. I am high on Rhode Island this year, along with Wichita State, and Middle Tennessee State. I have seen some folks have Xavier in the sweet 16 ( WHY?) and Florida Gulf Coast over FSU. While I don't think there will be an upset for either of those two teams, I do think FGCU can cause some issues for FSU with their length. Later in the bracket look for SMU to cause teams some issues.
This is just my two cents and what the heck do I know? It's March madness and by Friday evening all these predictions will probably be shot anyway! Best of luck in your brackets everyone!
