March Madness
Only half an hour has passed since the release of the brackets for this year's NCAA tournament, and already, I have finished my one (and only, I never make extra brackets as I don't like to double-back on any of my picks) brackets. Sadly, UVa did not have what it takes to make it this year, but at least rivals VT and UMD were not in either, so that eliminates any biases there. I can say the Chicago region is the easiest picks, with Albuquerque and Syracuse being the hardest regions, and Austin with the best chance of the top four seeds in the region making the Sweet Sixteen (thus, complicating picking who wins that region). Notable upsets on my brackets:
- #5 GT beats #1 Washington to make the Elite Eight.
- #6 Wisconsin beats #2 Connecticut to make the Elite Eight.
- #4 Syracuse beats #1 Duke to also make the Elite Eight.
No 13s beating a 4 (I'm probably going to regret that one later on), and ODU and New Mexico as 12s beating 5s. All 1s and 2s make the Sweet Sixteen. However, they drop fast after that. Five of them make the Elite Eight. Three of them make the Final Four, but only one of those is a number 1 seed, UNC. #2 Oklahoma St, #2 Wake Forest, and #3 Oklahoma also make the Final Four. Oklahoma State will beat Wake Forest and UNC will take down Oklahoma to set up the national championship, and Oklahoma State will be this year's Syracuse, winning it all as a non-#1 seed.
This is a tough bracket, in all ways. The committee had a tough time picking it, as it was not completed until 5:40 pm today, and we will have a tough time figuring it out, as many of the second and third round games will make for some compelling matchups.
For a little history, I have picked 10 of the last 16 Final Four teams (never less than two any year), but only 1 of the last 8 to make the championship, and no champions. Last year, I picked a 12 seed to make it to the Sweet Sixteen, beating a 5 and 4 seed along the way; they lost the following game, as I predicted. I won two pools two years ago, and, of course, it happened to be the only year that they were not for money ($5 buy-in). Last year was my worst year, having picked two Final Four teams, and neither of them being teams I selected to make the national championship.
This, however, is my year. As I said before, look for Oklahoma State to beat the University of North Carolina in the final game, 83-79.
- #5 GT beats #1 Washington to make the Elite Eight.
- #6 Wisconsin beats #2 Connecticut to make the Elite Eight.
- #4 Syracuse beats #1 Duke to also make the Elite Eight.
No 13s beating a 4 (I'm probably going to regret that one later on), and ODU and New Mexico as 12s beating 5s. All 1s and 2s make the Sweet Sixteen. However, they drop fast after that. Five of them make the Elite Eight. Three of them make the Final Four, but only one of those is a number 1 seed, UNC. #2 Oklahoma St, #2 Wake Forest, and #3 Oklahoma also make the Final Four. Oklahoma State will beat Wake Forest and UNC will take down Oklahoma to set up the national championship, and Oklahoma State will be this year's Syracuse, winning it all as a non-#1 seed.
This is a tough bracket, in all ways. The committee had a tough time picking it, as it was not completed until 5:40 pm today, and we will have a tough time figuring it out, as many of the second and third round games will make for some compelling matchups.
For a little history, I have picked 10 of the last 16 Final Four teams (never less than two any year), but only 1 of the last 8 to make the championship, and no champions. Last year, I picked a 12 seed to make it to the Sweet Sixteen, beating a 5 and 4 seed along the way; they lost the following game, as I predicted. I won two pools two years ago, and, of course, it happened to be the only year that they were not for money ($5 buy-in). Last year was my worst year, having picked two Final Four teams, and neither of them being teams I selected to make the national championship.
This, however, is my year. As I said before, look for Oklahoma State to beat the University of North Carolina in the final game, 83-79.
posted by CR UVa at 7:35 PM
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