Bracket is from espn.com. Filled out by Jared Riley and Spencer Husen.[/caption]What is the biggest story this year in college basketball? Is it Wichita State’s historic 34-0 season? Doug McDermott eclipsing 3,000 career points to become the fifth-highest scoring college player of all-time? There is no clear answer. But, it is almost concurrent that there is no dominant team this year in college basketball. Florida took the number one overall seed, followed by Arizona, Wichita State, and the ACC Champs, Virginia. There was only one notable exclusion from the tourney, an SMU team that went 25-9 and was ranked in the top 25 in the AP Poll at the end of the season. As for all of the inclusions in this year’s big dance, we will take you through each matchup, game by game, to help you make your picks. Happy picking!
South Region:
The South Region contains arguably the most undoubted pick for the Final Four, Florida. The Gators seem poised for a run at the national championship, despite having both Kansas and Syracuse in their region. If the Jayhawks can make it to the Elite 8 to face Florida, they could pose a strong threat, however the Embiid-less Kansas squad faces a hard road without their star freshman center until the Sweet 16. The Orange also have a fighting chance, but have been on a downward spiral of late, losing 5 of their last 7 games. If you're looking for upsets, bet on 12 seed SF Austin to upend 5 seed VCU. Also look for an Elite 8 run from 7 seed New Mexico.
(Winner in ALL CAPS)
Round of 64:
#1 FLORIDA vs. #16 Albany
#8 Colorado vs. #9 PITTSBURGH
#5 Virginia Commonwealth vs. #12 SF AUSTIN
#4 UCLA vs. #13 Tulsa
#6 OHIO STATE vs. #11 Dayton
#3 SYRACUSE vs. #14 Western Michigan
#7 NEW MEXICO vs #10 Stanford
#2 KANSAS vs. #15 Eastern Kentucky
Round of 32:
#1 FLORIDA vs. #9 Pittsburgh
#4 UCLA vs. #12 SF Austin
#3 Syracuse vs. #6 OHIO STATE
#2 Kansas vs. #7 NEW MEXICO
Sweet 16:
#1 FLORIDA vs. #4 University of California - Los Angeles
#6 Ohio State vs. #7 NEW MEXICO
Elite 8:
#1 FLORIDA vs. #7 New Mexico
East Region:
Much like the South region, many people have agreed on the winner of the East. Except it’s not the number 1 seeded ACC Champion Virginia, but 4 seed Michigan State. The Spartans enter the NCAA tournament playing some of their best basketball of the season, while being at full strength for the first time since early December. The region also includes two good teams in Iowa State and North Carolina, plus Cincinnati and Connecticut. The winner of the Cyclones and Tar Heels round of 32 match-up seem suited for an Elite 8 run and match-up, due to the inconsistency and inexperience of the 2 seed Villanova. As for upsets, watch for normal bracket buster 12 seed Harvard to defeat 5 seed Cincinnati, and 7 seed Connecticut to fall to 10 seed St. Joe’s. Look for the 4 seeded Spartans and 6 seed North Carolina to meet in the Elite 8.
(Winner in ALL CAPS)
Round of 64:
#1 VIRGINIA vs. #16 Coastal Carolina
#8 MEMPHIS vs. #9 George Washington
#5 Cincinnati vs. #12 HARVARD
#4 MICHIGAN STATE vs. #13 Delaware
#6 NORTH CAROLINA vs. #11 Providence
#3 IOWA STATE vs. #14 North Carolina Central
#7 Connecticut vs #10 ST. JOSEPH’S
#2 VILLANOVA vs. #15 Milwaukee
Round of 32:
#1 VIRGINIA vs. #8 Memphis
#4 MICHIGAN STATE vs. #12 Harvard
#3 Iowa State vs. #6 NORTH CAROLINA
#2 VILLANOVA vs. #10 St. Joseph’s
Sweet 16:
#1 Virginia vs. #4 MICHIGAN STATE
#2 Villanova vs. #6 NORTH CAROLINA
Elite 8:
#4 MICHIGAN STATE vs. #4 North Carolina
West Region:
Perhaps the least talked-about bracket of the four regions, the west is headlined by Wooden Award frontrunner Doug McDermott, who was led third-seeded Creighton to a 26-7 record, but have lost three of their last six games. Can they knock off the second-seeded Badgers of Wisconsin? This is to be decided.
(Winner in ALL CAPS)
Round of 64:
#1 ARIZONA vs. #16 Weber State
#8 Gonzaga vs. #9 OKLAHOMA STATE
#5 OKLAHOMA vs. #12 North Dakota State
#4 SAN DIEGO STATE vs. #13 New Mexico State
#6 BAYLOR vs. #11 Wisconsin
#3 CREIGHTON vs. #14 Louisiana-Lafayette
#7 OREGON vs #10 Brigham Young University
#2 WISCONSIN vs. #15 American
Round of 32:
#1 ARIZONA vs. #9 Oklahoma State
#4 SAN DIEGO STATE vs. #5 Oklahoma
#3 Creighton vs. #6 BAYLOR
#2 WISCONSIN vs. #7 Oregon
Sweet 16:
#1 ARIZONA vs. #4 San Diego State
#2 WISCONSIN vs. #6 Baylor
Elite 8:
#1 Arizona vs. #2 WISCONSIN
Midwest Region:
Last, but certainly not least, there is the Midwest. Although the Shockers of Wichita State has won all 34 of their regular season and conference tournament games, the NCAA Tournament will be full of whole new ball games, literally. The Midwest is also, debatably, the toughest region, due to the prior dominance of each of the top seeds, Wichita State, Michigan, Duke, and Louisville, in that order. There are three quick potential matchups to look out for, two of them being on upset alert. These games are potential matchups between Wichita State and Kentucky, Michigan and Duke, and a second-round game between play-in winner NC State and St. Louis. Who will prevail? These are our picks for the Midwest (sorry Wichita State).
Round of 64:
#1 WICHITA STATE vs. #16 Cal Poly
#8 KENTUCKY vs. #9 Kansas State
#5 St. Louis vs. #12 NC STATE
#4 LOUISVILLE vs. #13 Manhattan
#6 UMASS vs. #11 Tennessee
#3 DUKE vs. #14 Mercer
#7 TEXAS vs. #10 Arizona State
#2 MICHIGAN vs. #15 Wofford
Round of 32:
#1 Wichita State vs. #8 KENTUCKY
#4 LOUISVILLE vs. #12 NC State
#3 DUKE vs. #6 University of Massachusetts
#2 MICHIGAN vs. #7 Texas
Sweet 16:
#4 LOUISVILLE vs. #8 Kentucky
#2 Michigan vs. #3 DUKE
Elite 8:
#3 Duke vs. #4 LOUISVILLE
FINAL FOUR:
West vs. Midwest:
#2 Wisconsin vs. #4 LOUISVILLE
South vs. East:
#1 FLORIDA vs. #4 Michigan State
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP:
#1 FLORIDA vs. #4 Louisville
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