HOW TO NAVIGATE BRACKETVILLE: FILLING OUT YOUR NCAA POOL
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Welcome to Bracketville, a community that gets way too crowded every March, when many NCAA hoop pool players end up getting stranded in it's dead ends and back alleys. Only four roads lead onto the main drag, and perhaps a chance to finish at or near the top. You know there will be upsets, along with teams that you didn't dream to go anywhere going deep into the tourney. And we all know a no. 14 seed will pull the big shocker. But who, when, and how??? The following is the official KACSPORTS.com scenerio.
I am going with 10 "upsets" (seeds 9 and lower) in the first round, the normal amount. Last year only three 9 and lowers prevailed in the first round, frustrating to contestants who had upsets predicted. (NOTE: The lower seed always wears the dark/road uniforms)I will get the 9 over 8's out of the way first...
Fresno State over California
Missouri over Georgia - Winner plays Duke, Mizzou coach Quin Snyder is an ex-Duke assistant
St Joe's over Georgia Tech - Redhawks are a nice backwater darkhorse, unfortunately seeded ninth
Now for the bigger upsets, some of which have been quite popular on sportstalk radio and BBS boards...
#11 Xavier over #6 Notre Dame - ND is a one trick pony (Troy Murphy) without much depth
#10 Butler over #7 Wake Forest - A popular pick, Butler won big at Wisconsin and gave Arizona all they could handle this year
#12 Gonzaga over #5 Virginia - Another trendy pick, the Zags have advanced to the Sweeet 16 the last two years with similar seeds.
#11 Temple over #6 Texas - Temple came on strong after a bad start, never know when this is Coach Cheney's last dance
#11 Oklahoma State over #6 USC - Everyone has this one down, comparing the Cowboys situation to Loyola-Marymount making the final eight on the heels of the death to their best player in 1990. Ok. St was the team that had one of it's planes crash after a game this year (losing 2 players and several others associated with the team). Look for Ok. State to make the round of 16.
#14 Southern Utah over #3 Boston College - Now for the earthshaker. You just have to love any team called the Thunderbirds. Seriously, BC had a great years following three lousy ones, which means they have no tounament expenience, I'll take my chances here.
#11 Georgia State over #6 Wisconsin - Badgers have been going down like a .com stock. Lefty Drisell can win this and face an old employer in the second round (Maryland).
GAME I'M TORN ON - #5 Cincinnati v. #12 BYU - Game to be played on the San Diego St. campus, where BYU plays a conference road game each year, so it should be a pro-Cougar crowd. Also like "Y" in the 3-point and free throw shooting department. If you like the team with the athleticism, then Cincy is your team. Not to mention Cincy may make a run laying in the weeds after an "off year". Go with the Bearcats in a game going down to the buzzer.
I like the following shockers for the round of 16...
#12 Gonzaga
#5 Syracuse
#11 Oklahoma State
#5 Ohio State
#7 Arkansas
In the regional finals I like the following:
Midwest: (2)Arizona over (1)Illionis
South: (3)Florida over Michigan St.
East: (1)Duke over (2)Kentucky
West: (1)Stanford over (7)Arkansas
My Final Four shapes like this:
Arizona over Florida
Stanford over Duke
Final: Arizona over Stanford
My pick for feast-or-famine Arizona is based on the following:
The teams rallying around Coach Olson after his wife's death from cancer early in the seaon
The team showed they're ready for March, winning at Stanford last week.
They're not a trendy pick, everyone seems to like Duke and Illinois. Illinois doesn't have much experience going deep in a tourney and Duke has two key players hurt. Also, everyone loved Duke (calling them the cinch to end all cinches) two years ago. I went with UConn to beat them in the final, and personally ended up winning big.
Now that I've played out the Men's tournament, why not double the fun and fill out the Women's bracket why we're at it. There are sure enough women out there who manage to win the men's pool, going with the teams with the nicer uni's etc., so I think the payback is due. The most important factor to remember with the women's tourney is the top four teams in each region host the first two rounds, making it very tough for seeds five and lower. Also, traditional powerhouses Tennessee and Uconn are suffering from losing key players to ACL injuries (chicks and torn ACL's go together in hoops). With that in mind, the Women's Final Four should go like this...
(3)Florida over (1)Tennessee
(2)Georgia over (1)Notre Dame
Final: Georgia over Florida
So there it is, your key to going 63-0, have fun with your brackets and enjoy the million dollars.