Todd’s March Madness Predictions
I’m a little late getting to this one (three games are now underway), but what would March Madness be without some shamefully bad tourney predictions. (Disclaimer: I watched about six games of college ball this year. All predictions are probably wrong and were made based on reading “expert” analysis from pseudo-gurus at places like SI, CBS Sportsline, etc.)
- Game I’m Most Looking Forward To: 2nd Round – Michigan State versus North Carolina. I’ll be shocked if this game doesn’t happen. SHOCKED! It seems all the bracketologists (woe to anyone who self-applies that word, unless they’re joking around) have MSU since, you know, sure they lost a lot, but they had a tough schedule. And I see their point, but they still lost those games, right? And it’s not like the competition gets easier in the tourney. From what little I’ve read the Tar Heels sound like they’re peaking at the right time. I really think this could be a fun game to watch and I think it’ll be the Tarheels who walk away with the win.
- High Seed That Won’t Reach the Sweet 16: This one’s gotta be #2 Tennessee, right? The team that has multiple double-digit losses to other top teams. I say they fall to Wichita St. in the second round. (Okay, in the blog pool I picked them to reach the Sweet 16, but I’m gutless.)
- Most Underrated team: Kansas (#4). I wanted to pick a team not seeded in the top four seeds, but I just don’t see it. There are a few I think could’ve made a bigger splash if they weren’t destined for second round matchups with #1 seeds, but I want my underrated team to have a real shot at making the Final Four. I don’t think they will (I’ve got either Memphis or Gonzaga), but I think they’ve got a better shot than the other seeds ranked #4 or higher.
- Final Four: I have two brackets. In my “good” bracket (the blog one), I’ve got Duke (blech), UConn, Gonzaga and Villanova. Note that I had no intention of putting the Zags in the Final Four, but when I look at the matchups I expect them to have (Indiana, UCLA and Memphis/Kansas) it’s hard not to think they’ve got a real shot this time. In my “work” bracket I’ve got Texas, Memphis, UConn and Villanova (I’ve got the Zags slated to lose to UCLA in that bracket). I know, three #1s and a #2 seed. Boring.
- Finals: Blog-bracket – Duke vs. Villanova with Villanova winning 82-75. In my work bracket I’ve got Texas and UConn with UConn taking it 81-76.
- Gutshot champion – The last couple years I start out picking a gutshot bracket where I just pick winners on pure gut reaction, before I do any “research.” That bracket puts Iowa, Memphis, Michigan St and Villanova in the Final Four with Villanova taking the crown over Iowa. Yes, my gut puts Iowa in the Finals. I also have Illinois over UConn in the Sweet 16. This is why I don’t go with my gut.