We are just a day away from the men's college basketball national tournament and I am sure many of you have been waiting with bated breath for me to reveal my bracket. I've gotta be honest with you, I am feeling a bit uneasy about my bracket now that I have it completed. There are a couple of pieces I really struggled with and I have a feeling I'm either going to do really well, or have it totally busted on the first day.
I do feel a little better knowing that one of my colleagues has the same two teams in the title game as I do. He has the other team winning though. I guess we will see which one of us is right (if either of us are).
It's stressful, but I honestly love this time of year. There is just so much good basketball on TV and you can tell that the players actually want to play. Despite the whole NIL landscape, there is still a bit of purity to college sports that you can't find in the professionals. How much longer that will be the case remains to be seen...
So, without further ado, let's get into it.
South
I'm going to break it down into sections just like they do on the Selection Sunday show to make it a bit easier for you. I would like to point out, it was a bit sad watching the Selection Sunday show without Greg Gumbel. He was the voice of March Madness for many years and they had a really nice tribute to him at the beginning of the show.
So yeah we have Auburn playing the play in winner of ALST versus SFPA. For obvious reasons here I picked Auburn to win their first round game. A number 1 versus a number 16 usually only goes one way.
Louisville versus Creighton was a tougher call, but I eventually picked Louisville. They have been on a steady trajectory. Their recent appearance in the ACC Championship is proof of their potential. Michigan vs. UC San Diego. Like Louisville, Michigan has turned their season around coming off one of their worst last year. I think they will beat UC San Diego.
I haven't watched too much Yale basketball, but they say it is a good team this year. However, I don't think they will be good enough to take down Texas A&M. The Aggies have some big wins over ranked teams this year and I think they are going to go far as you can see.
No disrespect to Ole Miss, but although they have had some big wins this season, they have also had some losses. I think San Diego or North Carolina could be one of the first big upsets of the tournament. Iowa State over Lipscomb is a no brainer for me, and I don't honestly know a ton about Marquette or New Mexico, but I am going with Marquette.
Finally, we have Michigan State. First of all, I think it is stupid they put MSU in the same bracket as UofM, but whatever. I don't really expect they will have to face each other again anyway. I'm also not familiar with Bryant, but I think MSU is going to take the win and advance on.
West
In the West, I have Florida over Norfolk State for obvious reasons, Oklahoma over Connecticut because UConn seems to be struggling a bit lately. Oklahoma has some big wins and I think they will show up to play. Memphis has been a bit of an on again off again darling all season, so I think they will take out Colorado State to move on.
Maryland has been a great team despite their late season losses in the Big Ten, so I think they should move past Grand Canyon. Missouri hasn't really been on my radar, so my pick of Drake over them for another big upset could be a bit of a long shot.
I have Texas Tech over NC Wilmington, and I am hoping to everything that is good in the universe that Arkansas takes out Kansas in the first round to end Hunter Dickenson's reign of ass-hattery. Finally, I have the Pitino led St. John's over Nebraska Omaha (not to be confused with Nebraska).
East
In the East, I have Duke over the play in game with AMER and Mount St. Mary's. I have Baylor over Mississippi State, and believe it or not, I have Liberty upsetting Oregon. I think their performance in the late season and the Big Ten tournament could be a road map to beating them. You better believe Liberty will be studying that. I have Arizona over Akron, BYU over VCU, and Wisconsin over Montana. I think many of those are self explanatory. I've heard some are concerned about the BYU VCU game, but I think BYU has proven they have what it takes to go pretty deep in the tournament.
Vandy has been breaking hearts all season, so I easily have them over St. Mary's and Alabama over Robert Morris is a bit of a given as well.
Midwest
Finally, we have the Midwest. Houston once again finds themselves in a favorable position and I have them beating SIU Edwardsville. I also have Georgia taking down Gonzaga in a 9 vs 8 upset. I feel like the upsets are poised to be plentiful in the Midwest and I also have McNeese beating Clemson in one of those 12 over 5 upsets that we love to see.
I have Purdue beating High Point though I wouldn't be shocked if I called that one wrong, and I have Illinois over Texas/Xavier. I always seem to over estimate how well the Big Ten teams will do in the tournament. Just keep that in mind if you do your own bracket.
Finally, I have Kentucky over Troy, UCLA over Utah St., and Tennessee over Wofford.
So there you go, that's my bracket so far. Be sure to check back to see how I did and to hear about who I have going on to the sweet 16!
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