East: Home of the defending champion
Villanova Wildcats. Will take strong defensive effort in possible games against
Wisconsin, Virginia and possible regional finalist Duke. One other team to keep
your eye on is SMU. Otherwise, looking forward to a great regional final
matchup between the Cats and the Blue Devils. Offhand I would give coach K the
nod because he can coach. As the rap song says, …love him, hate him, ‘but you
can’t ignore him.’ In this case, however, Jay Wright has grown himself as a
coach. Picking Villanova to get a chance to repeat.
West: On the other side of the country, you have a wide-open
West. It seems that every team in this bracket has a story. You got Gonzaga, a
team that always has a great regular season only to go down in flames in the
tournament. Experts say that the Bulldogs have the easiest path to the final
four. I say that there is no easy path to the final four at all. You also have
Northwestern making their first appearance in the Big Dance as well as the
Terps of Maryland. The team I have not mentioned is another Wildcat: The
University of Arizona. They bring the A in athleticism. That’s part of the
reason why I’m picking these Wildcats over the Bulldogs in this region.
South: In my opinion, the most competitive bracket of
the tournament. From the
Carolina Tar Heels to the Bruins of UCLA led by one of the top guards in the
company (Lonzo Ball) to pro basketball factory Kentucky, any of these teams in
this bracket has a five-game run in them. But at the end of the day I’m going
with the #1 ranked Tar Heels in this bracket because of their bench and
experience.
Midwest: I’ll keep this decision clear and
crisp for you. I’m picking Kansas to win the Midwest (as well as the tournament),
beating Louisville in the regional final. Possible party wreckers include Iowa
State and Oklahoma State. I still have to mention Michigan State, who always
plays well this time of year.
As David Letterman used to say every year, this
is an exhibition not a competition, so please no wagering.
