We, The Cavalier Daily Sports staff, have found ourselves engulfed in the March Madness that makes millions of people across the nation delirious with excitement each year. As such, we decided to work together and come up with a section NCAA Tournament prediction bracket. Though consensus was difficult to reach, the picks in the bracket you see below are representative of what the section’s writers expect to happen in the coming weeks.
So whether you think our picks are divinely inspired, lousy or something in between, please enjoy this, and feel free to use it as a guide in making your last few tweaks to that bracket you’ve slaved over during the past four days. Hey — at least our Final Four choices are a bit more interesting than Barack Obama’s, whose bracket was posted on ESPN.com and featured three No. 1 seeds and a No. 2 seed in the semifinals.
The rest of this column will be devoted to explaining our picks, analyzing our choices and, in particular, taking a look at a few upsets we see happening.
Since Selection Sunday, the press and basketball fans alike have ridiculed Arizona’s admission into the tournament. Arizona has NBA-level talent that so far has been unable to fit the pieces together. A new coach, in Arizona’s case Russ Pennell, is normally a weakness in the tournament. But the very pressure that the Wildcats will feel could inspire them to a first round upset against Utah.
Another No. 5 seed staring over the edge of a cliff is Illinois. The Fighting Illini will face trouble in the first round as well, as they contend with Western Kentucky, one of last year’s Cinderellas. Not only is the matchup a tricky one, but Illinois will be without its starting point guard.
Perhaps what could be the biggest game in the Midwest region is a probable meeting between Wake Forest and Louisville. Make sure you catch some of this game, should it take place. Louisville, the No. 1 overall team, has Rick Pitino, one of the best NCAA tournament coaches of all time — the only one to take three different teams to the Final Four. The Demon Deacons, meanwhile, have bounced up and down the national rankings this season. With three players capable of being selected in the first round of the NBA draft, Wake Forest could put up big numbers and pose big problems for the Cards. But the Deac’s coach enters his first NCAA tournament with a team which has played to its opponent’s level all year.
Should Pitino’s squad make it past Wake — which will be a very close call, we decided — he could run into his coaching equal, Tom Izzo, and a dangerously underhyped Michigan State team. Suffice it to say, we believe in Tom Izzo. The Spartans are loaded with talent and definitely have the potential to go further than most analysts predict.
Another Final Four surprise might be Missouri. This choice is less about big enthusiasm for Missouri and more an expression of tentativeness about Connecticut and Memphis. Coming out of the weak Conference USA, Memphis only has had a few opportunities this season to prove itself against top-tier teams. Sure, the team beat Tennessee and whooped up on Gonzaga. After losing three players to the NBA, though, we think they’re overrated and overhyped.
Perhaps the most controversial pick this year is Gonzaga against UNC. Several writers in the section have doubts that Tarheel junior guard Ty Lawson can fully contribute in the postseason, and a select few of us have gotten on the Zags’ bandwagon. This pick wasn’t an easy one and is perhaps related to several writers’ disdain about UNC’s and senior forward Tyler Hansbrough’s overexposure in the media. Nevertheless, we stand by the pick: Look for Gonzaga to send the Tarheels back to Chapel Hill a little bit early and give Hansbrough a bit more time to jump off balconies into pools.
Come semifinal time, we have Spartan fever, but don’t expect them to pull past Pittsburgh in the final. Assuming our crystal ball proves an accurate predictor, the Panthers will stay ahead of Michigan State most of the game but the final score will make the game appear closer than it actually was. Duke in the Sweet 16 and Oklahoma in the Elite Eight could pose challenges to Pittsburgh, but we like the Panthers’ odds.
All in all, we hope the hours we poured into perfecting our bracket have given you some insight into this year’s main event. We’ll let you know how much it hurts when each of our moms — many of whom make their picks based on which school colors they like more — guesses more picks correctly.
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