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My bracket is finished
March 19, 2008Right now, I am supposed to be vacuuming the floor and doing a couple more chores before my wife gets home.
But instead, I just finished up my bracket. And now in my hands I have a computer instead of a Dirt Devil so I can tell you about my picks.
First off: Full Disclosure. This is only one of the two brackets I will fill out for the office pool.
It is the one I put the most thinking in. And sadly, it is the one that ends up doing the worst of the two.
Before I break it down, let me first say that there are 6-7 teams who could win the national title this year, and they are all flawed.
Memphis cannot shoot free throws and hasn't played a whole lot of decent teams lately; UCLA is not as prolific scoring as most contenders and has a couple of minor injuries; Kansas is Kansas (more on this later); UNC forgets what defense is from time-to-time; Texas has a superb backcourt and an iffy frontcourt.
I could go on and on. Instead, I will give you my picks (beginning in the Sweet Sixteen):
East
UNC over Washington State
Tennessee over Louisville
Tennessee over UNC for the Final Four
Why: Because usually the top overall seed does not win the whole thing. It's a total gamble, but one I am willing to make.
Midwest
Kansas over Clemson
Georgetown over USC
Kansas over Georgetown
Why: As good as the Hoyas are, they scare me with an inefficient offense at times. They won a lot of close games, which is good, but surely the have exhausted that luck now that the tournament is starting.
South
Memphis over Pitt
Texas over Stanford
Texas over Memphis
Why: At first, I had Stanford in the Final Four, even though no credible college hoops analyst did. I figure the Lopez brothers are trees inside, plus they are a really good team. I do not like Memphis that much and Texas scares me a little too.
I anguished over this region more than any other, so I called my friend Scott in Austin to get this opinion. He is a Duke alum and knows his college hoops, but is not a biased Texas fan. He thought Stanford was too risky, considering Marquette is a tough second-round matchup. Plus, while Stanford's big guys might hurt Texas inside, the Longhorns could play a run-n-gun style that might be too much to handle.
West
UCLA over UConn
Xavier over Duke (Sorry Scott)
UCLA over Xavier
Why: UCLA has the easier region. I do not like Duke as a two seed -- even Scott thinks they should be a three -- and Xavier is a quality team, but not that good.
Semifinals
Kansas over Tennessee
UCLA over Texas
Finals
UCLA over Kansas
Why: Basically, UCLA is the team I have the least worries about. Except maybe Kansas. But like a jilted lover, the Jayhawks have broken my heart way too much in tournament time.
I had them to win it all in my No. 1 bracket last year, and they failed to get out of the region.
I had them Final Four-bound when they lost first-round to Bucknell and Bradley (that was before I started doing two brackets. In fact, Kansas is the sole reason why I do two brackets now.)
So any other year, I might pick Kansas. In my second bracket, I will not even have them making the Final Four because I believe it is too risky.
So there you have it. There's my tournament selections (my other Final Four is UCLA, Memphis, UNC and Georgetown, for whoever cares).
And if Stanford somehow makes it, I will have proof that at least I had a correct hunch.
Posted by Zach Duncan at 03:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
