my ncaa tourney picks

Last year, I nailed the champ, both National Title Game participants, 3 of 4 Final Four teams (I had Duke instead of UCLA), and 6 of 8 in the Elite 8 (I had Georgetown instead of Davidson, and Duke instead of West Virginia). And yet still didn't win the pot, because my early round picks were brutally bad. (Stupid UConn, Clemson, Vanderbilt, and Drake first round flameouts ...)

This year, I'm aiming to pick some winners prior to the second weekend. And win this thing for the first time since 2002, when a (at the time) hot as hell 26 year old was mocked and ridiculed for daring to take the 12th seeded Missouri Tigers to the Elite 8. Funny how nobody was laughing when I was handed the check ...

Here you go, my official NCAA picks.

Midwest Region:

1 Louisville over 16 play in game winner. Should not be even remotely competitive.
9 Siena over 8 Ohio State. Isn't really an upset in my book.
5 Utah over 12 Arizona. Arizona getting in is beyond outrageous.
4 Wake Forest over 13 Cleveland State. Will not be easy for Wake, though.
6 West Virginia over 11 Dayton. Although I'll be rooting for Dayton like there's no tomorrow.
3 Kansas over 14 North Dakota State. This game scares me to death. HUGE upset potential.
7 Boston College over 10 USC. Not falling for the tournament champion trap.
2 Michigan State over 15 Robert Morris. Should not be even remotely competitive.

1 Louisville over 9 Siena. Will be closer than anyone has reason to suspect.
5 Utah over 4 Wake Forest. I just don't believe in this Wake team at all.
3 Kansas over 6 West Virginia. I would not want to be within 500 feet of me during this game. Stress City.
2 Michigan State over 7 Boston College. Should not be even remotely competitive.

1 Louisville over 5 Utah. End of the road for a decent Utes team.
3 Kansas over 2 Michigan State. Might be the best game of the tournament.

Midwest Region Final: 3 Kansas over 1 Louisville. Yeah, I'm biased. But until proven otherwise, KU is the defending national champion ...

West Region:

1 UConn over 16 UT Chattanooga. Should not be even remotely competitive.
9 Texas A&M over 8 BYU. Either team will give UConn all it can handle in round two.
5 Purdue over 12 Northern Iowa. Purdue's the only Big 10 team I have confidence in.
4 Washington over 13 Mississippi State. Not falling for the tournament champion trap.
6 Marquette over 11 Utah State. Marquette still has enough to make some noise.
3 Missouri over 14 Cornell. Should not be even remotely competitive.
7 California over 10 Maryland. Maryland getting in is even more outrageous than Arizona's inclusion.
2 Memphis over 15 Cal State Northridge. Might be competitive for a half.

1 UConn over 9 Texas A&M. A&M can win this game though. Might need to revisit this pick before Thursday ...
5 Purdue over 4 Washington. Should be a delightful 43-41 defensive struggle.
3 Missouri over 6 Marquette. Last time they met in the tourney, it was an OT classic 6 years ago.
2 Memphis over 7 California. Cal just doesn't have enough to hang for more than 30 minutes.

5 Purdue over 1 UConn. More an indictment of UConn than an endorsement of Purdue.
3 Missouri over 2 Memphis. I cannot wait to watch this one.

West Region Final: 3 Missouri over 5 Purdue. Get ready Tigers fans, you've waited (literally) the entire history of your school for this moment ...

East Region:

1 Pitt over 16 East Tennessee State. Yawn. Stretch. Snore. Good luck trying to stay awake for this one.
8 Oklahoma State over 9 Tennessee. Best first round matchup on the board, bar none. Should be a great game.
5 Florida State over 12 Wisconsin. Wisconsin getting in is also outrageous, but not as bad as Arizona or Maryland.
4 Xavier over 13 Portland State. Might be competitive for a half. Maybe 25 minutes.
11 VCU over 6 UCLA. The Bruins are done. This one has 85-60 written all over it.
3 Villanova over 14 American. Should get out of control early. Easy win for the Wildcats.
7 Texas over 10 Minnesota. Two teams that faded down the stretch. Should be watchable.
2 Duke over 15 Binghamton. Unlike the last couple years, Duke is peaking entering March ...

1 Pitt over 8 Oklahoma State. Should be a tremendous game. Cowboys can win this.
5 Florida State over 4 Xavier. Another great second round game. Good job committee.
3 Villanova over 11 VCU. Three for three in this regional. Committee finally doing something right.
2 Duke over 7 Texas. Wow, the East Regional might be the only thing on my TV on Saturday.

1 Pitt over 5 Florida State. Pitt is just too well rounded for FSU to pull off the upset.
2 Duke over 3 Villanova. I really, really, really like this Duke team. I'm just saying. Really like this Duke team.

East Region Final: 2 Duke over 1 Pitt. As the great Wayne Allyn Root would say, "when everyone is betting one way ..."

South Region:

1 UNC over 16 Radford. Easy victory for Roy's Boys.
9 Butler over 8 LSU. Decent matchup, although neither team stands a chance in the second round.
12 Western Kentucky over 5 Illinois. I will never bet on a Bruce Weber coached team.
4 Gonzaga over 13 Akron. The Zips won't have, uuh, zip, for the Zags.
11 Temple over 6 Arizona State. Just a hunch. The one tournament champ I will pick.
3 Syracuse over 14 Stephen F. Austin. The Orange have 6 days to recover, ESPN. Six freaking days! They'll be fine.
10 Michigan over 7 Clemson. Love the Wolverines in this one. Clemson fading fast, as usual.
2 Oklahoma over 15 Morgan State. Too bad Sampson isn't still at OU, this could be the Disbarred Coaches Bowl.

1 UNC over 9 Butler. Roy's Boys start coasting and getting overconfident.
4 Gonzaga over 12 Western Kentucky. Intriguing 2nd round matchup.
3 Syracuse over 11 Temple. Probably good Bill Raftery doesn't get to call this one, he wouldn't know what to say with all the zone defense on display.
2 Oklahoma over 10 Michigan. Michigan can spring the upset, but too much Blake Griffin gets OU through.

4 Gonzaga over 1 UNC. Roy never comes through as the favorite. Never. And is this really an upset?
3 Syracuse over 2 Oklahoma. Great sweet 16 matchup.

South Region Final: 3 Syracuse over 4 Gonzaga. Total coin flip. Everyone's sleeping on Gonzaga I think. They had one bad game (vs Memphis) and everyone wrote them off. Huh? So do we write off Louisville for losing by 46 at Notre Dame? (Nope). Everyone is entitled to one do-over in the regular season. Gonzaga is a legitimate Final Four team. They just won't beat the Cuse in this spot.

Final Four:

3 Missouri vs 3 Kansas. And here KU fans thought last year's showdown with Roy in this spot was something special. Holy cow. This city might implode on itself from a week of hype over this. Here's hoping nobody in the '9330 winds up in the ER as a result of this one. I've been saying all year MU is a better team than we are. On a Saturday night in early April in ... well let's see. If Oakland is the ass crack of America, and Buffalo is the arm pit of America, what is Detroit, the toe jam? The ear wax? The sleep in the eyes in the morning? They've gotta be something negative. Anyways, on a neutral court, the best team tends to win. And Ford Field is about as neutral as it gets. MU 74, KU 69.

2 Duke vs 3 Syracuse. And as if the first matchup wouldn't cause enough physical damage and trauma at the '9330, the second one is just as emotion and passion packed as the first one is! Wow. I honestly had no idea this is how my predictions would turn out. This could be a really long Final Four Saturday for me. Scheyer, Henderson, and Singler from 3 against the matchup zone ... is pretty much my worst nightmare. Duke 85, Syracuse 68.

National Championship:

3 Missouri vs 2 Duke. I've been saying for two months that Duke is the ACC's best team. Not the most talented, not with the most first round picks, maybe not even the best coached. (OK, scratch that: it is by far and away the best coached). But my point is, its the best TEAM. And may the best TEAM win. Duke 84, MU 78.

National Champions: Duke Blue Devils.