Picking a winner...

Midwest Region

Who can win:
Florida, Wisconsin, Oregon

The almost too sexy upset pick:
Winthrop over Notre Dame in round 1
Everyone wants to anoint someone as this year’s George Mason and it seems like the overwhelming choice is Winthrop. They played an insanely tough non-conference schedule before becoming the first Big South team to ever go undefeated. Although I think they will beat Notre Dame, the Fighting Irish are no pushover. They shoot the ball as good as any team in the country.

Just to say I told ya’ so:
Georgia Tech over Wisconsin in round 2
I can’t put on a front and act like I’ve ever heard of Brian Butch before reading that he was hurt. But a lot of analysts seem to think his absence will lead to Wisconsin’s downfall. For Georgia Tech, Javaris Crittenton is one of the most underrated freshmen in the country. He turned the ball over eight times in the Yellow Jackets’ ACC tournament lost to Wake Forest, but if he plays under control, he’ll lead the upset.

The annoying guy at work will guarantee:
Davidson stuns Oregon in round 1
And that guy won’t even be able to tell you where Davidson is located. North Carolina thank you very much.

The winner will be:
FloridaFlorida and Oregon both swept through their respective conference tournaments and I like the two to meet in the regional final. Unfortunately for the Ducks, Florida will be absolutely rolling at that point, especially considering their first three games should be cake walks.

East Region

Who can win:
UNC, Texas, Washington State, Georgetown, BC

The reason you don’t submit your bracket on Monday Morning:
Marquette. Second leading scorer Jerel McNeal is out for the entire tournament.

A game no one can decide on:
Vanderbilt/George Washington
I know they beat Florida, but this is still Vanderbilt boys and girls. For that reason alone, you can’t realistically expect them to play well. Besides, this is a game you can afford to get wrong on your bracket so long as you pick Washington State in the round 2.

The easiest path to the regional final:
Georgetown is probably the strongest two seed. Until they meet Texas, teams will probably be held to about 50 points per game. The Hoyas should have enough offensive firepower to advance easily.

Who will win:
Texas. There’s really nothing should make anyone believe Texas is for real. Kevin Durant is the best player in the country, but it’s not like his team excelled in their big games. Still, it’s hard to bet against a guy capable of scoring 35 every night.

West Region

Who can win:
Kansas, Virginia Tech, Duke, Pitt, UCLA

The west might fuck your bracket because:
It’s wide open. Kansas certainly has the most talent, but all five teams listed above are more than capable of getting hot.

Deceivingly tough draw:
Kansas. They’ll play the best free-throw shooting team in the country (Villanova) in round two. That’s going to be tough enough. But then they have to deal with a pesky Virginia Tech team followed by either Pitt or UCLA. Mark it down: Villanova 66 Kansas 59

Who will win:
Pitt
Even though the coaching situation will make for a great storyline, UCLA doesn’t match up with Pittsburgh very well. If Kansas does slip up, the Panthers should end up in the Final Four.

South Region

Who can win:
Ohio State, Texas A&M

If you must pick a 12 seed:
Pick Long Beach State. I think it’s hard to pick a 12 seed this year. None of the 12 seeds are especially appealing. Honestly, I know nothing about Long Beach, but I think Tennessee is very inconsistent.

The most important player:
If you aren’t familiar with Derrick Caracter yet, you will be. Since overcoming so early adjustment issues, Character, who played at like ten different high schools became one of the most dominant players in the Big East

Who will win:
Ohio State
It’s simple. They’re by far the best team in the region.

National Championship
Texas 76 Pitt 67

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The breakdown: A rough year for the Huskies

It took all of one half for the UConn men’s basketball team to go from a group that reeked of inexperience to a Final Four contender this season.

As it turns out, the following twenty minutes - when the Huskies shot just 17 percent from the field in a narrow opening game victory - was a far better precursor of the struggles that would haunt them once they stopped beating up on the Central Arkansas’ of the world.

From the very beginning, the 2006/07 Huskies were the most over-hyped team in the history of the program. And yes, that counts the 1999-00 team that began the year ranked No. 1 nationally despite losing Rip Hamilton to the NBA. At least that team had a proven point guard.

What went right?
Jeff Adrien became the player he needed to be for UConn to not completely flake out. He still doesn’t strike me as a star, but college players that average a double-double are pretty rare and he should do just that next year… Let’s not be so quick to anoint Jerome Dyson the next Ben Gordon, but I love that he’s not afraid to take over games. He was one of the best freshmen in the Big East and will almost definitely be the go-to-guy next year.

What went wrong?
Almost everything else. Even if you take in to account just how young this team was, Jim Calhoun still did a poor coaching job. He made A.J. Price out to be one of the best players in college basketball before he ever put on a uniform. He let Hasheem Thabeet go through the motions for a year before some team foolishly makes him a lottery pick. He recruited the exact same player in Curtis Kelly and Stanley Robinson. Ironically, neither of them worked out and they both might end up transferring. This team just didn’t get any better during the season. They turned the ball over and shot just as poorly late in the season as they did in that second half against Quinnipiac.

Thank god for…
New Jersey. UConn was 3-0 against Rutgers and Seton Hall.

What can still happen?
With the exception of Georgetown and Pittsburgh, they actually stack up well the rest of the Big East. There’s no reason why they can’t get hot and take out Syracuse and Notre Dame other than the fact that they haven’t exactly gone on a tear all year. That said, I think they’ll be one and done.

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