For 11 months of the year, college basketball is not the most popular sport in the country. But during a three-week stretch at the end of March into the first week of April, it’s the talk of the town.
I can’t pretend to be any type of college basketball expert, but the great part about March Madness is that you don’t have to be. No one – and I mean no one – has all the answers considering there has never been a documented perfect bracket. Warren Buffett will sooner go broke than have to part with $1 million for his annual bracket challenge.
That’s why anyone can fill out a bracket and have a fighter’s chance. It doesn’t matter if it’s your friend from recess, your sibling, your pastor, your aunt or that person who talks too much at work. March Madness is for everyone.
March Madness is even for politicians, as we saw Monday in the state of West Virginia. The Mountaineer basketball team was, for all intents and purposes, robbed of a spot in the Field of 68 in favor of North Carolina, prompting West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey to hold a press conference to announce an investigation against the NCAA. During his press conference, the podium he stood behind read, “National Corrupt Athletic Association.” As funny as that sight was, Brian Bosworth’s “National Communists Against Athletes” shirt is a better burn.
I don’t hold much sympathy for any team getting left out of a 68-team field, but I side with West Virginia on this issue solely because of who the person in charge of the NCAA Selection Committee is. If you guessed North Carolina’s Athletic Director, you win the grand prize. We’ve seen issues like this arise in baseball, football and basketball where sitting ADs dictate who’s in and who’s out. I don’t see how the NCAA doesn’t see this as a conflict of interest, but the NCAA will always NCAA.
Now comes the fun part – looking at this bracket. The top four teams – Auburn, Duke, Houston and Florida – all have feasible paths to the championship. They’re as good of a group of No. 1 seeds we’ve seen, but that doesn’t mean it’s chalk that they’ll advance to the Final Four. Auburn has a tough matchup with either Creighton or Louisville in Round 2 and would have to potentially get through Michigan State in the Elite Eight. Florida has St. John’s and Texas Tech in its region. Duke sees Alabama, Wisconsin and BYU, to name a few, in front of it. Houston likely will face perennial power Gonzaga in Round 2 with Tennessee, Kentucky and Clemson in its path.
Things are about to get wild.
The tournament is impossible to predict, but I’ll give it a go. My favorite upset pick of the weekend is McNeese State over Clemson in a 5-12 matchup in the Midwest. But not only do I see McNeese reaching the Round of 32, I see Will Wade’s team reaching the Sweet 16 after beating High Point, who took down Purdue in a 4-13 game in Round 1.
Perhaps my craziest upset prediction is No. 15 seed Robert Morris taking down No. 2 seed Alabama in the Round of 64. Even if that doesn’t happen, I don’t see the Crimson Tide returning to the Final Four because you need some form of a defense to advance in my eyes.
My region winners are Michigan State in the South, beating Michigan in the Elite Eight, Florida in the West, taking down St. John’s in the Region Championship, Duke in the East, taking down Saint Mary’s in the Elite Eight, and Tennessee taking down Houston to win the Midwest.
I have Florida beating Michigan State and Duke beating Tennessee, leading to Florida prevailing over Duke in the championship.
Again, there is probably no chance of this happening. Don’t tail my picks and go down to the casinos. But the best part about this tournament is the unpredictability. You never truly know what’s going to go down in any given game. In football, there is a pretty clear talent disparity between two teams going at it in most cases. You need to have enough arms in the stable to win a baseball series. But in basketball, all you have to do is get hot and make shots for a lower-level team to beat a Goliath.
So if you haven’t already, go ahead and book appointments with your couch or your favorite TV viewing spot for today, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. You won’t be disappointed.
