NCAA Day 1 Thoughts

Belmont was for real. It wasn't a fluke that the Bruins were able to play with Duke. If Belmont would've shot slightly better from behind the arc (which may have happened if there best 3 point shooter, Wicke wasn't in foul trouble) the Blue Devils would be watching at home come Saturday.

Overall, a disappointing day, with no real upsets. Kansas St. over USC and Texas A&M over BYU weren't exactly shockers.

How disappointing was Kent St.? I'll be honest, I didn't know much about the Golden Flashes heading into the Big Dance. All the "experts" had great things to say about them, some even going so far as to predict a possible 2nd round upset over Kansas. Well . . . we all see how that turned out. 10 points in a half is absolutely unbelievable.

I thoroughly enjoyed the Xavier/Georgia game. A great back and forth battle, where Xavier showed their poise and experience.

Through day 1 I have 3 incorrect picks: Washington St. over Winthrop, UNLV over Kent St., Texas A&M over BYU

March Madness Predictions

It's time for my tournament predictions. I have to mention this as a disclaimer: I absolutely suck at making picks in the "Big Dance". But you never know, maybe this is my year. And now onto the picks . . .

Sweet 16
Midwest
(1) Florida - Arizona or Purdue will be a dangerous 2nd round matchup
(4) Maryland - Davidson is a tough 1st round draw, if they get by them I see them in the round of 16
(6) Notre Dame - I can see them losing in the 1st round against Winthrop, so this is risky
(2) Wisconsin
West
(1) Kansas
(4) Southern Illinois - This is a team on the edge, they could easily lose either of their first two games
(3) Pittsburgh - It's going to take steady guard play to beat Pitt, Duke and Wright St. don't have it
(10) Gonzaga - Gonzaga is back to being a Cinderella team, time avenge last year's loss to UCLA
East
(1) North Carolina
(4) Texas
(11) George Washington - George Washington kinda sounds like George Mason . . .
(2) Georgetown
South
(1) Ohio State
(5) Tennessee - They need to take care of business against Long Beach St.
(3) Texas A&M
(2) Memphis

Elite 8
(4) Maryland - They've been hot as of late, and can sneak up on Florida
(6) Notre Dame - Wisconsin struggles to score and ND can shoot the lights out, upset special
(1) Kansas
(10) Gonzaga - They'll play focused, and play with discipline; this will be enough to beat Pitt
(1) North Carolina
(2) Georgetown
(1) Ohio State
(2) Memphis - Very tough game against Texas A&M

Final 4
(6) Notre Dame - the dream run ends here
(1) Kansas
(1) North Carolina - They've beaten Ohio State once, they'll beat them again
(1) Ohio State

National Championship
(1) Kansas 68
(1) North Carolina 76 - UNC is viewed as the weakest #1 seed in the field. I say, forget about the mask, UNC wins it all.