So now we're down to the Sweet 16 teams. Most of your bracket decisions have been made, but the remaining predictions are tough ones. Get them wrong and they'll keep you up all night (let's be honest, that will probably happen anyway), get them right and you'll pick your way to NCAA tournament glory.
Here's some quick and dirty analysis to help you complete your winning bracket. Earlier I left everything on the court (er, blog) when I picked the first and second rounds of the NCAAs, and what comes next depends on those brazen early predictions.
Just remember that tourney talk is cheap, and all this advice will ultimately end with you locked in a staring contest with your bracket, pencil in hand, asking paralyzing questions like, Is it really a good idea to pick Siena in that first round upset?
We'll start in the East Regional.
#1 North Carolina beats #5 Notre Dame. This is a good year to advance the loaded #1 seeds into the Elite Eight.
#2 Tennessee beats #3 Louisville. Some of you will have picked Oklahoma in the previous game, which would be a gutsy upset pick. Either way, the Vols act as a big, fat NCAA eraser here.
Now for the Midwest Regional.
#1 Kansas beats #5 Clemson. The Tigers will play the spoiler here--for 30 minutes.
#3 Wisconsin beats #2 Georgetown. A rugged, grind-it-out Wisconsin team beats the weakest of the #2 seeds. Our first upset in regional action.
On to the South Regional.
#1 Memphis beats #12 Temple. Derrick Rose and co. send the overachieving Owls home to roost.
#2 Texas beats #3 Stanford. In an epic battle, the Longhorns will overpower the Lopez twins with an entire roster of NBA players.
Concluding with the West Regional.
#1 UCLA beats Drake. By 20.
#3 Xavier beats #2 Duke. The teams have similar styles, but Xavier will execute better this time.
I opted to play it safe, advancing all the #1 seeds with picks that favor the odds. Not one to entirely forsake the upset picks, though, I gave the underdogs some credit in a couple of 3/2 spoiler predictions. Not that the underdogs need much sympathy in the Sweet Sixteen. Anyone still in the bracket at this point is fear-worthy!
Check back for the Elite Eight and Final Four NCAA picks, coming up. Next time out, I'll go ahead and pick my champion. Hint: It won't be North Carolina. You can bookmark or subscribe to stay posted. Good luck with your own NCAA brackets, and if you need another tournament pool to compete in, feel free to jump in here.
UPDATE: Now the Elite 8, Final 4 and Championship picks are posted.
1 comments:
good picks here
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