Originally written for publishing on March 17, 2013.
It is that time of the year again! March Madness is here. Over the next month, there will be a 67-game tournament to see who will be the next NCAA basketball champion.
This year’s bracket has a few weird twists to it. First of all, the defending champion Kentucky WIldcats are not even in the tournament! The other big shock is the fact that Gonzaga is a No. 1 seed for the first time in their history.
Looking at the round of 64, there are not too many teams on a huge upset alert. I do think that St. Marys will win their play-in game and pull the No. 11 over No. 6 seed upset over Memphis.
I also think that No. 10 seed Cincinnati will beat No. 7 seed Creighton. Creighton played well in a weak conference, but are too reliant on Doug McDermott in the long run.
There should be a few more upsets in the third round. Butler and Arizona are both six seed, but they should be able to sneak past the three seeds that they are playing and make it to the sweet 16.
Over the past couple of years, Butler has made it clear that they are not an easy win in the tournament. They came out of nowhere to play in the National Title Game two years in a row, before missing out on it next year.
Arizona should be able to get by New Mexico. New Mexico does have the second highest RPI (strength of schedule) in the nation, but do not have anything special about them that makes for a long run in the tournament.
The Elite 8 should be how the rankings say besides in the West bracket. The only non-top two team that I see in the Elite 8 is Wisconsin. Wisconsin will play Ohio State for the third time this season.
Ohio State has proven twice that they are the superior team, and should have no problem doing it again. They are arguably the best defensive team in the nation, and have so many great role players that know exactly what they need to do.
In the Midwest, No. 1 seed Louisville will face off against No. 2 seed Duke. Louisville won the Big East, which many consider to be the toughest conference in the nation. However, Duke is just too deep and have too many great players. Duke should easily advance to the Final Four.
In the South, one seed Kansas will face off with two seed Georgetown. This is a matchup with of two teams who have an absolute star player. Ben Macklemore for Kansas, and Otto Porter for Georgetown. However, Macklemore has better players around him, and Kansas should advcance.
In the east, one seed Indiana will face two seed Miami. Miami has been the biggest surprise team of the season so far. However, Indiana was the preseason No. 1 for a reason, and are a one seed in the tournament for a reason.
They are led by one of the best all-around players in college basketball, Victor Oladipo. They also have a great big man in Tyler Zeller. Indiana will move on.
The Final Four will kick off with a battle of the two seeds. Duke will play Ohio State. Ohio State is great defensively, but Duke’s star power makes for a dominant team. Seth Curry, Ryan Kelly and Mason Plumlee will march on to the finals.
The battle of the one seeds will be Kansas against Indiana. Macklemore will meet his match, as he will be shut down by Oladipo, and Kansas will move on.
The finals will be a battle between Duke and Indiana. The true top-two teams will face off. Duke has the star power, but Indiana is the most complete team in the nation. Oladipo cause so many problems defensively and starts the offense.
The preseason number one will be the postseason number one, and Indiana will cut the nets when all is said and done.