Did something similar for the conference tournaments, so thought I'd keep it going for the Big Dance. This will not contain any picks on individual games, but rather only contain future wagers. Basically, just an initial (and refreshed) look at the brackets and who I think makes it to NO, who I think stumbles, who surprises, etc. etc.
Again, this is an initial view, so certainly things will change over the next few days. Let's kick things off out in the East region..
East
From what I've seen and read to this point, it seems the talk has been about one of either Syracuse, Florida State and Vanderbilt coming out of the East. I think when when we hit the Elite 8, at least one of the top 4 seeds will not be there, and I think it's one of the teams people seem to be favoring.
Who I think will win? Ohio State
This team is built to make a deep tournament run and I think the loss to Michigan State in the Big 10 final is a humbling one, and one where it gets the Buckeyes back in focus. They are more polished than any of the other top seeds, and while the others do things better than tOSU, overall, I think the Buckeyes have potential to cause more problems for the rest of the region than anyone else. Syracuse is good, real good. They're road to the Final Four will be tough, not because the teams they are playing have more talent, but because they play a style that will frustrate the Orange, both offensively and defensively. I like Vandy a lot and I see some shades of Uconn from last year with Jenkins being Kemba. He can take over a game just like Walker did. Supporting cast around him might be better than what Kemba had last year. Florida State is good, but I'm not overly sold on them. They might have hurt themselves by winning the ACC tournament as I don't think they are consistent enough to win 9 games in a row. Currently on a 5 game winning streak, would need four wins to get to the Final Four. I don't see that happening.
Which top seed wil stumble? Florida State
Most of the reasons are above, but while you can't deny how they play defense , I don't think they are good enough to consistently beat solid teams. This is a Seminole team that lost to BC, Miami FL, Clemson by 20 and Princeton. They got a Duke team without Kelly and a UNC team whose coach doesn't care about the conf tourney. Not taking anything away from them, but I think they will disappoint the people who have them going deep.
Who is the Cinderella? Texas
They don't have the most favorable matchups, but they do get two teams who over-achieved down the stretch. Rick Barnes has done a fantastic job this season at Texas and I think they are better suited as a team nobody thinks will do well. From a talent perspective, I think they are on par with every team in their pod. They won't make it to NO, but I think they can win some games.
How will it play out?
2nd round - Cuse vs. So Miss, Vandy vs. Montana, Texas vs. Fla State, Gonzaga vs. Ohio State
Sweet 16 - Cuse vs. Vandy, Texas vs. Ohio State
Elite 8 - Ohio State beats Vandy
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