Monday, March 16, 2015

Notable Things to Catch on Your Bracket

March is upon us again, and every March everyone in the country is fixed to their computers and television sets rooting for teams to help out their bracket.  In order to avoid those anxious feelings of tracking scores and biting your nails off, make sure to catch these things while filling out your bracket:

1. Everyone is going to pick Kentucky -
Kentucky is by far the favorite to win the NCAA Tournament.  There is no question.  But why aren't they my pick to win it in my bracket?  Every single person is going to pick Kentucky, if they lose then everyone is doomed.  But if you have another team beating them in the national championship you only lose points for one game if UK still wins.  But if they lose you can gain a nice advantage over your opponents in the last possible game to get an edge.

2. Don't be fooled by Wichita State's ranking - 
It was just a few weeks ago that Wichita State was ranked top 10 in the country, now they are a 7 seed in the bracket... Don't fool yourself, the Shockers are still one of the nation's top teams.  They have an experienced core led by Ron Baker and Fred VanVleet.  If they play Kansas in the second round a 7-2 upset is probable.

3. Ohio State is going to upset VCU in the second round -
Led by star freshman D'Angello Russell the 10 seed Buckeyes are bound to upset 7 seed VCU.  OSU has more talent and Russell will dominate the backcourt matchup.  Although this game may be close at first, I expect Ohio State to pull away from VCU at the end of this game and the Big Ten will prevail over the smaller A-10 conference team.

4. The East side of the bracket has must watch games -
First round matches of #8 NC State vs #9 LSU and #7 Michigan State vs #10 Georgia make this side of the bracket hard to predict.  These games are toss ups and will most likely go down to the final seconds to decide a winner.  Another awesome first round game on this side of the bracket is #6 Providence against the winner of Dayton vs Boise State.

5. The South region is filled with inconsistent teams - 
The southern quarter of the bracket is filled with teams who have failed to be consistent all season long. Be careful when choosing from teams like Utah, Georgetown, Iowa State, Iowa, Davidson, SMU, San Diego State, and St. John's.  So yeah, the whole South.  Plus, Gonzaga has failed to prove how good they are against a weak schedule this season, so they also may be prone to an upset or an early exit of the tournament.

6. Wow, 8 vs 9 match-ups are hard to predict - 
#8 Oregon vs #9 Oklahoma State is another hard game to pick.  Ultimately, I would go with Oklahoma State because they have experience in LeBryan Nash and Phil Forte, plus they had to battle a tough Big 12 schedule all season.  Compared to Oregon who had an easier Pac-12 conference to cruise through.

7.  Both, Maryland and Notre Dame are really good, but can they beat Kentucky? - 
No, neither ND or MD will beat Kentucky, but I think both will play them and have their championship aspirations crushed by Coach Calipari and the Platoon system.  Maryland is led by the backcourt of Melo Trimble and Dez Wells, but neither will be able to last long against UK's backcourt.  Also, Notre Dame has a great team 1-5, but after they get tired, Kentucky has another 5 to run all over ND's bench players.

So, what does my bracket look like? Here you go, feel free to use this as your guide to the "perfect" bracket.  Good luck though, considering there is a little over 9.2 quintillion possibilities.




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