Frank Mason is Softer than Charmin, my bracket, contains the best combination of risk and common sense, and essentially the best bracket in all of the land. Let’s talk about how there is absolutely zero chance, anyone, has any idea what is going to happen in March, let alone this year. This year, there are nearly no locks for a Final Four bid. Michigan won the BIG 10, Wichita State got the shaft, and KU lost to TCU. Which, yes, does indeed lead us to my brackets name. If you don’t know, I bleed Purple and am a die hard Kansas State supporter. EMAW baby. If there are no personal grievances in your bracket, can you even claim it as yours?
First Four
Let’s be real here, of the four matchups, there are only 2 games worth analyzing. USC-Providence, and my boys from the “Little Apple” versus the Demon Deacons (favorite name in sports). Both intriguing matchups where the advancing team will have potential to make a run… to the second round. USC is my pick to win the game just based on their schedule. The Big East is not something to mess with, no, but the Pac-12 is top-heavy. USC has played UCLA alone 4 times, beating them once by 8.
K-State by 2. I’m going to be a realistic homer in this situation. K-State coming off an impressive win over Baylor, where the defense was flying, and the offense looked as good as ever. They have senior leadership, and a young backcourt. Wesley Iwundu is the key. If he makes shots, and creates open shots for the guards, Stokes and Brown, Bruce Weber can only mess up so much. Once again, K-State by 2.
Make it easy on yourself and take the teams in the Power 5 with the First Four games, and then I went with my gut. I firmly believe K-State is a good enough team to be an 6 or 7 in this tournament had they not played in the Big 12.
EAST
The East is the region I feel most confident in my picks, which means absolutely nothing, but it’s the thought that counts. Let’s start with UNCW beating Virginia. I can’t put this into simpler terms, it is a 5-12 matchup. Ultimately it won’t matter when the winner gets the pleasure of playing the Gators in Orlando in the next round. I’ll pass on Virginia. Marquette is going to beat South Carolina because I would not trust an SEC team more than an experienced program in the tournament.
SMU-Baylor in Oklahoma will be interesting, and once again this matchup doesn’t matter either, because Duke awaits the winner of that game. Nova’s Josh Hart will play with a chip on his shoulder as him and Frank Mason come down the stretch for Mr. Naismith. Ultimately, I see Duke coming out of the East. But don’t be surprised if we see Villanova in Glendale trying to repeat. The real question lies within Duke. Will they continue to play fluid, Coach K basketball? Or will they fall back to their mid-season woes?
WEST
The West could very well end up being a sweep of top seeds, but I chose the X-men over the Terps. Look for the Jackrabbits to give Gonzaga a tough, close game. If there is one 1-16 matchup to even consider watching, that is the one and only. Notre Dame beats Press-Virginia, because the Big 12 is cursed come tourney time. West Virginia doesn’t score enough points to be a threat in March. I’ll pass on West Virginia as well.
U of A eventually runs the table and wins the whole thing, but the team with the biggest risk is Florida State. FGCU is no joke. Sadly, there is no more “Dunk City”, but Florida State could have an early exit, as the game is in Orlando. 3 hours from FGCU’s campus. I didn’t pick the Eagles, but this is a game to keep an eye on. The Zags eventually get beat by, arguably the hottest team coming in to the tournament, and eventual champs, Arizona.
MIDWEST
KU goes too far in my own bracket. But like, I’m not a tool shed. KU will lose to a good team in Purdue, because of size. KU won’t be able to handle, I hope, Swanigan and Haas. Purdue has a chance to go deep, as well as my actual choice Oregon. Battle tested, battled adversity, Dylan Brooks.
My most interesting pick is Michigan beating Louisville. Michigan might just end up winning the thing just like UCONN in 13-14. Seven seed, coming in hot off a conference championship, no real thought about them going deep. It is feasible, unlikely, but feasible.
Creighton is a fun team to watch, and hopefully we will get the pleasure of watching them play Oregon. K-State transfer Marcus Foster is an absolute animal. He is a flat out scorer. He was born to score the basketball.
Side Note: Yeah Marcus had his off the court issues at K-State, but yet another reason to dislike Bruce Weber and start the #FireBruceWeber hashtag, movement, and eventual action.
SOUTH
Two words to describe this South Region. Absolutely loaded. The committee pretty much said, lets put Duke and UNC on opposite sides, then UNC got shafted with 4 other legit teams that can make noise in the tournament. Kentucky and UCLA will outshoot you, but they have to face Wichita State, who should be a 6 or 7.
Wichita State will challenge Kentucky, with names not named Ron Baker and Fred Van Vleet, you may overlook them anyways. Butler is an underrated team, and will most likely face UNC in the Sweet 16. None-the-less, Kentucky’s Malik Monk will carry Kentucky to a loss to North Carolina.
Kentucky has the hardest road, and it will be too much for Freshman to handle when North Carolina will not have played nearly the caliber of teams that Kentucky has. UNC is experienced, and has the leadership to end up in Glendale with the four best teams in 2017.
FINAL FOUR
SPOILER ALERT: The Final Four will be, according to Jacob Allen (college basketball insider), Duke, Arizona, Oregon, and North Carolina. I looked for story lines throughout the season.
Duke-UNC was a pretty big headline throughout the college basketball season. They are playing really good basketball right now, and it sure would be a storybook ending. That isn’t what will happen though.
Arizona, playing 2 hours from campus, and Oregon will face off in a rematch of the Pac-12 Championship game. Once again, storybook and cliché in a way. This year is weird. So find a matchup and run because that is essentially what the committee did.
CHAMP
If Arizona is to win a championship in their home state, they must beat Oregon again, a final four team, and not a whole lot holds them back in the West Region. Lauri Markkanen and Allonzo Trier are good enough players where Arizona can run the table and win a National Championship in storybook fashion. This team is ready for their first championship in 20 years. This program needs it. They have had a lot of talent come into Tucson and underperform come tournament time. If Arizona is going to do it, it is going to be this year.
ADVICE
Bottom line, this bracket is impossible to predict anyways, so go out on a limb and take a risk… or 6. Take a long, hard look at teams like Purdue, Michigan, and Wichita State. “The ceiling is the roof.” as Mr. Jordan would say. Too many unknowns to be confident about my bracket, but let’s enjoy the best Thursday and Friday of the basketball year.