March Madness and NCAA Tournament Predictions

By: Amber Ludwig, Internet Marketing Coach

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Ladies and Gentlemen, the wait is over. March Madness is back.

It’s that time again. We are now on the eve of the 69th Men’s NCAA basketball tournament. Some of us believe this to be the most exciting and interesting event in all of sports and I am definitely one of those people. In recent years, the madness has spread to countless offices across the United States attracting basketball experts and rookies alike. Pools are set up, employees fill out brackets with the teams they think will outlast all others and the games begin. It all starts with a field of 65 of the most successful teams in college basketball.

After each round, the field will be cut in half. First to 32, then to the sweet 16, elite 8, the final four, the top two and finally a national champion is crowned. Now, maybe you have a favorite team to cheer on the whole way. Maybe, you just love the Cinderella teams that seem to find there way toward the top each year, or maybe you just simply want to win. Any way you look at it, it’s great fun.

Now, I have been watching this tournament for years and like to think that I have a considerable amount of knowledge on this topic. However, that all goes out the window come tourney-time and it remains true… that no matter how much you think you know about this, there is no perfect formula for picking a winner.

I have spent numerous hours this week watching ESPN’s bracketology, watched and studied the results of each conference tournament leading up to the big dance and filled out multiple brackets looking at possible scenarios for how this thing might turn out. I would now like to leave you with my predictions for this years tourney.

We’ll go region by region, seeking out some underdogs capable of pulling off the big upset, as well as, some locks to make it to the final weekend.

Starting off in the Midwest region with the top seeded Louisville Cardinals. They are a lockdown defensive team who have been playing there best basketball as of late and are coached by one of the best in the biz. Look for them to go far in this tournament. The 2nd seeded Michigan State Spartans are also a solid team from this region. However, they may run out of fire power early and get knocked off by the winner of the USC vs. Boston College match-up.

Now for the upsets. In 7 of the last 8 years a 12 seed has knocked off a #5. Look for that trend to continue when the Wildcats of Arizona, (who are looking to prove they deserve to be there), take on the Utah Utes in a first round match-up. Dayton is also capable of pulling of a win vs. an inconsistent West Virginia team in the 6 v 11 game.

On to the West region. The top seeded Huskies from U-Conn will still be without there star point-guard which puts all the pressure on the shoulders of the 7 foot 3 Hasheem Thabeet. If he gets in foul trouble they could be packing there bags for an early flight back to Connecticut. My vote is with the 2nd seeded Memphis Tigers who are looking for a return trip to the championship game. They are big, strong, experienced and in my opinion the best defensive team in the nation.

Not many potential upsets in the west. I do like Texas A & M over BYU in the 8 v 9 game as well as Maryland over Cal in the 7 v 10. Other than that, look for the top seeds to advance.

Now for the East region. The top seeded Pittsburgh Panthers are a very strong all-around team. They are my personal favorite to win it all. They just simply have what it takes. The big upset in this one, is the 11th seeded Rams of VCU(Virginia Commonwealth University) over the all-time leader in tournament wins, the 6th seeded UCLA Bruins. As for the rest. Look for the top seeds to advance to the Sweet 16.

Finally, we end up in the South region. If the top seeded Tarheels from North Carolina are healthy, look for them to do very well in the tournament. If they are without there star guard Ty Lawson, they could get bounced in the second round by the longer and faster LSU Tigers.

For the upsets. Again, I like the 12 seed Western Kentucky over 5th seeded Illinois in a close one. Lastly, I don’t think two stars will be enough for Oklahoma and will look for them to go down in the second round against a very fast Clemson team.

To sum it all up, my picks will look like this from the Elite 8 on to the title game.

In the Midwest final, I have Louisville beating Michigan State to advance to the Final Four. In the West final, I have Memphis advancing past U-Conn proving to be a little too much for the Huskies. In the East final, I have the Pittsburgh Panthers taking it to Duke for a trip to the Final Four for the first time since 1941. Last, but not least. I have Syracuse beating LSU in a barn burner down south.

The Final Four shapes up like this. Memphis over Louisville in a close one to advance to the title game where they will take on Pittsburgh who proved to be to much for the Orange of Syracuse.

And the winner is… PITTSBURGH. I have watched many of there games this year, along with many others and I can’t see anyone coming out of this field other than the Pittsburgh Panthers. They are the most complete and most experienced team in the field and I think they’ll finally get one.

Good Luck to you and I hope you enjoyed. Until next year, Happy Madness.

Note: The opinions and views expressed herein are that solely of the Author and are not to be held responsible for any potential losses or outcomes in gaming activities.

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