Ok so I haven’t had the chance to dissect the brackets like I normally do since I have been sick as all hell the last 2 days, normally I fill out like 62 different brackets I look at them all and decided to mix and match and see what ones I feel more comfortable with. Well this year I filled out 1 wrote a post and then got deathly ill, OK maybe not deathly ill but it sure felt like it. So this morning when I wake up and I feel a little bit better, meaning I can actually stand up on my own power and I can think semi clearly I decided to start rapid fire picking my brackets so I can hurry up and make the deadlines in all the pools I’d be entering. Well apparently the Flu = no balls ( pause of course ) as for some reason I have very few upsets this year. At first this hurt my soul, whats the fun in this if not for picking the upsets ? But the more I looked the less reasons I could find to pick some, I mean yeah I could pick just to pick upsets but the idea is also to be right. Well this year it seems the selection committee decided to take the fun out of the tournament by placing to many of the sleepers to either match up early ( Butler, South Alabama ) or match up against the elite seeds way too early. ( Davidson against Georgetown in the 2nd round ) Are they trying to make it so all # 1 and # 2 seeds advance and what the deal with giving UCLA a damn near free pass to the final four, now I see why everyone is picking them to win it all, it’s by far the safest bet because they have by far the safest road.

If you just wanna play safe pick UCLA no doubt, the toughest team they might have to play in their region is probably Drake, yes Drake is better than Duke IMO, don’t believe me click here to see why Duke sucks. ( http://tinyurl.com/39hud7 ) Now I wanted to pick UCLA to get upset relatively early as I just have not been that impressed by them. They play great D, which is huge in the tournament no doubt, but thats it. I have seen them get lucky and win because of multiple bad calls too many times for me to think they can escape 6 games in a row. After seeing the match-ups they have I now realize they will only need to get those calls and or be lucky at most twice in a row, in the final 2 games. Still I’m sticking by my story, UCLA can not win it all, they shouldn’t be allowed too and honestly sometimes a tougher road to the final four makes the last 2 games easier, it’s tough to adjust having to play Drake and Purdue and then dealing with Texas/Pitt and North Carolina or Kansas quality teams.

Now I’m not exactly making a stand and or going out on a limb when I pick UNC to win it all, but in my mind they are by far the most talented team in this field. They have one of the best players for sure, but more than his talent he is probably the hardest worker too. Tyler Hansboro never gives up on any play, ever. Dude is fighting for every loose ball diving on the ground reaching down and knocking the ball loose, running up and down the court to tip in a teammates missed shot or get a game saving block from behind, he just seems to not let them lose and while their road might be a lot tougher than UCLA’s I like their chances even more.

Now Obviously for the sake of time and space it wouldn’t make sense to give you my every pick for every game but what I will do is tell you the few upsets I did pick and give you my final 4 and how it plays out from there.

1st Round Upsets

# 13 Winthrop over # 4 Washington St.

# 11 St. Joe’s over # 6 Oklahoma

# 12 Villanova over Clemson ( Clemson plays great D, but Villanova is used to it they are from the Big East )

# 10 Davidson over Gonzaga

# 10 St. Mary’s over Miami ( this isn’t a football or baseball tourney right ? So why is Miami here ?

Second round surprises

# 12 Villanova over Vanderbilt ( since when should I start taking Vanderbilt seriously ? )

# 6 USC over # 3 Wisconsin ( not as sold on the Pac-10 as everyone else but the Big Ten is a joke this year )

# 7 W. Virginia over # Duke ( see this is why Duke sucks video again )

Regional Upsets

# 4 Pitt. over # 1 Memphis

and that’s it, I know it’s not much of a limb but it’s slim pickings, and like I said there’s a thin line between having fun riding with the upsets and throwing your money away.

Final Four

UCLA ( like I said no real comp. until the get here, which will hurt them in the end I believe and hope )

Texas ( beating Pitt., Pitt.’s D might be able to get them here but I just don’t trust them )

UNC ( beating Tenn. in a close game to get here )

Georgetown ( the Hoyas have been my favorite team since I was a kid, so is my fanhood getting in the way who knows, but I damn sure never trust Kansas and I think G-town’s D will be too much for the Jayhawks to deal with, it all depends on Hibbert showing up though )

Championship

UNC over UCLA ( I actually think Texas would beat UCLA if they met but theres a decent chance Texas doesn’t make it that far, no way UCLA doesn’t make the final four so take the points where you can get them )