SU has been on the road for a spell which explains the radio silence on the blog. But of course, we need to weigh in now on our fearless NCAA predictions for the men. A few thoughts:
- SU is very fired up about Michigan’s Big Ten Tournament win and running the table of 4 wins in 4 days. They played the best they had played all season, and Derrick Walton Jr. should be an NBA draft pick come June. I generally don’t like teams that win their tournament in the NCAAs as it requires a lot of energy. But I am thinking differently here with the Wolverines.
- Duke is the trendy pick. SU is not seeing it.
- I actually don’t have a good feel for the winner this year. It just doesn’t seem like there is a clear favorite out there.
- UCLA is interesting and a lot of people like North Carolina. Kansas is always a threat but I feel they win despite Bill Self and his coaching.
I am high on Michigan making a run in the tournament. I think they will beat both Oklahoma State and Louisville. The team to watch is Arizona which has some edge to them and is coming off a Pac 12 Tournament victory. I also think Kentucky is ready to make a run here. SU’s final four: Michigan; Kentucky; Villanova; and Arizona. And it will be Arizona over Kentucky in the finals. So, there you have it. What say you? As always, SU will give credit where credit is due!
Sports Update Intergalactic 
I do have Michigan making the Elite 8 but I went with a more traditional final with the Zag’s topping NC in the final.
Yes, but how about the all important Northwestern Vanderbilt game?
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Mark me down for Florida, Arizona, Kansas and UNC. But here’s to Northwestern upsetting Gonzaga!
Go Cats!
How many “Wild Cats” are in the tourney anyway?
I had to look it up and answer my own question. There are five Wildcats in the tournament:
1 Arizona
2 Kansas State
3 Kentucky
4 Northwestern
5 Villanova
No Big Ten team will make it to the Sweet 16. Sorry.
Arizona vs UCLA in the finals
Watch out for a run by SMU and Eastern Tennessee.
Unfortunately Michigan’s magic has run out and they will be lucky to get out of the first round. You can only play the “we are tired and playing in practice jerseys” angle for so long. I don’t think they can repeat UConn’s run of a few years ago. I think that Oregon may be better than we think and may make a deep run, and West Virginia may be a surprise Final Four team… and could be the team to ruin Gonzaga’s aspirations. I like the depth of UNC and Kansas, and feel that UNC has been prepping for the tournament all year – convincing themselves that regular season defeats are part of the process. I agree with you on Arizona – and I know that UCLA and Arizona would love (hate) to see one another in the final game. What about Florida State? Speed, strength, and a coach who may finally be able to prove he belongs in the conversation of “better than average coaches”. I want to believe that Louisville can overcome their coach’s distractions, but I just don’t feel the talent is there. Let’s see if Pitino has this last run in him before being fired by the University. Villanova… a great team but it is tough to repeat.
Duke’s players are not looking ahead to the second round, they are looking ahead to the NBA. They’ll advance a few games, but then get beat by a team playing “team basketball” (Villanova). They will go as fare as Kennard will take them, but there are not enough basketballs on that team to go around. It’s a good thing Coach K values ACC Tournament championships as much as NCAA championships since that is what they will accomplish this year.
I’ll go with ‘Nova / FSU / Oregon (wanting to pick Louisville in this spot) / UNC as my Final Four – with a UNC vs. FSU final. UNC 79 FSU 74 with a key FSU player fouling out in the last three minutes that will ultimately affect FSU’s chances at the title.
Mark me down for Arizona over Kansas to win it. Rest of the final four is SMU and UNC. In the east look for some madness. UVa to overcome trendy upset pick UNCW and then beat ETSU (after they dominate Florida) and upset Nova to reach the elite 8, only to lose to SMU who will continue their late season run to the final four. Also look for cinderellas Middle Tennessee and URI to reach the sweet 16. Good luck to your big ten squads.