2008 March Madness: My Pathetic Attempt...

Again, I'll try my best to predict March Madness. Let me be honest as much as I love this tournament I have come to realize I am terrible on predicting.


It's awful. It's pathetic...but here I go. Enjoy.



EAST

Opening Round

1 UNC over 16b Mount St. Mary's
8 Indiana over 9 Arkansas
5 Notre Dame over 12 George Mason
4 Washington State over 13 Winthrop
11 St. Joe's over 6 Oklahoma
3 Louisville over 14 Boise State
7 Butler over 10 South Alabama
2 Tennessee over 15 American


UNC will cruise by the Play-In winner Mount St. Mary's with little effort; Indiana will defeat the Hogs because of their stellar guard play lead by Eric Gordon; ND will get past the first round for once and defeat a George Mason school with lofty expectations; Wazzu will beat Winthrop in a nail biter; St. Joe's will prove they deserved a bid by defeating an Oklahoma team by nearly double-digits; Louisville (my underdog for the region) will pull away from BSU in the final 5 minutes; Butler will get by South Alabama by 10+ points because of their experience and American's magical run will be over before it started as UT has a chip on their shoulder after the disturbing showing in the SEC Tourney.




Second Round


1 UNC over 8 Indiana
4 Wazzu over 5 Notre Dame
3 Louisville over 11 St. Joe's
2 Tennessee over 7 Butler


UNC again will not have much trouble with their opponent, Indiana, who will really have nothing in store to stop Pyscho-T; Wazzu will again creep on as they defeat Notre Dame in an old-fashion defensive showdown; Louisville will prevail over SJ easily and for my big early missed opportunity game, Butler will lose a heartbreaker to a Tennessee Vol team poised to win the region.


Sweet 16


1 UNC over 4 Wazzu
3 Louisville over 2 Tennessee


With nothing to stop Mr. Tyler, UNC will again move to the Elite 8 with not much trouble; Louisville will defeat an over hyped Vol team that nearly lost to Butler the week before.



Elite 8

3 Louisville over 1 UNC


Definitely the upset of the region. Pitino finally gets his club deep into the tournament with an unlikely upset of the tournament-favorite Tar Heels. Bottom line: Hansbrough can't win the game by himself.




MIDWEST


Opening Round

1 Kansas defeats 16 Portland State
9 Kent State over 8 UNLV
5 Clemson over 12 Villanova
4 Vandy over 13 Siena
11 Kansas State over 6 USC
3 Wisconsin over 14 Cal-State Fullerton
10 Davidson over 7 Gonzaga
2 Georgetown over UMBC


Kansas, without a sweat, rolls past PSU in the second half after a slow first half; Kent State trips up UNLV to again make a statement the MAC is overlooked; Clemson beats 'Nova convincingly to show the Duke upset was no fluke; Vandy defeats a Saints' team that will give the Tennessee school a run for their money; Wisconsin defeats Fullerton with their old boring style of basketball; Davidson finally gets it right and gets past the first round with a closing moment victory over John Stockton's Alma mater and the Hoyas win over UMBC because I don't know what "UMBC" stands for.

Second Round

1 Kansas over 9 Kent State
5 Clemson over 4 Vandy
11 Kansas State over 3 Wisconsin
2 Georgetown over 10 Davidson


Kansas gets huge scare, but comes from behind to beat the Flashes; Clemson takes down Vandy in one of the best games of tourney; Michael Beasley and Co. continue their tournament run with the defeat of the 1940s style basketball squad of Badgers and Georgetown easily prevails over Davidson as Roy Hibbert becomes too much to handle.


Sweet 16


1 Kansas over 5 Clemson
2 Georgetown over 11 Kansas State


Odd thing is I actually had Clemson winning this game for a while, then I changed it at the last minute. Kansas will win this game because of the superior level of talent AND the Clemson's inexperience in such big games in the tourney. And much like the Clemson game, I switched my decision on this one as well. The Hoyas head to the Elite 8 for the second straight year.


Elite 8


1 Kansas over 2 Georgetown


I see a very lopsided win for the Jayhawks on this day. I have never been overly impressed by the Hoyas this year and a juggernaut team such as Kansas will prove my point. I think this is finally the year the Jayhawks stop tripping up in the tourney early on.


SOUTH

Opening Round


1 Memphis over 16 Texas-Arlington
9 Oregon over 8 Mississippi State
12 Temple over 5 Michigan State
4 Pitt over 13 Oral Roberts
6 Marquette over 11 Kentucky
3 Stanford over 14 Cornell
10 St. Mary's over 7 Miami (FL)
2 Texas over 15 Austin Peay


Memphis is my favorite for the tourney so Arlington should be no trouble; Oregon wins over MSU simply because choosing the 8/9 games is nothing short of a coin flip; Temple takes down Izzo's squad only because every now and then the Spartans choke in the first round; Marquette (tough one) makes the committee realize that yes, UK did not deserve to get a bid; Stanford wins over Cornell because it's Cornell; St. Mary's is victorious over The U because the Gaels have a reputation for making noise in the tourney and the Longhorns prevail because of the guard play differences amongst the schools.


By the way this is the best cheer ever. In the 1970s, Fly Williams was a basketball at Austin Peay. The stands use to yell, "The Fly is open! Let's go Peay!"


Clever.

Second Round

1 Memphis over 9 Oregon

4 Pittsburgh over 12 Temple

3 Stanford over 6 Marquette

2 Texas over 10 St. Mary's

Memphis cruises past the Ducks in what will be known as a No Contest; Pittsburgh wins simply because they are the ultimate sleeper; the Cardinals defeat Marquette because I really think this Stanford team is better than given credit for and Texas defeats St. Mary's it what will be a surprisingly close game.

Sweet 16

1 Memphis over 4 Pittsburgh

3 Stanford over 2 Texas

Memphis beats Pitt in a nail biter because I thought about this match up too long and changed my mind. On the contrary, Stanford again moves on as the Longhorns yet again do not live up to expectations.

Elite 8

1 Memphis over 3 Stanford


This is a team on a mission. The Tigers lost a mere one game during the season. This squad is not going down this early. Memphis will win this by at least 7 points.


WEST


Opening Round


1 UCLA over 16 Miss. Valley St.
9 Texas A&M over 8 BYU
12 Western Kentucky over 5 Drake
4 UConn over 13 San Diego
11 Baylor over 6 Purdue
3 Xavier over 14 Georgia
10 Arizona over 7 West Virginia
2 Duke over 15 Belmont


UCLA will handle MVSU; A&M beats the Cougars because of a coin flip; Western Kentucky defeats this Drake squad because of more March Madness experience; UConn squeaks one out against St. Diego; Baylor defeats Purdon't as the team begins playing like it's the start of the season; Xavier, my big sleeper, ends UGA's dream week with a brutal thrashing of a Bulldog; 'Zona takes down WV with superior guard play and Duke, without error, takes down Belmont.


Second Round


1 UCLA over 9 Texas A&M
4 UConn over 12 Western Kentucky
3 Xavier over 11 Baylor
2 Duke over 10 Arizona


UCLA defense is again too much for the Aggies as the Bruins advance with ease; UConn continues to sneak into another round by defeating the surprising Hilltoppers; Xavier lets the magical run continue and Duke exploits the Wildcats nationally on why the team had 14 losses.


Sweet 16


1 UCLA over 4 UConn
3 Xavier over 2 Duke


UCLA defeats UConn by at least 10 points because of an absolute mismatch in talent and Xavier slays the Blue Devils in a game for the ages.


Elite 8


1 UCLA over 3 Xavier


The run is over as UCLA stops the Musketeers from continuing there magic anymore. Bruins make third consecutive Final Four.


Final Four


1 Kansas over 3 Louisville
1 Memphis over 1 UCLA


Kansas stops Pitino's team's race for glory behind senior leadership and Memphis takes down the Bruins for their second straight Final Four exit because of Memphis's team of destiny standing.


Championship


1 Memphis over 1 Kansas


No surprise but the Memphis Tigers win the national championship for the first time ever. Memphis pulls out a 7 point win because of the team's consistency throughout the season. The Tigers have been waiting for this!


I'd be happy to read the predictions you guys have. Do not think you have type as much as me. Just let me know who you have in the Final Four and what big upsets you have.