Pittsburgh will win the NCAA tournament over Ohio State, with Notre Dame and Texas also reaching the Final Four.
There you go. Now fill in your bracket with confidence and haste because the first-round games (re: play-in games) start Tuesday. No more lingering over tough 8-9 matchups, wondering if No. 13 Belmont is this year’s Cinderella or waiting for more Bruce Pearl sanctions. Get going.
Let the number geeks run their stats. The bracket is all about feel. Whether you’ve watched every game this season or are simply picking team colors, everyone and their money is welcome to the Big Dance. Anybody can win the office pool. All too often someone with zero knowledge picks enough favorites plus a few lucky guesses to torment those whose whole existence revolves around college basketball.
But not this year. It’s not all chalk with the four No. 1 teams. Ohio State and Pittsburgh will be the only top seeds to reach Houston. Notre Dame is a two seed while Texas is a four. Overall, big teams dominate, but there’s a chance for upsets. Kansas seems to be a shaky No. 1 in the Southwest while Duke only gets two rounds before being derailed by Texas.
Ohio State is the trendy pick. The Buckeyes are led by double-double machine Jared Sullinger, but the Big Ten champions have a weak bench that leaves them vulnerable. Pitt is a more complete team coming from a much tougher Big East conference. The Panthers can score inside or out after leading the Big East in scoring margin, rebounding and assists per game. If these two reach the final, Pitt will wear down Ohio State.
Kansas can’t be trusted as a top seed after blowing last year’s title chances with a second-round loss to Northern Iowa. One of the commandments of the brackets is thou shall not lose to a team with a directional name. The Jayhawks may be the deepest team in the tournament, but that just means more good players are watching after UNLV knocks them off in the third round.
Among area teams, George Mason wins its Friday opener over Villanova. Villanova’s recent slide was against teams better than George Mason, but the Patriots have skill. The problem is facing Ohio State in the third round. That’s all, folks.
Georgetown has a chance to go to the Final Four. Then again, the Hoyas could lose in the third round to Purdue. It’s all about how Chris Wright bounces back from a broken hand. The Hoyas were 0-4 and scored 20 fewer points a game without him. It seems a lot to ask of Wright.
Locally, Verizon Center has Pitt and Butler advancing on Thursday and the Panthers ultimately moving on. In the West subregional, Cincinnati and Connecticut advance on Thursday with Cincinnati winning their Saturday matchup.
OK, time to run the pen across your bracket and dream of what to do with the winnings. Get ready for madness.
Examiner columnist Rick Snider has covered local sports since 1978. Read more on Twitter @Snide_Remarks or e-mail [email protected].
