Bracketology

• Belmont +19.5 Duke-This is the 3rd trip in a row to the Big Dance for Belmont. An experienced team, they could give Duke a run for their money in this game. I'm definitely take the over.
• W. Virginia -2 Arizona-Although the Wildcats have played the toughest schedule in the country, they really don't have "it" this year. On paper, they are talented but have not lived up to expectations. West Virginia is a sneaky good 7 seed...Duke could have issues getting to the Sweet 16.
• Xavier -8.5 Georgia-It was fun while it lasted for the Bulldogs, back to reality. Xavier will be an extremely tough out of this tourney.
• Baylor +3 Purdue-I'm completely unimpressed with both teams. When in doubt, go against the Big 10 in the Big Dance.
• Portland St. +23 Kansas-Portland St. is the best 16 seed. With that said, they are still worlds apart for Kansas. KU should win easily, but Portland St. can put points on the board. Again, take the over.
• UNLV +2 Kent St-If the Flashes had a superior big man, I'd take the Flashes. Kruger has the Rebels peaking at the right time once again this year. Don't expect a sweet 16 run, but a 1st round win is likely.
• CS Fullerton +11 Wisconsin-The Badgers are looking not to repeat last year's tournament performance. With a tough first round draw, they can't look too far ahead.
• USC -2.5 Kansas St-Mayo vs. Beasley. Enough said. Circle this game, it could be a 1st round classic. Then again, Beasley doesn't have the supporting cast Mayo does. USC is a dark horse in their region, tab.
• Notre Dame -6.5 George Mason-The Patriots could be a popular "upset" pick in a lot of office pools b/c of their great run a couple of years ago. Unfortunately, the Irish are far too talented for this group of Patriots.
• Winthrop +8.5 Washington St.-The Cougars, quietly, are an outstanding team but a little too low scoring to give up this many points to an tournament experienced Winthrop team. Wash St wins by 6.
• Temple +6.5 Michigan St.-I pray to God CBS does not choose to air any of this game on the West Coast.
• Oral Roberts +9 Pitt.-Pitt is going to be a popular pick to make a deep run. They peaked in the Big East tournament....careful of a good Oral Roberts team.
• Stanford -14.5 Cornell-I'm not 100% sold on Stanford, but they are in a different league of talent than the Big Red.
• Marquette -6 Kentucky-On paper, the Eagles should blow Kentucky out. Marquette also fits onto my "dark horse" list. The Eagles win going away unless Ashley Judd distracts them.
• UCLA -32 Miss Valley St-Yes, I'm giving up that many points. How did Miss. Valley St. avoid the play-in game?? Further investigation warranted.
• Texas A&M -2 BYU-FUBYU. After the team and their sore loser fans tore apart Vegas and the UNLV team today and acted like ninnies at the Mountain West tourney, karma will prove to be a Mormon bitch.
• Villanova +6 Clemson-Every year a 12 beats a 5; this is the one in 08. After being the last team in the field, Villanova is going to prove to everyone they deserved to belong. Although their defense is lacking, the Wildcats can outscore almost anybody.
• Vandy -7 Siena-Siena sucks. Bad 13 seed. Vandy has the ability to shoot lights out and run away with this one.
• Drake -4 W. Kentucky- This is a completely unfair matchup to pit 2 mid-majors against each other, but it will make for a very entertaining game. For anybody that hasn't seen Drake play yet, you're in for a treat.
• San Diego +11 UConn-San Diego isn't any good, but they'll "hang around" long enough to make this game interesting. UConn pulls away late and wins by 9.
• Indiana -1.5 Arkansas-It's unbelievable to me that the Hoosiers slipped all the way down to an 8 seed. Out of all 65 teams, I would be no more surprised to see them knock off North Carolina in the 2nd round than to see them fall flat on their face against the Razorbacks...they're just that inconsistent.
• Georgetown -16 UMBC-The Hoyas don't have the look of a team that is going to make a long run this year. Maybe we'll see differently for at least 1 game?
• Gonzaga +2 Davidson-I'm well aware of where this game is being played and that Davidson has won 98 games in a row. Unfortunately, the Zags are now healthy and Mark Few knows how to get a team deep in the NCAA tourney. The Zags have a coming out party and surprise the "experts".
• Memphis -24.5 TX Arlington-Memphis has no problem blowing out inferior opponents: see Conference USA.
• Oregon +2.5 Mississippi St-Definitely one of the better, perhaps overlooked games on the slate. The Ducks have underachieved a majority of the year but have been used to facing much better competition than the Bulldogs. This game should be close, and possibly could come down to a last second shot.
• Texas -16 Austin Peay-The Longhorns got what they wanted---a #2 seed and the potential of playing in Houston to get to the Final 4. If you want to take a dark horse to run the tables, the Longhorns could fit the bill. Texas plays defense as well as anybody and has wins over Tennessee, at UCLA, and Kansas over the course of the season.
• St. Mary's +1 Miami-Maybe I've just seen the Gaels play a couple too many times this season, but this game is a no-brainer in my book.
• Tennessee -20 American-The Vols have got to be pissed to have to get past Louisville and UNC to get to the Final 4. It's a tall order, but not impossible for this good Vols team.
• Butler -4 S. Alabama-The Jaguars got in the big dance due to having a lot of "close" calls and a win over Miss. St. I'm all-for mid-majors getting a look, but the Jags just aren't that good.
• Louisville -13 Boise St-The Cardinals are peaking at the right time and will be a very tough out. Boise St shouldn't pose any real threat.
• St. Joe's +1.5 Oklahoma-I'm not real impressed with either team, but dislike the Sooners more. This is another game I will probably try to miss.

Final 4: UNC-Kansas, UCLA-Texas

Championship: UNC over UCLA