Mock bracket

Happy Bracket Day!!! So exciting. Some crazy finishes yesterday and some other big results. San Diego St dominated BYU from start to finish. I'll give them a 4 seed and even a spot out west but they have just that one win over a top 35 team (and who knows what BYU is right now anyway?) so I can't put them higher than that. Kansas dominates Texas and could get the #1 overall seed with Ohio St's game in question today. Princeton breaks Harvard hearts everywhere. Penn St moves to the Big 10 final, secures their bid, and actually moves up to the #5 of 7 Big 10 tourney teams. UConn outlasts Lville in the Big East. Will be interesting to see how the committee ranks those two teams and Syracuse, ie how much stock it puts into this last week. I have Lville as a 2 and both UConn and Cuse as 3s in that order.

We have two great games on tap today, but I don't expect either to affect seeding much. Duke-UNC should be fantastic, but I have both teams locked in at 2 seeds with their only good win against each other. Kentucky-Florida should also be a lot of fun. I have Florida more deserving of a 3, UK a 5, but I have both as a 4 to make things easy today. Florida had a rough start but has really dominated the SEC. They could easily be a 2 seed if there was a better perception of the SEC this year. That being said, I have Duke and Kentucky winning these games today, Richmond winning the A10 (otherwise Dayton steals USC's spot), and Ohio St rolls easily.

I made a mock bracket. I used the teams and seeds I have mostly but tried to predict what the committee would do, ie moved a couple teams up or down as I think they are viewed. I did NOT give George Mason a spot though. Still just not a believer.

MIDWEST
1 Ohio St vs 16 Hampton
8 Xavier vs 9 Villanova
5 St Johns vs 12 Georgia / USC
4 BYU vs 13 Oakland
6 UCLA vs 11 St Mary's
3 Syracuse vs 14 Indiana St
7 Georgetown vs 10 Old Dominion
2 UNC vs 15 Long Island

My picks... Ohio St over Xavier, Oakland over Georgia, Cuse over St Marys, UNC over ODU... Ohio St over Syracuse

SOUTH
1 Kansas vs 16 UNC Asheville
8 Tennessee vs 9 Marquette
5 West Virginia vs 12 Virginia Tech / Alabama
4 Kentucky vs 13 Princeton
6 Cincinnati vs 11 Colorado
3 Purdue vs 14 Boston U
7 Washington vs 10 Belmont
2 Louisville vs 15 St Peters

My picks... Kansas over Marq, UK over WVa, Purdue over Colorado, Belmont over Lville... Purdue over Kansas

EAST
1 Pitt vs 16 Alabama St / UC Santa Barbara
8 Temple vs 9 Gonzaga
5 Kansas St vs 12 Memphis
4 Wisconsin vs 13 Bucknell
6 Texas A&M vs 11 Illinois
3 UConn vs 14 Akron
7 UNLV vs 10 Florida St
2 Texas vs 15 Morehead St

My picks... Pitt over Gonzaga, Wisc over K St, UConn over A&M, UNLV over Texas... Pitt over UNLV

WEST
1 Notre Dame vs 16 UT San Antonio / Ark Little Rock
8 Michigan St vs 9 Utah St
5 Arizona vs 12 Michigan
4 Florida vs 13 Butler
6 Vandy vs 11 Richmond
3 San Diego St vs 14 Wofford
7 Mizzou vs 10 Penn St
2 Duke vs 15 N Colorado

My picks... NDame over Utah St, Florida over Arizona, Vandy over SD St, Duke over Penn St... Duke over Florida

Final Four... Ohio St over Duke, Pitt over Purdue... Ohio St wins!