Shanker Srinivasan, SportsGamer
East: UNC vs. Louisville
Number-one-seeded UNC should coast to its Elite Eight matchup against Louisville. Hansbrough is a monster off the glass, has good range, and moves abnormally well for a guy his size. The Tarheels also benefit from the easiest matchups early in the tourney. Despite number-three Louisville's recent losses to Georgetown and Pitt, I'm still impressed with this team. Number-two-seeded Tennessee, on the other hand, seems a bit too inconsistent--either you'll see the team that took out Memphis on the road or the team that struggled against South Carolina. In the end, though, UNC will represent the East simply because it presents the most matchup problems (the game will be close though).
Midwest: Kansas vs. Wisconsin
Number-one Kansas seems like a no-brainer out of the Midwest. Number-five Clemson may challenge the Jayhawks, but I think Duke made Clemson look better than it is in reality. Kansas will be much faster in rotating help defense than Duke was in its ACC tourney loss. Number-three Wisconsin over number-two Georgetown doesn't sit well with me (especially because Hibbert can dominate any game if he wanted to), but someone has to get upset, right? In the end, it won't matter, though, because Kansas should steamroll either team. I like Kansas' transition game, and the Jayhawks have proven they can step up on the defensive end when necessary. This is what Kansas will need when it beats the Tar Heels in the Final Four.
South: Pittsburgh vs. Texas
Well, some number-one-seeded team has to go down, and my money is on the Memphis Tigers. Compared to the other top seeds, it has the toughest road to the Sweet 16, and I think Pittsburgh will catch the Tigers at the right time. Pitt plays gritty, has strong guard play, and looked impressive taking care of Georgetown in the Big East championship game. Texas/Stanford sounds good on paper, but I'm not high on either team. I picked Texas over Stanford here because I think Texas has fewer weaknesses, but I expect Pitt's physical play to ultimately carry the team to the Final Four.
West: UCLA vs. Duke
This is my only number-one vs. number-two matchup. For the most part, I am just choosing this matchup because I want to see Duke get crushed by UCLA. Wins like this are important for the Pac 10's image, and I don't see the Bruins having a letdown. There are a few other teams I like in the West Region (Drake and Arizona), but I don't see any of them making any waves in the tourney. In the end, I expect UCLA to meet up with the Jayhawks in this year's championship game with the Bruins prevailing. This should be a very fast-paced game, though, so it will be an exciting finish.
Kyle Cooper, SportsGamer
As I mentioned in another article, every year I make a conscious effort to watch every single team in the field of 65 at least once during the season. Unfortunately, that never seems to matter come March because the NCAA Tournament always has a way of making me look stupid. Anyways, here we go again:
East: North Carolina vs. Louisville
In the East, I just don't see anyway possible that anyone's going to be able to beat the Tarheels before the Final Four because every single game they play is in the state of North Carolina. My heart wants to say that the Washington State Cougars have a shot because I think they have as much talent and play better defense than anyone in the nation. Unfortunately, I just think WSU head coach Tony Bennett isn't maximizing the team's talent because he doesn't always seem to have the best lineups out there playing together. In the end, as long as we see a healthy Ty Lawson at point for North Carolina they'll be playing at San Antonio in the Final Four.
Midwest: Clemson vs. Georgetown
That's right, the Clemson Tigers will not only make it to the Elite 8, but they'll get past Georgetown and into the Final Four. The Tigers caught fire in the ACC Tournament and this team's confidence shot through the roof at the right time. With four of their five starters averaging double-figures, Clemson has multiple threats on the court at all-times. Plus, they have one of the most dangerous gun-slingers from three in freshman Terrance Oglesby (10.5 ppg.). Oglesby has unlimited range and will pull the trigger at any time. In my opinion, Clemson has a great draw because they get to face the worst #1 in Kansas without having to deal with all the fans that the other #1 seeds will be able to bring because this game will be played in Detroit. Kansas faced four tournament teams on the road throughout the season (USC, Kansas State, Texas, and Texas A&M) and they lost two of them. I expect the Tigers to claw past the Jayhawks, then use their athleticism to knock out the Hoyas in the Elite 8 to advance to the Final Four.
South: Memphis vs. Texas
I like the Tigers and Longhorns to lock up in the Elite 8, with Texas moving on to the Final Four. Texas may be a young team that isn't every deep, but they probably do have the best starting five in the nation and they won't have to leave the state of Texas after the first two rounds of play. If the young Horns can shake off the nerves to get by the first two rounds, then I think this squad will be ready to make some noise deep into the Tournament.
West: UCLA vs. Duke
UCLA by far received the easiest bracket among the #1 seeds. Realistically, their first real test shouldn't even come until the Elite 8. I think Xavier has plenty of talent to reach the Elite 8 game and beyond, but inconsistent play towards the end of the season is starting to put some doubt in my mind. I ended up taking the Blue Devils to face the Bruins, but I think that's where the run ends for the Dukies. Solid guard play, a superior low post, and a semi-home court advantage playing in Phoenix will get UCLA in the Final Four.
Final Four: North Carolina vs. Clemson; Texas vs. UCLA
Championship Game: Clemson vs. UCLA
Winner: UCLA
Daniel Grundei, SportsGamer
This year, I'm going with the George Costanza approach to the NCAA Tournament. That is, I'm picking the opposite of who I think will win. Hey, nobody ever gets these pick correct anyway, right? Actually, I'm not going to be that dramatic, but I have picked a team to win it all, Memphis, that I really don't think will win it. I know it's hard to call a #1 seed an underdog, but no one is talking about them right now and they're getting no respect. Because of this, I figure that if I pick Memphis, and they actually win, my bracket will stand out quite a bit from the masses who are predicting a North Carolina / UCLA final game. Who cares if they're right? If they are, they'll be fighting with about 90% of the rest of the country to determine the office poll winner. If, correction - WHEN, Memphis wins, I'm going to look like a genius. Who knows, maybe the New York Yankees will give me a job?
East: North Carolina vs. Louisville
I wanted to pick anyone other than North Carolina here. The problem is that they get to play in Charlotte. Are you kidding me? I guess that is what you earn with a #1 seed. Because of this, I had to choose the Tarheels to get past Louisville in this one and make it to the Final Four.
Midwest: Clemson vs. Georgetown
On the strong recommendation of my esteemed colleague, Kyle Cooper, I have decided to pick Clemson going to the Elite Eight. His recommendation is rock solid. "If they get past the first game, they're going to the Finals". What? The first game is going to be harder than the Elite Eight? He claims it's all about the matchups. They did just play North Carolina close, so I'm hoping they make it past the first game, because I have them in the elite eight. However, I don't think they're going to get past Georgetown. Look for the Hoyas to get out of this region.
South: Memphis vs. Stanford
The safe pick in everyone's bracket is #2 Texas, basically playing at home, to make it out of this region. I just think Texas looked better than they really are this year playing in a weak Big 12 conference. Stanford's going to pull the minor upset in the Sweet 16, but then falter to the Memphis Tigers.
West: UCLA vs. Xavier
The Muskies of Xavier were playing so well earlier this season. I really thought they might be able to reach the final four. However, they've played really poorly as of late, and run into a strong Bruin squad. To be honest, I think Xavier might not even make the Elite Eight, but regardless, look for UCLA to come out of this region without much of a struggle.
Final Four: UCLA, Memphis, Georgetown, North Carolina
Championsip Game: Memphis vs Georgetown
Champion: Memphis will be cutting down the nets.
Brian Ekberg, GameSpot
Start from the Elite Eight and work backward; that's the best advice I've got when it comes to making your NCAA Tourney picks. After all, if you start with the Elite Eight, you can start from a place of logic. It's all too easy to vote with your heart when starting from the field of 64; if you take it too far, all of a sudden, you've got South Alabama taking on Coppin State. This "head before heart" approach seems especially important this year with one of the most top-heavy brackets in recent memory. Here's how my Elite Eight breaks down:
East: North Carolina vs. Louisville. I think the Cardinals will have a heck of a time against an on-fire Butler team, but the Cardinals will do just enough to earn the chance to lose to UNC--which looks unstoppable at this point.
Midwest: Kansas vs. USC. The Jayhawks will skate through the Elite Eight and on to the Final Four. My other Elite Eight team--USC--is my biggest step out on a limb this year. I love O.J. Mayo nearly as much as I love real mayo and think he's going to stand out in a big way as the Trojans take down Kansas State, as well as an underachieving Wisconsin team.
South: Memphis vs. Texas. I love what I've seen of Michigan State this year, and the Spartans are playing really well right now. This is a fact that I think will take Tom Izzo's squad past Temple and Pittsburgh. But I don't think anyone can stop Memphis from steamrolling into the Final Four. Texas looks to have a pretty easy time through to the Elite Eight, but it'll stop short when it meets the Tigers.
West: UCLA vs. Xavier. The bottom half of the West is perhaps the most unpredictable bracket of any in this tournament. Beyond Xavier, I can see as many as three other teams going against the Bruins in the West: Duke, Arizona, or the currently streaking Georgia Bulldogs. Unfortunately, I think momentum only takes the Dukies, the Wildcats, and the 'dawgs so far. I see the Musketeers going up against UCLA in a defensive struggle.
Final Four: UNC vs. Kansas; Memphis vs. UCLA
Championship Game: UNC vs. UCLA
Winner: UNC
Aaron Thomas, GameSpot
I'm going to preface my picks by saying: Don't bet your rent money based on my Final Four. I haven't gotten to the point where I'm making my picks based on who has the prettiest uniform, but I'll admit that my college hoops knowledge isn't up to my college days when I won my dorm's pool for two consecutive years. All right, enough excuses.
In the East, I like UNC because I have no faith in Tennessee's ability to knock UNC off, and there's little else out there short of the whole team getting food poisoning to stop the Tar Heels. In the Midwest, I like Georgetown. There's no method to the madness with this pick--I just feel like Georgetown's going to get it done. In the South, I'm going to go with Memphis--this bracket is terrible and nobody's going to get in the Tigers' way. I really wanted to go with Duke in the West, but Duke just hasn't been able to get it done when it mattered this year, and there's no bigger time that matters than March Madness. So, I'm going to have to go with UCLA, but I've got a really strong feeling that Drake could take it out in the Sweet 16. If that happens, I'm going to secretly edit my picks and stick Drake in the Final Four so that I look like a genius.
It doesn't matter who wins the West, though, because I've got Memphis and UNC in the championship game. Then I've got the pesky Tar Heels (I'm a Duke guy) cutting down the nets in San Antonio.
