You have no idea how much this sickens me. Honestly. For a guy that bleeds Carolina Blue, it was very difficult to fill out this bracket. But it is that season and we are diehard college hoop fans at our house. The other 4 members of my house actually completed their brackets Sunday night. In true form, the girls usually win the challenge and Princess 2.0 usually takes home the crown. That tells you what my picks are worth. Disclaimers out of the way, here it is…. (Printable Version HERE)

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Full Analysis:

Every year, I automatically take UNC and pencil them in all they way to the Sweet 16. It’s like death and taxes…but not this year. I’ve been watching UNC for over 20 years. I said at the beginning of the season that this was one of the worst UNC teams I’ve seen in that time span. While they’ve played better, they just don’t have to horses it takes to compete against the top teams (Indiana, Miami, dook). When they lose, they lose BIG. I’m looking at that round 2 matchup (IF they can get past Villanova) and thinking it could get REAL ugly. They received no favors from the selection committee but that’s what you get for being an 8 seed. Depending on who they lose to the NBA, they are my odds on favorite to win it all next year. Honestly.

I’ve liked Indiana all year. When I look at the field, I don’t see a more complete team. They’ve got a strong starting 5 and a strong bench. I know, I know, they lost to Butler, Ohio State and Wisconsin but so what. The parity this year has been unbelievable. You can thank the NBA lockout 2 years ago for that. It’s a long season and I believe even quality teams begin looking ahead. Indiana should be there at the end. Which leads me to this disclaimer –

The South and East brackets are completely up in the air.

While highly unlikely, UNC could make a run at the Sweet 16 or Final Four for that matter. Any team in the South and East could. It’s that wide open. I anticipate upsets galore and a crazy Final Four from this side of the bracket. It’s a who’s who of college basketball and simply brutal. I have no idea how they selected these seeds, but any fan of a team on the left side should be REAL thankful they’re not on the right.

It pained me more than you know to take dook as far as I did. Personally I would like to see Creighton beat Cincinnati and then give the Heels some payback for breaking Kendall Marshall’s wrist last season by beating dook (freakin Creighton!!!). Next to Indiana and Louisville though, dook has the most complete team. They are not as deep but they have beaten quality teams all season. “The Rat” and his minions will win their share of games unless they run into a powerhouse like, Lehigh (never forget). 

This bracket won’t get you far and I wouldn’t put money on it. Either way it will be fun. Here’s hoping I’m dead wrong Carolina surprises us all.

Go Heels!

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