“Let’s make up our minds and go.”
It’s something we learn in childhood and are expected to carry with us for the rest of our lives, helping us make important decisions like whether to accept a job, which house to buy, which 12-to-5 upset to pick. Masu.
And yes, that applies well to the NCAA Tournament frame as well. For 30 years, every Sunday I have filled in the blank brackets by hand with my selections. Previously published in the morning edition, it was later printed by ESPN.com. Either way, I’ll fill it out once it’s announced and make my selection right away. There’s no need to tinker or think about it.
Contains all information. Every match, every result, every statistic, every data point. Nothing will change for the next 3-4 days. Why not just go ahead and fill in the brackets?
That’s what we’re doing here. True instant brackets filled out as soon as fields are announced. No second guessing allowed!
First 4 (Dayton)
southern region
10th Colorado State 75, 10th Boise State University 69
Midwest region
16th Montana State University 70, 16th Grambling 64
Midwest region
10th Colorado State University 58, 10th Virginia 56
western region
No.16 Howard 65, No.16 Wagner 63
Bilas: UW has ‘toughest road’ among No. 1 seeds
Jay Bilas, Jay Williams and Seth Greenberg look to the task ahead for UW, the No. 1 seed in the East Division of the men’s NCAA Tournament.
Eastern Region (Boston)
first round pick
No.1 UConn 91, No.16 Stetson 63
8th place Florida Atlantic 77, 9th place Northwestern 71
5th place San Diego State University 69, 12th place UAB 58
4th place Auburn 76, 13th place Yale 66
6th BYU 81, 11th Duquesne 68
3rd place Illinois 85, 14th place Morehead State University 67
10th place Drake 72, 7th place Washington State University 70
2nd place Iowa State 76, 15th place South Dakota State 58
2nd round pick
1st place UConn 79, 8th place Florida Atlantic 68
4th Auburn 66, 5th San Diego State 63
3rd place Illinois 84, 6th place BYU 76
2nd place Iowa State University 70, 10th place Drake 62
Sweet 16 picks
1st place UConn 76, 4th place Auburn 69
3rd place Illinois 71, 2nd place Iowa State 69
elite 8 picks
1st place University College 84, 3rd place University of Illinois 77
Regional analysis: UW enters the NCAA Tournament as the No. 1 overall seed and the favorite to become Phoenix’s first back-to-back national champions since Florida in 2006 and 2007. The Huskies should feel confident coming out of this situation. Win your bracket and advance to the final four. But there are some incredibly talented individual players in the area who can lead their teams to victory, starting with the 8-9 game between Northwestern’s Boo Buie and Florida Atlantic’s Jonelle Davis. I’ll smell it. At the bottom of the bracket are two power conference tournament winners in Iowa and Illinois. Both teams approach the battle in different ways. Illinois State and All-American candidate Terrence Shannon Jr. scores at a high clip, and Iowa State crushes the team defensively. The hottest double-digit seed in the region is Drake, which won the Missouri Valley Conference and has a star player in Tucker DeVries, the son of head coach Darian DeVries. Overall, I think the theme of this area is on point. And a potential Elite Eight game between UConn and Illinois will feature a lot of that. But Dan Hurley and the Huskies will get through it.
Seth Greenberg: ‘North Carolina can control the West’
Jay Bilas, Jay Williams and Seth Greenberg preview No. 1 seed UNC’s path in the West Division of the men’s NCAA Tournament.
West Region (Los Angeles)
first round pick
1st North Carolina 90, 16th Howard 65
9th Michigan State University 66, 8th Mississippi State University 63
5th St. Mary’s 67, 12th Grand Canyon 65
4th place Alabama 95, 13th place Charleston 88
11th New Mexico 79, 6th Clemson 75
3rd place Baylor 73, 14th place Colgate 65
10th place Nevada 72, 7th place Dayton 70
2nd place Arizona State 90, 15th place Long Beach State University 71
2nd round pick
1st place: North Carolina 76, 9th place: Michigan State University 73
4th place Alabama 78, 5th place St. Mary’s 72
11th New Mexico 81, 3rd Baylor 80
2nd place Arizona 84, 10th place Nevada 74
Sweet 16 picks
4th place Alabama 88, 1st place North Carolina 86
2nd place Arizona 87, 11th place New Mexico 80
elite 8 picks
2nd place Arizona 93, 4th place Alabama 84
Regional analysis: There are at least four teams in the region that at one time looked like Final Four contenders. Although North Carolina is not the offensive powerhouse it has been in the past, the Tar Heels improved dramatically defensively as the season progressed. Both Alabama and Baylor can put up points against anyone in college basketball, but there are questions about the defensive side of the floor, especially the Crimson Tide. Arizona State may have the best offensive and defensive balance in the region, but the Wildcats have had a number of questionable losses. In the top half of the bracket, both 12th-seeded Grand Canyon and 13th-seeded Charleston could pull off upsets, but I think they both fall just short. Alabama will beat Carolina in the Sweet 16. New Mexico is the team to carry that momentum from the Mountain West Tournament to the Sweet 16 and blow up the bottom half of the bracket. All the upsets are going to happen. He did a great job opening up Arizona State, a much tougher and more dynamic Wildcats team than the one that had disappointing performances in the NCAA Tournament the past two seasons.
Team J-Will has a chance to beat Houston in the South Region
Jay Williams and Jay Bilas discuss the Houston Cougars’ potential early exit from the men’s NCAA Tournament.
Southern region (Dallas)
first round pick
1st Houston 81, 16th Longwood 52
9th Texas A&M 73, 8th Nebraska 70
12th James Madison 76, 5th Wisconsin 74
4th Duke 75, 13th Vermont 65
6th Texas Tech University 77, 11th North Carolina State University 71
3rd place Kentucky 90, 14th place Oakland 70
7th place Florida 81, 10th place Colorado 73
No. 2 Market 81, No. 15 Western Kentucky 70
2nd round pick
1st Houston 71, 9th Texas A&M 59
4th Duke 79, 12th James Madison 69
3rd place Kentucky 82, 6th place Texas Tech 76
7th place Florida 77, 2nd place Market 75
Sweet 16 picks
1st Houston 69, 4th Duke 65
3rd place Kentucky 87, 7th place Florida 86
elite 8 picks
1st Houston 75, 3rd Kentucky 72
Regional analysis: A week ago, Houston would have been the overwhelming favorite to win from this region. The best defense in the country, one of the hottest teams in the country, and a team that plays with their shoulders down. And the Cougars lost to Iowa State by 28 points in the Big 12 title game. Is Kelvin Sampson’s team vulnerable? This is one of two key questions in the region, along with the health of Marquette star point guard Tyler Kolek, who missed the Big East Tournament with an injury. It is. In the top half of the region, keep an eye out for a possible second-round matchup between Houston’s Jamal Shehed and Texas A&M’s Wade Taylor. No. 12 seed James Madison would be the favorite to upset Wisconsin. I think No. 3 seed Kentucky and No. 7 seed Florida State are both good enough to win multiple games in this region, especially given how well the Gators played in his SEC Tournament . Kentucky can score with anyone in the country, but can the Wildcats get enough stops to get to Phoenix? If Houston can get back on track defensively, the Cougars will have Reed Shepard, He should be able to slow down Rob Dillingham and Antonio Reeves and make it to the Final Four.
Jay Bilas: Purdue has the best draw among the No. 1 seeds in the tournament
Rece Davis, Jay Bilas and Seth Greenberg explain why Purdue has a favorable draw in the Midwest Region.
Midwest Region (Detroit)
first round pick
1st place Purdue 88, 16th place Montana State University 63
No. 9 TCU 76, No. 8 Utah State University 73
12th McNeese 81, 5th Gonzaga 79
13th Samford 78, 4th Kansas 77
6th South Carolina 65, 11th Oregon 60
3rd place Creighton 79, 14th place Akron 64
7th Texas State 70, 10th Colorado State University 68
2nd place Tennessee 83, 15th place St. Peters 57
2nd round pick
1st place Purdue 79, 9th place TCU 67
No.12 McNeese 82, No.13 Sanford 78
3rd place Creighton 75, 6th place South Carolina 63
2nd place Tennessee 78, 7th place Texas 68
Sweet 16 picks
1st Purdue 80, 12th McNeese 66
3rd place Creighton 75, 2nd place Tennessee 74
elite 8 picks
3rd place Creighton 72, 1st place Purdue 70
Regional analysis: This region could explode in a double-digit upset. 12th-seeded McNeese and 13th-seeded Sanford will play fast, force turnovers, and be fearless going into the NCAA Tournament, but that could pose a challenge for 5th-seeded Gonzaga and 4th-seeded Kansas, respectively. There is sex. The matchup between Sanford and Kansas is especially interesting given the Bulldogs’ “buckyball” style against the Jayhawks, who are currently loaded with injuries. The turmoil in the middle of the bracket bodes well for top-seeded Purdue, which could face Will Wade and McNeese in the Sweet 16 and should advance to the Elite Eight. Final Four run. The Vols have arguably the best perimeter player in the country this season in Dalton Knecht. Creighton has three playmakers in the lineup and is better defensively than people think. I like to see Coach Greg McDermott’s team beat Tennessee in the Sweet 16 and upset Purdue in the Elite Eight. Ryan Kalkbrenner is one of the best defensive bigs in the country and should be able to at least slow down Zach Eady. But will Purdue have anyone to stop Baylor Scheierman and Trey Alexander? That remains to be seen.
Final Four (Phoenix)
final 4
1st (East) University 82, 2nd (West) Arizona 77
1st place (South) Houston 71, 3rd place (Midwest) Creighton 69
national championship
1st place UConn 70, 1st place Houston 66
analysis: For most of the season, the two best teams in the country have been UConn and Houston, and these two teams will eventually meet in the national championship game on April 8th. In the Final Four, UConn is too physical and too balanced. Arizona. The Wildcats’ offense thrives on scoring in the paint and getting out in transition, but Donovan Clingan doesn’t allow his team to shoot cleanly at the rim. And I don’t know if Arizona will be able to do enough in the half court. On the other hand, I’m still confident Houston will figure things out defensively. And after getting past Duke and Kentucky in the South Region, the Cougars could wear Creighton down. The Blue Jays don’t have a lot of depth and could be a tough practice against Houston. He rides UConn in the title game. The Huskies have looked dominant over the past two seasons, with the exception of a month of Big East play last year. The backcourt has two stars in Tristen Newton and Cam Spencer, defensive game-changer Clingan, forward Alex Karaban, who can move perfectly between the floors, and X-factor lottery pick. There’s Stephon Castle. UW shares the ball, is tough and physical, and Dan his Harley is one of the best coaches in this sport. The Huskies are on a winning streak.