Gian Wessel, Sports Editor
Method to my Madness:When I pick teams to advance in the tournament, the first thing I look at their strength of schedule. I like going with teams that have played the toughest competition, even if it means their records aren’t the most impressive. For this reason, I give nods to squads from Big East and Big 12 because they have to consistently be at the top of their games to stay alive in their respective conferences. For the most part, the bigger schools are far more successful in the tournament than those in smaller conferences. Although records don’t mean everything, my second standard will make Charlie Sheen proud. Plain and simple, I also like teams that win. As far as potential upsets go, I like mid-major teams that win 30 games and their conference tournaments. These teams have beaten just about everyone in front of them and play their best basketball when it matters most, when they need a conference championship just to make the tournament.
First Round Upsets: I have two 12-seeds making it to the second round, even though these picks kill me every year. Going along with my winning formula, I have Richmond (27 wins, Atlantic 10 champs) and Utah State (30 wins, WAC champs) to move on. Richmond is facing a Vanderbilt team with a history of being upset; Utah State drew Kansas State, which has cooled down since a strong start to the season. I also have 10th-seeded Michigan State beating UCLA after playing one the nation’s toughest schedules. Despite being a 10 seed, the Spartans always get better in March and have one the game’s best coaches in Tom Izzo.
Final Four Picks:I have Ohio State, Connecticut, Kansas and Pittsburgh reaching Houston for the Final Four. Although the Buckeyes were dumped in the toughest bracket despite their top overall seed, they clearly have the talent to run through the field. In the west region, I like Kemba Walker to lead Connecticut over Duke. If Duke’s freshman sensation Kyrie Irving was healthy, I would probably have the Blue Devils making it at least to the championship game. On the other side of the bracket, Kansas and Pittsburgh have relatively easy paths to the Final Four. The only problem for Kansas could be a Sweet 16 matchup with Louisville, which they should be able to win. As for Pittsburgh, the Panthers are easily the weakest of the top seeds, but have beatable opponents in Florida, BYU and St. John’s ahead of them. In the title game, I have Ohio State beating Kansas with strong performances from freshman Jared Sullinger and an experienced group of talented guards.
Christine Jackson, Sports Editor
Method to My Madness: The way I pick my teams for March Madness varies, but I try to stick to some basic rules. First of all, you can’t just look at seeding, I look at who’s played who to get where they are. Just because a team has a good seed, doesn’t mean they’re necessarily playing on the same level as the other good seeds. Second, I try to look at the teams as a whole; after all, just because a team has one star player doesn’t mean that he’ll be able to carry a team all the way to the top. Then there’s the easiest standard. Just look at who is winning. A team with a winning record often, you guessed it, wins. One of the hardest things about making tournament picks is picking the upsets. Everyone has their preferences when it comes to these, but I’m partial to the 8-9 and 10-7 games. I hardly call a nine seed beating an eight an upset to begin with and I like cheering for the underdog, so I figure the 10-7 games are close enough that a lower seeded team with nothing to lose can easily take it. Finally, I’ll admit to one flawed picking practice, the love/hate picks. For example, I’ll admit a huge bias towards Mizzou. It’s Missouri, it’s my sister’s school and it’s where I hope to be two years from now. However, they’ve had only a so-so season. I’m fairly confident that they’ll be able to beat Cincinnati, but I won’t lie, I’m picking them because I want them to win. It’s the same deal with Kansas; being the Mizzou fan I am I just can’t bring myself to pick Kansas for my final four. Do I think Notre Dame can beat Kansas? Yes. Do I think Notre Dame will beat Kansas? Nope. Am I going to pick Notre Dame anyway? Absolutely.
First Round upsets:I have three nine seeds, three ten seeds, two 11 seeds and two 12 seeds making it through the first round. As I said before, I like the nines and tens as my upsets, so there isn’t a lot to talk about there. My elevens are Mizzou and Gonzaga. As I said before, I pick Mizzou because I love them, and I have a lot of respect for Gonzaga because they’re great at fighting when they’re behind. The twelves are Richmond and Utah State. I say Richmond not because I necessarily think they’re better than Vanderbilt, but because Vanderbilt seems to always get upset. Utah State was an easy upset to pick. Kansas State had a great season, but as the tournament has gotten closer, they seem to have lost their touch.
Final Four:My Final Four are Ohio State, Duke, Notre Dame and Pittsburgh. Ohio State was an easy pick. They have a tough bracket to play through, but they’re the best team there for sure. Pittsburgh got it easy in their bracket. This is only the Panthers second time in the tournament ever and they’re the one seed; the only thing getting them to the Final Four will be the easy games they play. Next is Duke. I have a soft spot for Duke and usually pick them to go to the end, as they always have a great program (hey, last year I was right!). My final pick is Notre Dame who, as I’ve already said, is there because I hate the Jayhawks. Now that’s science.
Sean McIntyre, Reporter
Method to My Madness:
Can we be perfectly honest here? I actually know college basketball, so, based on that alone, the odds of me putting together a really sound, error free bracket are decreased exponentially. Using logic has never ended up being the smart thing to go with here; it is all about the gut feeling. I try to use my heart over my brain. I take very little consideration of overall records. It’s not about who the teams have beat or who they’ve lost to, it is about who is playing the best basketball right now (see 2008 Davidson Wildcats or 2006 George Mason Patriots). I’ve tried and tried using stats and all the bracketology, but it has never turned for me. All of this being said, I’m making my picks with doing any research, just going with what I know right now.
First Round upsets: 9Villanova over George Mason: sorry G-Mason, this isn’t 2006. Big East team vs. Colonial Athletic Association beast, I’ll take the Big East team.11Marquette Golden Eagles over the 6Xavier Musketeers. I just don’t like Xavier, too many games they’ve beaten up on SLU. 10Georgia over 7Washington this could be a stretch, because Georgia hasn’t been consistent at all this year and just aren’t that good of a basketball team, but it’s going to happen. Watch. Tennessee over Michigan: the Wolverines can’t win unless they’re at home and Tennessee is playing really good basketball right now with one of the toughest schedules in the country. Mizzou over Cincinnati: the only reason Cincy has a 6 seed is because they survived the Big East. Mizzou is a scary team in the tourney, being so athletic. Illinois over UNLV: I just really don’t like the Runnin’ Rebs. I like Utah State over Kansas State. Just a hunch. And Jacob Pullen is a punk. I hope he’s happy that his team made it so now you can keep playing…….one more game. 10Michigan State over 7UCLA, Michigan State is a strong tournament team with experience. Plus, Coach Izzo is the man.
Final Four: THE Ohio State University, Louisville, Duke, Pittsburgh. Three one seeds and a four seed here. Louisville is the surprise team this tournament, I just think they have “it”. The road to the final four for Duke and Pittsburgh is pretty soft.
This is one of the toughest tournaments in recent memory to make picks. No team really stands out as hands down the best team in the country that should run the tournament. Louisville is a surprise pick here. Like I said, I’m going with my gut. The 1 seeds are strong and the region for both Duke and Pitt is a pretty easy road. At the end of the day, the Ohio State Buckeyes are going to do what is most important in life, “WINNING!” Thanks for reading. If you look back on this or me in April, it’s okay to point and laugh.
