After some close study and an ample bit of projecting, our plan is to break down each bracket leading up to Thursday's opening games. We'll start with where Notre Dame is, in the Midwest. We'll give you our pick and a short reason why.
Agree or disagree? Post it below.
First round:
No. 1 Florida vs. No. 16 Jackson State -- Florida. No 16 seed ever beat a 1.
No. 8 Arizona vs. No. 9 Purdue -- Arizona. The Boilermakers are playing well, but Arizona has been here before and can get up quick before Purdue gets its feet under them.
No. 5 Butler vs. No. 12 Old Dominion -- ODU. The Bulldogs are fading, having lost 4 of 7 down the stretch. Plus, ODU is underrated.
No. 4 Maryland vs. No. 13 Davidson -- Maryland. Insights loves the game of Stephen Curry and the coaching ability of Bob McKillop, but the Terps have too much overall talent.
No. 6 Notre Dame vs. No. 11 Winthrop -- Notre Dame. The Eagles are the trendy upset pick. Notre Dame might be the best shooting team in the region and pull out a close one in the best first-round game in the Midwest.
No. 3 Oregon vs. No. 14 Miami, Ohio -- Oregon. Akron should be in this slot if not for a banked three-pointer. Oregon ran through the Pacific-10 conference tournament, which is not easy to do. Plus, the Ducks are playing fairly close to home.
No. 7 UNLV vs. No. 10 Georgia Tech -- UNLV. The Yellow Jackets are hot and athletic. The Rebels have won 9 of 10 and have a star in all-name team guard Wink Adams.
No. 2 Wisconsin vs. No. 15 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi -- Wisconsin. A&M-CC will keep this one close, but the Badgers have too much talent.
Second round
No. 1 Florida vs. No. 8 Arizona -- Florida. Forwards Marcus Williams and Chase Budinger are good players, but nowhere near the matchup problem of Florida's Joakim Noah and Al Horford.
No. 4 Maryland vs. No. 12 Old Dominion -- Old Dominion. The Monarchs have won 12 of 13 games, have veterans in the frontcourt and have depth with 10 players averaging 7-plus minutes a game.
No. 3 Oregon vs. No. 6 Notre Dame -- Notre Dame. The Ducks start four guards and are deadly from the perimeter. But Notre Dame's inside presence with freshman Luke Harangody should be the difference.
No. 7 UNLV vs. No. 2 Wisconsin -- Wisconsin. The Badgers look shaky as Alando Tucker provides their only real offense, but playing in Chicago helps. Wisconsin's slow-it-down style wins again.
Sweet 16
No. 1 Florida vs. No. 12 Old Dominion -- Florida. The Monarchs threaten to be the second CAA school in the Elite Eight in as many years, but Florida is too good. The Gators continue to look like last year's national championship team.
No. 2 Wisconsin vs. No. 6 Notre Dame -- Wisconsin. The Irish try to outpace Wisconsin (think Georgetown), but the Badgers staunch defense (eighth nationally) forces Notre Dame into bad shots.
Elite Eight:
No. 1 Florida vs. No. 2 Wisconsin -- Florida. Alando Tucker goes for 30, but the Gators have too much everywhere and continue their march to Atlanta.
-By Michael Rothstein of The Journal Gazette
You forgot another important aspect of Ga. Tech's "game": They can't win away from home. This year was the first year they've won a road ACC game in something like two seasons.
Overall, good picks. Can't wait to see them get blown up.
Posted by: Matt J. | March 13, 2007 at 08:36 AM