The Madness is here; the brackets are out (with the exception of a few games decided Tuesday and Wednesday) but I will give my take on what will, could or might happen in this wild and crazy tournament.
Believe me, anything could and most likely will happen.
SOUTH
The No. 1 seed Kentucky meets a very dangerous UConn team. The upset could be there, but I believe UK is the best team and will make it to the Final Four.
Moving to Portland where Indiana could have its hands full with New Mexico State, if the Hoosiers win they will meet a very good Wichita State team who will beat VCU. I give Wichita a big shot to knock off the Hoosiers, and meet Kentucky in Atlanta.
UNLV is a -5 point favorite over Colorado. No matter who wins this game they will not be able to beat Baylor. The Bears will be on a mission and will beat South Dakota St., either UNLV or Colorado and the winner in Greensboro.
Speaking of Greensboro, Notre Dame and Xavier should be a good game with the Irish pulling it off. Then the Irish will lose to Duke, who will have no problem with Lehigh. Believe me, though, Duke will have their hands full with Baylor. Duke or Baylor will move forward.
In Columbus, Michigan State is fresh off its big revenge win over Ohio State to capture the Big Ten tournament. The Spartans get a great draw and will have no problem beating LIU-Brooklyn on the way to meet the winner of the Memphis/Saint Louis game. Michigan State will handle with one on the way to Phoenix where they will win and find their way to the Final Four.
In Portland they are playing to see who will lose to Michigan State. New Mexico fresh off a huge Mountain West tournament plays Long Beach State. The Beach won the Big West tourney and should be making a good game of it. The Lobos will get the win and meet up with the deliberate style of Louisville. The Cardinals should beat Davidson. If so, either the Lobos or Cardinals will lose to Michigan State.
WEST
Moving to the West we have Murray State playing Colorado State. Murray is a team to watch and could be wearing those Cinderella shoes. Look for the Racers to get the win and meet Marquette, who will play the winner of Iona/BYU. Marquette will have its hands full with Murray. Neither will beat the winner Missouri in Omaha.
Speaking of Omaha, Florida will face Virginia for the right to lose to Missouri. The Tigers will crush Norfolk State and beat Murray on the way to the Final Four.
In Pittsburgh, Syracuse looks to have an easy go meeting UNC-Asheville on the way to opposing the Kansas State/So Miss winner. Neither of those teams will beat Syracuse who will head to Boston for a matchup with Vanderbilt.
In Albuquerque, Vandy (a team I have been on all year) meets a real good Harvard team. The Commodores get the win and will play Wisconsin who will beat Montana. I believe Vandy with their five returning starters will beat the Badgers and give Syracuse the game of their life.
In Nashville, Cincinnati meets Texas in what looks to be a toss-up. The winner will take on Florida State, who will pull one out against surging St. Bonaventure. The Seminoles will defeat either Cincy or Texas and meet up with Ohio State.
Back to Pittsburgh. Gonzaga, a tournament mainstay, will play West Virginia in a pick’em game. I think the Zags will get the better of the Mountaineers and will then to lose to Ohio State. The Buckeyes have a walkover playing Loyola (Md.), then Gonzaga will have its hands full with Florida State.
Moving back to Greensboro we have No. 1 seed North Carolina meeting the winner of Lamar/Vermont. UNC will then move forward and play either Creighton or Alabama. I believe it will be Creighton in this near pick’em game. No matter, the Tar Heels move on to St. Louis.
In Nashville the teams are playing for the right to meet up with North Carolina. Temple faces the California/South Florida winner on Wednesday. I see Cal advancing and beating Temple. As my Rabbi told me, Temple is a good bet on Saturday but they are playing on Friday.
Michigan will meet Ohio U., who will be all out to spring the upset. That victor faces Cal. Then it’s on to North Carolina in St. Louis.
Moving back to Columbus, San Diego State takes on North Carolina State in a very evenly matched game. I think the Aztecs move on to play Georgetown, who will beat Belmont and San Diego State for the right to meet Kansas.
In Omaha, Kansas looks to have an easy ride with Detroit and then the winner of Purdue/St. Mary’s. (I like St. Mary’s as Mary was my mother’s name). The Jayhawks will win and play Georgetown.
Well, that’s it. Load up the fridge, get an extra TV and go into lockdown. We will see how it plays out, then examine the Sweet Sixteen next week. Good luck, and remember to have a good time. There will be some great games and many upsets.