College Basketball: March Madness Will Open With a Bang

Having looked at each of the four regions, Al Dannity makes his picks on what will happen over the course of the three weekends of March Madness.

Upset alert
The Southeast region is loaded with potential early upsets. College Basketball betting fans are particular fond of eyeing an upset in games between #5 and #12 seeds. This region doesn’t disappoint as the #12 seed Utah State Aggies, who lost just three games all year, are well placed to shock the #5 seed Kansas State Wildcats. Other potential upsets in this region include #13 seed Belmont, a team with 30 wins, over #4 seed Wisconsin, and #11 seed Gonzaga over #6 seed St. John’s.

Elsewhere in the bracket the Memphis Tigers will be confident of making a deep run from a #12 seed but they face a tough match-up against #5 seed Arizona. The Southwest’s #12 seed, Richmond, looked really good winning the Atlantic 10 title and I like them to give Vanderbilt a tough game.

Best match-ups
The the #8 vs #9 clash in the East is the most appealing first round game as George Mason, the Cinderella story of 2006, takes on Villanova. The other highlights of the early action come in #8 vs #9 games as Tennessee take on Michigan and the Butler Bulldogs battle the Old Dominion Monarchs.

Looking inside my crystal ball and the second weekend could deliver some exciting games. Ohio State and Kentucky would make for a thrilling affair in the Sweet Sixteen, pitting the Buckeyes’ size against the Wildcats’ youth. Kansas and Purdue could meet in the Elite Eight and if they do then it promises to be an edge of your seat affair.

And the winner is…
There’s a lot that can happen over the course of three weekends. Upsets occur, favorites go down but usually quality rises to the top. Ohio State, Kansas, and Duke all possess championship-caliber rosters. I like all three to make it to Houston but only one them can be the winner. It all could come down to one man. If reports of Kyrie Irving’s recovery are true then it’s nearly impossible to look beyond the Blue Devils. This is a great team without Irving but one capable of dominating all before them with him fit. Even with limited minutes that could be enough to push Duke over the top. I’m picking the Blue Devils to retain the title.