They say the definition of insanity is to do the same thing and expect different results. Well, call me crazy, because I’m back with another shot at filling out a perfect bracket for the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship Tournament.
No one ever gets this stupid bracket 100 percent right, but that’s never stopped any of us from trying. So here’s my best guess at which teams will advance through each round into the Final Four and ultimately win the 2014 NCAA Championship.
South Region
No. 1 Florida over No. 16 Albany
No. 2 Kansas over No. 15 Eastern Kentucky
No. 3 Syracuse over No. 14 Western Michigan
No. 4 UCLA over. No. 13 Tulsa
No. 5 VCU over No. 12 Stephen Austin
No. 6 Ohio State over No. 11 Dayton
No. 10 Stanford over. No. 7 New Mexico (upset)
No. 9 Pitt over No. 8 Colorado (upset)
Round of 32 – Florida over Pitt; UCLA over VCU; Syracuse over Ohio State; Kansas over Stanford.
Sweet 16 – Florida over UCLA; Kansas over Syracuse.
Regional Finals (Elite Eight) – Kansas over Florida
West Region
No. 1 Arizona over No. 16 Weber State
No. 2 Wisconsin over No. 15 American
No. 3 Creighton over No. 14 Louisiana
No. 4 San Diego State over No. 13 New Mexico State
No. 5 Oklahoma over No. 12 North Dakota State
No. 6 Baylor over No. 11 Nebraska
No. 7 Oregon over No. 10 BYU
No. 8 Gonzaga over No. 9 Oklahoma State
Round of 32 – Arizona over Gonzaga; San Diego State over Oklahoma; Baylor over Creighton (upset); Wisconsin over Oregon.
Sweet 16 – Arizona over San Diego State; Wisconsin over Baylor.
Regional Finals (Elite Eight) – Arizona over Wisconsin
East Region
No. 1 Virginia over No. 16 Coastal Carolina
No. 2 Villanova over No. 15 Milwaukee
No. 3 Iowa State over No. 14 North Carolina Central
No. 4 Michigan State over No. 13 Delaware
No. 12 Harvard over No. 5 Cincinnati (upset)
No. 6 North Carolina over No. 11Providence
No. 7 UCONN over No. 10 Saint Joe’s
No. 9 George Washington over No. 8 Memphis (upset)
Round of 32 – Virginia over GW; Michigan State over Harvard; Iowa State over North Carolina; Villanova over UCONN.
Sweet 16 – Michigan State over Virginia (upset); Villanova over UNC.
Regional Finals (Elite Eight) – Villanova over Michigan State.
Midwest Region
No. 1 Wichita State over No. 16 Cal Poly
No. 2 Michigan over No. 15 Wolford
No. 3 Duke over No. 14 Mercer
No. 4 Louisville over No. 13 Manhattan
No. 5 St. Louis over No. N.C. State
No. 11 Tennessee over No. 6 UMASS (upset)
No. 7 Texas over No. 10 Ariz. State
No. 8 Kentucky over No. 9 Kansas State
Round of 32 – Wichita State over Kentucky; Louisville over St. Louis; Duke over Tennessee; Michigan over Texas.
Sweet 16 – Louisville over Wichita State (upset); Duke over Michigan (upset).
Regional Finals (Elite Eight) – Louisville over Duke
**FINAL FOUR – Louisville over Villanova; Kansas over Arizona.
**NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP GAME – Louisville over Kansas
