I know Erin Andrews has nothing to do with the NCAA Tournament. All of the games are on CBS, so the event has a decidedly unsavory Erin-less feel. That said, it is the greatest two week-plus period in sports all year, and puts a hop in my step that can only be matched by Erin Andrews holding a microphone, hence the picture to the left. (And let's face it, there's never a BAD time to post a picture of the lovely EA.)All right, now that the EA disclaimer is out of the way, here are my final picks, just under the wire. I know a couple of them fly in the face a little bit when juxtaposed to my "live" seeds below (not much, just a tiny bit). Most notably I'm going with 7 seed Gonzaga over "live" 10 seed Davidson. Just doing a little bit more analysis on it, Gonzaga is so deep and has played such a tough schedule, I just can't go against the law offices of Pendergraft, Pargo and Daye (even if there's a decent chance Josh Heytvelt did 'shrooms before the game).
All right, here goes:
FIRST ROUND WINNERS
EAST REGION
1 North Carolina, 9 Arkansas, 5 Notre Dame, 4 Washington State
6 Oklahoma, 3 Louisville, 7 Butler, 2 Tennessee
MIDWEST REGION
1 Kansas, 9 Kent State, 5 Clemson, 13 Siena
6 USC, 3 Wisconsin, 7 Gonzaga, 2 Georgetown
SOUTH REGION
1 Memphis, 8 Mississippi State, 12 Temple, 4 Pittsburgh
6 Marquette, 3 Stanford, 10 St Mary's, 2 Texas
WEST REGION
1 UCLA, 8 BYU, 12 Western Kentucky, 4 Connecticut
11 Baylor, 3 Xavier, 7 West Virginia, 2 Duke
SECOND ROUND WINNERS
EAST REGION
1 North Carolina, 5 Notre Dame, 3 Louisville, 2 Tennessee
MIDWEST REGION
1 Kansas, 5 Clemson, 6 USC, 2 Georgetown
SOUTH REGION
1 Memphis, 4 Pittsburgh, 6 Marquette, 2 Texas
WEST REGION
1 UCLA, 4 Connecticut, 11 Baylor, 7 West Virginia
SWEET SIXTEEN WINNERS
EAST REGION
1 North Carolina, 3 Louisville
MIDWEST REGION
1 Kansas, 6 USC
SOUTH REGION
4 Pittsburgh, 2 Texas
WEST REGION
1 UCLA, 7 West Virginia
ELITE EIGHT WINNERS
Louisville, Kansas, Texas, UCLA
FINAL FOUR - Kansas over Louisville, UCLA over Texas
CHAMPIONSHIP ........ [dramatic Kige Ramsey pause] .......
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UCLA 72, Kansas 67!! Russell Westbrook, Most Outstanding Player
