jennings rampage

Word life, this is basic bracketnomics.

This is a very good bracket:

(click to embiggen)

As far as early upsets go, I like Pacific over Providence, mostly because it’s de rigurer to pick a 12 seed to knock off a 5 seed, and also because I read an article in the Times over the weekend about how the coaches for Providence set their VCR wrong and had to scramble to get tape of Pacific’s tournament final. Watching tape of opponents you don’t know is next to godliness. I also like Murray St. over Illinois, despite the pot busts at Murray; Illinois is a young team, Murray is experienced (if, perhaps, shorthanded), and the tournament smiles on mid-majors with experienced rosters, at least in the early rounds. North Carolina has a harder-than-it-looks first round match against Air Force in Denver, but they should squeak past, in time to fall apart late against Texas in the second round. Pitt will job to Wisconsin in Milwaukee in the second round.

I love Georgia Tech’s draw in the St. Louis regional, they’re my pick to take it. Seriously. I think the talk around Kentucky is just a little inflated in the wake of Stanford and St. Joe’s late losses, and Georgia Tech is primed and hungry and looking good. Duke jobbing out to Cincinnati in the Sweet Sixteen might be a little bit of wishful thinking, but Mississippi State is the team to beat in Atlanta either way, which is bad news for white-hot Xavier, who will job to the eventual Atlanta champions in the second round. In the Jersey regional, St. Joe’s is shaken and out of gas, Wake Forest will go reasonable far, but the team to beat is Oklahoma State. Awesome team, easy pick for the Final Four. In Phoenix, my blatant ACC bias continues, as I like NC State’s draw pretty well, but Stanford will be too much to stop.

So my Final Four is: Georgia Tech vs. Oklahoma State, Mississippi State vs. Stanford. And in the national championship, I take Stanford over Oklahoma State.

Let’s go college basketball!