March Madness Bracket Selections
Written March 5, 2009 by Nick Jones
I won’t waste a lot of time talking about all 64 or 65 teams depending on what you believe is the ‘true’ NCAA tournament bracket. Instead, I will concentrate only on the top sector in which truly has a chance to win because lets face it, the last true underdog to win the tournament came a few years ago when Carmelo Anthony and The ‘Cuse won from the six seat. I am not even going to waste my time talking about teams like UConn, North Carolina and Pittsburgh because its obvious that they are the favorites for most people’s March Madness Picks.
I am going to start with the bottom and work my way up so that gets the ball rolling, or bouncing, with Xavier. I know everyone reading this is saying to themselves, “You’ve got to be kidding, right?” Well I am not. For Xavier to have a chance to win they are going to need good placement in the bracket. Maybe coming in as a 4th seat or 6th in the weakest region. With there leading scorer coming from 6′ 8″ forward Derrick Brown the starting five for Xavier would have a dominate player to player match up over some of the top ranking teams in college basketball. Throw in their stellar defense and it could be upset city this year in the motor city.
My next sleeper team comes with LSU. The Tigers have won 10 of their last 11 games and getting hot right before the tournament could put them in the drivers seat for a nice run in the tournament. Given a few upsets of more likely teams like UConn and North Carolina and LSU could walk right into a final four birth which is just what the need to have a strong chance at winning it all. The Tigers are a top 15 team in every ranking except the RPI which means coaches and other basketball professionals in the sport think they are a serious contender.
The last sleeper team I am going to mention is coming from the University of Washington. The Coaches Poll, USA Today and RPI ranking have Washington as a top 15 team however the public rankings have them barely in the top 25. For a sports bettor this means some serious value whether Washington wins it all or not. There will definitely be some favorable odds for Washington regardless of who they match up with in the March Madness tournament.
Now the last team I am going to mention is not really a sleeper team but they are certainly not receiving any credit from the public nor the odds makers. Michigan State is a team that has the experience and skill to win it all but they have stayed relatively low on the radar for most college basketball fans. Michigan State has dominated the Big 10 who I will be the first to say is one of the weaker major conferences this season. If a non ACC team is going to win it all then Michigan State has to be considered a very serious contender. I expect Michigan State to come into the tournament in a three spot and depending on who is number one in the region it could be a cake walk to the final four for the Spartans.
One Response to “March Madness Bracket Selections”
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No relation Mr Jones. I love the picks minus Washington but will definitely watch the lines. Good luck this year.