SOUTH

It’s tough to envision a scenario where the Florida Gators don’t make it out of their region. They have all the ingredients to make a deep run: great coaching, consistent guard play, a deep front line, and consistency. The bottom half of the region, on the other hand, is not so straightforward. The highly touted Kansas team is missing its star center Joel Embid until at least the Sweet 16. The No. 3 seed Syracuse started out strong at 25-0, but has lost five of its last seven games. With these two teams leading the pack, there is room for upsets as both teams showed promise early, but may have peaked at the wrong time. That leaves a path for a veteran Ohio State team to make a run to the Elite 8.

Winner: Florida

Biggest Upset: Western Michigan over Syracuse

WEST

The west region is chock-full of teams with great individual stars, like Tyler Haws from BYU, Marcus Smart from Oklahoma State, and projected national player of the year Doug McDermott of Creighton. Deep tournament runs are often powered by great individual performances, which is why Creighton is going to win this region.  Doug McDermott is a downright scoring machine. He one of the best forwards in college basketball and if any player can carry a team to a final four it’s him.

Winner: Creighton

Biggest Upset: North Dakota State over Oklahoma

The Bison are versatile and experienced and with an efficient offensive game they are capable of taking advantage of the young, vulnerable defense of the Sooners.

East

The east region is filled with teams who are playing their best basketball at the right time. Nine teams won their conference tournament prior to the NCAA tournament. With the ACC (Virginia), Big 12 (Iowa State), and Big Ten (Michigan St) champions all residing in this region, teams are going to have to fight long and hard to make it out. St. Joe’s is a potential Cinderella if they can get past second-seeded Villanova. In the end, Michigan State is going to prevail as the winner because of its poise. It’s a tough region, but the Spartans have confidence and experience on their side. Michigan State Coach Tom Izzo has gone to six final fours and won two national championships. They’ve been on a high-pressure stage before, and although a match up with UVA looming in the sweet sixteen may seem daunting to most, these Spartans look ready to take over.

Winner: Michigan State

Biggest Upset: St Joe’s over Villanova

Most intriguing second round matchup: No. 11 Providence vs. No. 6 North Carolina

The inconsistent Tar Heels better watch out for a Providence team that is coming in hot off a Big East tournament championship and could knock them out early.

MIDWEST

With undefeated Wichita State as the No. 1 seed, last year’s national champion Louisville surprisingly as the No. 4 seed, Duke in the No. 3 slot, Michigan at No. 2, and Kentucky as the No. 8 seed, this region is poised as the toughest in the tournament.  Despite all the talk reveling in the potential of the top seeds in the region, there are very talented lower seeds that will add to the madness of this. One is 10th-seeded Arizona State, led by exciting guard Jahii Carson, who is capable of knocking out any heavyweight team. In the end, Louisville is going to come out on top in this region because the Cardinals have experience, and a little bit of a chip on their shoulder that’s going to drive them through to the final game.

Winner: Louisville

Biggest upset: Arizona State over Michigan

Final Four:

First game: Michigan State vs. Florida. It’s the Big 10 champion against the SEC champion and MSU defeats the Gators by a small margin.

Second Game: Louisville vs. Creighton.  It’s going to be a high scoring and exciting game with star players on both teams. But, the depth of talent and experience of the Cardinals will prove to be too much for Creighton.

Final: Michigan State over Louisville, 82-78

If there’s ever a year when two perennial power houses square off in a national championship it’s this one. Michigan State, who has played one of the toughest schedules and has a more efficient offense, is going take this one from Louisville.

 

 

 

More Pendulum brackets

Sports Editor Tommy Hamzik

Assistant Sports Editor Matt Krause

Senior Reporter Jordan Spritzer

Senior Reporter Kyle Maher

 

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