As my colleagues at The Pendulum have said, I can’t remember a year where the tournament is this wide open and features this much parity. There isn’t one team in this year’s field that sticks out in my mind as the sure-fire frontrunner for the national championship. This, as far as I’m concerned, could lead to a wildly entertaining, edge-of-your-seat thrill ride filled with double-digit seeds upsetting their better-known opponent from more prestigious conferences. On the other hand, it could be a year where the favorites reign supreme and have little trouble dispatching of their pesky small-school opponents en route to Arlington, Texas for April’s Final Four.

I don’t see many upsets occurring in this year’s tournament, especially in the first round where I have just four double-digit seeds — Dayton, Harvard, BYU and Arizona State — winning their games. None of the four, though, make it past their next games.

The Sweet 16 is where I see two notable upsets happening. In the Midwest region, I see Louisville, who was tabbed a No. 4 seed in a shockingly bad decision by the tournament selection committee, will end the reign of currently undefeated Wichita State. The defending national champion Cardinals are one of the hottest teams in America after blowing through the American Athletic Conference tournament with ease. Being saddled with a No. 4 seed will add additional motivation to a team hungry to repeat as champions.

Similarly hot are the Big Ten Tournament champions Michigan State Spartans, who are led by soon-to-be Hall of Fame coach Tom Izzo and star power forward Adreian Payne. When healthy, the Spartans are the most talented team in the country. In the Sweet 16, the Spartans run into the Virginia Cavaliers, a team who has far surpassed its expectations in head coach Tony Bennett’s fifth season at the helm but cannot contain, or match, the Spartans firepower offensively.

I see both Louisville and Michigan State winning their elite eight games and advancing to Arlington, where they will be joined by the Florida Gators and the Arizona Wildcats, both No. 1 seeds who will face their share of tests along the way but who should both be talented enough to navigate through them.

When it’s all said and done, I see the SEC champion Gators, a veteran team who has a multitude of experience in win-or-go-home games, to hoist the trophy April 7 at Dallas Cowboys Stadium.

Two matchups that I am looking forward to watching, should form hold and both teams advance that far, are Arizona playing Oklahoma State and its dynamic trio of Marcus Smart, a projected lottery pick last year, high-flying Markel Brown, and enforcer Le’Bryan Nash down low.

The other matchup I’d like to see would be Florida playing Kansas in the Elite Eight in Memphis.

 

 

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Senior Reporter Jordan Spritzer

 

We at The Pendulum want to know your take on the NCAA Tournament too! Tweet us at @pendulumsports with your brackets and predictions. Also, tweet Kyle at @KyleMaherEU to critique his bracket.