Dancing Through The Madness

Spring has always been my favorite season of the year. There is just so much to look forward to, so much optimism in the air. We have the best golf tournament of the year, the Masters. We have the excitement of the NFL draft and free agency. Opening Day for baseball. All of this while the weather is getting warmer and the roof top patios are filling up at the local bars. None of this, however, compares to the greatest event in all of sports. Its time for March Madness! Selection Sunday has come and gone, and the anticipation for games has begun. Who will be this year's Cinderella? Will the top seeds hold their position? With One Shining Moment playing over and over in my head, here is a look at my picks.

South Region:
The first thing I noticed when I looked at the South was tough break for Colorado. They are riding a high after winning the Pac 12 Tournament but I don't see them getting by UNLV. Last year they got snubbed all together, and this year the selection committee did them no more favors. I had a really tough time deciding between 5 seed Wichita State and 12 seed VCU. We all remember VCU's remarkable run to the Final 4, but I'm not sure Shaka Smart can get his Rams out of their first match up. I'm taking all the higher seeds in the first round.

Indiana was only 1 of 2 teams to beat Kentucky this season and they will get a chance to play them again in the Sweet 16. This time Kentucky will be too much for the Hoosiers to handle and they will advance. My upset team of this region is the UNLV Runnin' Rebels. After taking care of Colorado, they will upset Baylor and Duke in route to the Elite 8. That is where the road ends for them as Kentucky, with projected first pick in the NBA draft Anthony Davis, will display their dominance and advance to New Orleans and the Final 4.

West Region:
In my opinion this will be the craziest region in the bracket. I see a lot of upsets going down here. 5 seed New Mexico and 12 seed Long Beach State has the potential to be a great game. The 2 teams are a lot closer than their seeds suggest and I'm taking the 49ers of Long Beach State for the upset. Davidson this season has already played Kansas and Duke. They won't be afraid to take on Louisville. I'm going another upset pick, with 13 seed Davidson beating 4 seed Louisville in a close one. Another tough break for the state of Colorado as Colorado State being an 11 seed matches up with 6 seed Murray State who has only lost 1 game all year. The Rams did a great job making the Big Dance, but they won't have much time breaking in their dancing shoes. Virginia will also beat Florida as a slight upset in the 7-10 game.

In a rare 12-13 game, Long Beach State prevails to advance to the Sweet 16, becoming this years darling of the tournament. Murray State will continue their magical season by beating Marquette. Missouri will be playing with a chip on their shoulder as they thought they earned a number 1 seed by winning the Big 12 Tournament. Michigan State will end the great run by Long Beach State, and we will be left with a terrific match up between the Spartans and Tigers. Missouri's snub of that number 1 could make the difference as they will play with a ton of fire in this game and take down Michigan State to advance to the Final 4.

East Region:
Harvard has a lot going for them right now on the national stage. They have the President, the guy who made Facebook, and the biggest story in the NBA, Jeremy Lin. I really wanted to pick them to win at least one game, but as a 12 seed they are matched up against 5 seed Vanderbilt who just knocked off Kentucky in the SEC Tournament. Vanderbilt gets that win. Montana will have the big upset in the region taking care of Wisconsin in a 13-4 game. The only other slight upset will be West Virginia beating Gonzaga in a 7-10 game being played on the wrong end of the country for 7th seeded Gonzaga.

Syracuse has had to deal with a ton of off the court drama this season, and Jim Boeheim has done a remarkable job leading them to a number 1 seed. Ohio State has had a little bit of a disappointing season as many thought they could be a number 1 seed going into the season. They will falter to the 3rd seeded Florida State team who has already beat Duke and North Carolina TWICE this season. The only downfall for Syracuse is that the last time a predominantly zone playing team made the Final 4 was when they did it in 2003. Florida State stays hot after winning the ACC Tournament, and takes themselves all the way to the Final 4 beating Syracuse in the regional final.

Midwest Region:
Another fairly boring region if you are looking for big upsets. The only one I picked is 11 seed North Carolina State beating 6 seed San Diego State. I went back and forth with the Georgetown Belmont game (3-14) but couldn't bring myself to pull the trigger with Belmont. Chalk the rest of the way in the the opening round.

Number 1 seed North Carolina won't need a botched timeout call to beat 4 seed Michigan in the Sweet 16. North Carolina State rolls past Georgetown, but number 2 seed Kansas ends North Carolina State's chances at a rematch with North Carolina. This sets up a great game between North Carolina and Kansas. For those of you who don't remember, North Carolina coach Roy Williams was long time coach of Kansas. When an opening came up at his Alma mater he left Kansas for the Tar Heels and has since won 2 National Championships. However, it was Kansas that beat North Carolina in the Final 4 in 2008 to get a little revenge on Roy Williams in route to a National Championship of their own. There will be an intense atmosphere for this one, but North Carolina will come out on top rounding out the Final 4 down in New Orleans.

Final 4:
Last year there was a record set for the highest seeds making the Final 4. This year, the top seeds take control with Florida State being the worst seeded team at a 3. The match ups are Kentucky vs Missouri and North Carolina vs Florida State. Kentucky likely has 2 top 5 NBA picks in their lineup and while Missouri will give them all they can handle Kentucky will advance as their coach John Calipari attempts to win his first National Championship. The other semi-final teams are very familiar with each other, with Florida State beating North Carolina both in regular season play and in the ACC Tournament. I think it was George Bush Jr who said, "Beat me once, shame on me. Beat me twice.... well you can't beat me a third time." North Carolina finds a way past Florida State to set the table for another rematch for them, this time with Kentucky.

Final, Kentucky vs North Carolina:
Kentucky held on to win by 1 point in an early season match up against North Carolina. This final game will make us forget about he atrocity we witnessed in last year's final that set offensive basketball back 20 years. This game will have tremendous pace going back and forth. North Carolina needs their 2 big men, John Henson and Tyler Zellar, to stay out of foul trouble and bang down low with Anthony Davis of Kentucky. Unfortunately once again for coach Calipari, he comes up just short. North Carolina wins a close one 83-77 for their 6th NCAA Men's National Championship. Go crazy Tar Heel nation, go crazy!