10. Florida and Oregon will both win their Sweet Sixteen games by double digits. Talent-wise, Florida is exponentially better than Butler, who is athetically challenged and small enough that I could potentially play Center for them. Oregon just has too many scoring options; if Brooks or Porter aren't on, Hairston or Taylor probably is. They are playing great basketball of late, disregarding the scary first round game vs. Miami (OH) which they probably took for granted.
9. Texas A&M will make the Final Four. Having already knocked off the second best team in the region in Louisville, look for the Aggies to roll over Memphis and find a way to neutralize Oden as they continue to play their refreshing fundamentally sound style of basketball. I'm already dreading hearing every sports anchor on the planet joking, "Memphis fought the Law, and the Law won!"
8. UNC will not make the Final Four. Despite having more talent than any college basketball team in the history of planet Earth, UNC has an average basketball IQ that rivals that of Jamal Crawford. Reyshawn Terry, a very talented and athletic senior, consistently shoots with 30 seconds left on the shot clock in situations when they need to control the ball. They play at only one speed: really really fast. It's only a matter of time before they meet a formidable opponent, and these kinds of things come back to haunt them. I don't see them getting through both USC and Georgetown. Speaking of which...
7. USC will give the Tar Heels a run for their money. USC was the most underrated team coming into the tournament, as most "experts" wrote them off in either a first round upset to Arkansas or a second round thrashing courtesy of the Texas Kevin Durants. However, USC is one of only 5 teams to have won both games so far by double digits. They have four NBA-level players in Gibson, Pruitt, Young, and Stewart. Size should be the only problem against UNC's dominant frontcourt, but USC's defensive tenacity and sharpshooting should be enough to make the game very interesting. I have this game on upset watch.
6. Jeff Green will turn things around and lead Georgetown to the Final Four. As one of the top pro prospects still playing in the NCAA tournament, Green has disappointed in the first two rounds. Don't expect this to continue, Green had been playing phenomenal basketball towards the end of the year, proving that he was more than a tremendous athlete with great potential. Once he reverts back to that Big East Player Of the Year form, Georgetown should be nearly unstoppable.
5. Derrick Byars will put forth a valiant effort in a tough loss to Georgetown. The 34 year-old senior (Okay, he's only 23. But 15 is the new 23) is the best player still playing in the tournament that you've never heard. Hell, he might be the best player in the tournament, period. Byars combines incredible athleticism with a beautiful, rangeless jumpshot that seems to scrape the bottom of the net at all the right times. He carries his over-achieving team on his shoulders and almost single-handedly defeated a tough defensive-minded Washington St. team to reach the Sweet 16. I expect to see Byars put up 20+ points and 7+ rebounds.
4. UCLA-Pitt will be the least exciting Sweet Sixteen game to watch. Expect UCLA to beat Pitt by about 8 points in a game that was never really close enough to make you care and a total of approximately 23 points scored between the teams. But seriously, I would be surprised if the teams combined for more points than Tennessee scored alone in the first round, 121. Prediction: UCLA 63, Pitt 55. And Aaron Gray puts forth another stock-dropping performance...he's in worse shape than Al Gore.
3. Chris Lofton will light up Ohio State. Will it be enough to overcome Tennessee's size disadvantage? Maybe not. But nonetheless, Lofton has been incredible thus far, and should continue to impress with another 25 point performance. Like every other good player in the entire nation who doesn't go to a perennial powerhouse school, Lofton is "truly a great story" as he was evem overlooked by his hometown school, Kentucky. He really "plays with a chip on his shoulder."
2. The nation's two best teams will not meet in the National Championship. Kansas and Florida are the two strongest teams in the tournament, and they will unfortunately meet in the Semi-Finals, barring any upsets. That game is must-watch TV for any college basketball fan. Or pro basketball fan for that matter...the game should have at least 8 players who will get drafted to the NBA at some point. Joakim Noah, Al Horford, Julian Wright, and Darrell Arthur are four of the most talented, athletic, and versatile big-men in the country. The foursome are all likely lottery picks when ever they choose to make that jump. I expect this game to be an instant classic, so I will likely be disappointed no matter what.
1. Florida will repeat as the National Champions. It's extremely rare for any team to win back-to-back titles, but when a championship team loses nobody from the previous year, all of those players improve, they grow to play better as a team, and they are playing their best basketball of the season, how could anyone pick against them? They have the two best bigs in the nation in Horford and Noah, an above-average shooting, great decision-making point guard in Taurean Green, a probable top 15 NBA pick multi-talented wingman in Corey Brewer, and a lights out shooting guard in Lee Humphrey. They play as hard on defense as they do on offense, which is hard to find in teams that can actually score a basketball. Chris Richard is as good off the bench for Noah and Horford as most teams number one post player. Billy Donovan always gets the most out of his players, and when you get the most out of a team that is also the most talented (excluding maybe UNC), good things are going to happen. Florida beats Georgetown in the championship 72-65.
If my first weekend bracket success is any indication, I will be lucky if more than one of these predictions come true. I recommend betting against any team I pick for the remainder of the tournament.
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