Ohio State did not make the NCAA tournament, but you know that's not going to stop you from filling out a bracket this year.
Hell, you probably already have.
The First Four kicked off Tuesday night in Dayton with Florida Gulf Coast and Wichita State advancing and continued Wednesday with Holy Cross and Michigan moving on, but for many, Thursday marks the "official" start of the most entertaining three weeks in sports.
The NCAA tournament Round of 64 is scheduled to kick off 12:15 p.m. Thursday with a matchup in the West Region featuring fourth-seeded Duke and No. 13 seed UNC-Wilmington. The Madness will officially begin.
I fill out an NCAA tournament bracket every year and normally, if I'm being honest, they're all terrible. Anybody who says they're good at filling out brackets consistently is lying. That's just the way it goes.
So I filled out one again this season and I decided to share it with Eleven Warriors. This is your chance to blast and make fun of the Ohio State basketball beat writer who is surely to be wrong a lot. I've also broken down each region below with some thoughts.
South Region: Kansas is the No. 1 seed in the South and the betting favorite in Vegas to win the entire tournament, but I think the Jayhawks could face a scare in the Sweet 16 should they matchup with Maryland. If the Terps play to their full potential they're as good as anybody, but that's something that hasn't happened much of late.
I also have Wichita State advancing to the Elite 8. I think the Shockers have guys who have proven themselves in the tournament and nobody in the bottom half of this group really strikes fear in anybody.
The best first-round matchup is definitely Wichita State against Arizona and the potential second-round matchup I'm most looking forward to is fourth-seeded California against No. 5 seed Maryland. Villanova is the No. 2 seed in this region, but the Wildcats haven't exactly proven themselves in the tourney of late so I'm not sold.
My pick: Kansas over Wichita State
West Region: This is my pick for the "weakest" region of the four with Oregon the No. 1 seed, Oklahoma the No. 2, Texas A&M the No. 3 and Duke with the four-seed. I'm not 100 percent sold on the Ducks as a top-seed and because of that I've got them going down in Round 2 to St. Joseph's. There's also potential for a Texas-Texas A&M showdown in the second round, but I have the Longhorns getting upset by Northern Iowa in the 6-11 game.
I've got Duke advancing to the Elite 8 almost by default and I believe Oklahoma is the best team in this region, but the Sooners stumbled a bit down the stretch as their 3-point shooting faded toward the end of the season. That's always a concern with a jump shooting team; one bad night and you go home.
Still, I think Buddy Hield takes the Sooners to Houston.
My pick: Oklahoma over Duke
East Region: This region is absurdly difficult. The selection committee did its second-overall seed North Carolina no favors. The Tar Heels are the No. 1 seed here, but they were placed in a region with Xavier, West Virginia, Kentucky, Indiana, Notre Dame and Wisconsin. That's brutal.
Can John Calipari lead UK back to the Final Four?
I honestly wouldn't be surprised if any of those seven teams made it to Houston; that's how wide open this region feels to me. The obvious must-see matchup in the second round would be a potential game between Indiana and Kentucky, two of college basketball's most crazed fan bases and storied programs. Wisconsin-Xavier and Notre Dame-West Virginia are also super intriguing, as well.
I flipped a coin for about half of these games, and this is what I ended up with.
My pick: Kentucky over West Virginia
Midwest Region: You could have placed Michigan State in a region with the Golden State Warriors and I was probably taking the Spartans. That's how confident I feel in this team right now heading into the NCAA tournament.
That was sarcasm...sort of. All I know is I've seen MSU play in person three times in the last three weeks and was blown away all three times at just how good they really are.
I think Michigan State got a relatively favorable draw, too, after being snubbed for a No. 1 seed. The Dayton-Syracuse winner won't be a pushover, but I like Sparty's path to the Final Four.
I'm not sold on Virginia as a one-seed; I think its style of play leaves it vulnerable to an early-round upset. I have Purdue going far even though I'm not all that big on the Boilers, either. I was impressed with how they shot the ball from the outside in Indy so if that continues I think they can make a run. I've also got Gonzaga and Iona pulling first-round upsets and put the Zags in the Sweet 16 because why not?
My pick: Michigan State over Purdue
Final Four: We deserve Oklahoma-Kansas part III so I'm giving it to you in my bracket. I think the third time is the charm for the Sooners so I have Hield and OU moving on the play for the title.
Michigan State and Kentucky are two of the most successful programs in the country, but I just think Denzel Valentine is too good despite the fact I think the Wildcats have the best backcourt in the tournament. Sparty moves on.
National championship: Hield vs. Valentine. It's only fitting the two Player of the Year candidates square off for the title. I think Michigan State is the better team so I give Sparty the edge. I just think this is Tom Izzo's year to win title No. 2.
