NCAA Tournament Predictions

The last two years I've done two brackets. One with my head, the other with my heart. Here's the Final Four for the heart one: Miami over Kansas, Georgetown over Nevada; Miami over Georgetown.

Now, here is my true bracket. I'll mention the upsets from each round:
1st Round
12 Old Dominion over 5 Butler
I was able to watch Butler a few times this year and they weren't terribly impressive. The win over Gonzaga was big, it was also in November. Their losses to SIU and Wright State stand out in my mind. ODU is a tested team, who has played with the best of the "mid-majors."

14 Miami over 3 Oregon
My heart might be doing the talking here, but Miami matches up well with Oregon's 4 guard lineup. If Miami can control the tempo, the Ducks won't be able to guard Politz and Peavy.

9 Villanova over 8 Kentucky
I like freshman Scottie Reynolds for Nova, but its their experienced players that give me confidence in this pick, particularly Sumpter. Whether Kentucky wins or not, Tubby Smith has done a great job and he should stay put.

11 VCU over 6 Duke
I don't believe that Duke's guards will be able to handle VCU's pressure. Point guard Maynor is big conference player. If Duke can beat the press, VCU will struggle to stop their low post game, but that's a big "if."

9 Michigan State over 8 Marquette
As much as I dislike Neitzel, Marquette's weak free throw shooting concerns me. And now their leading scorer is out.

11 George Washington over 6 Vanderbilt
The Colonials' coach Hobbs is good. I have faith in GW veterans Elliot and Rice.

10 Texas Tech over 7 Boston College
This is another case of the ACC being overrated. BC has been struggling the second half of the year.

12 Long Beach State over 5 Tennessee
It's hard for me to go against Bruce "The Schvitzer" Pearl, but I watched the up tempo style of Long Beach State, whose top 8 players are all seniors.

Thrilling 32
12 Old Dominion over 4 Maryland
Maryland is overrated and Old Dominion is good enough to beat them. After all, they've already beaten Georgetown.

9 Villanova over 1 Kansas
Kansas is very talented, but they haven't won a game in the tournament in three years. I don't think this year's version has the consistency to go very far and Villanova is also a talented team. But the are more experienced.

9 Michigan State over 1 North Carolina
UNC doesn't have the toughness to beat this Big 10 team. Hansbrough is the most overrated player in the country. If he doesn't play up to the hype, the Tar Heels will be upset here.

5 USC over 4 Texas
Durant is great, but he can score an unimpressive 37 points and Texas can lose. He will get his, but he is not yet the type of player who can put his club on his shoulders and win. Texas relies on freshmen other than Durant as well. Despite USC's blowout loss in the Pac 10 Final, they have 3 guys who can potentially have big games.

11 George Washington over 3 Washington State
GW has more tournament experience than State. State struggled in their win over UW in the Pac 10 tournament and then lost the next game. Their coach hasn't been there before.

7 Nevada over 2 Memphis
Both are quite good. I'm shocked that Memphis was rated so high and Nevada so low, considering that they're both essentially outstanding "mid-major" schools. The chip on Nevada's shoulder and the Fazekas-Kemp combo will pull this one out.

Sweet 16
6 Notre Dame over 2 Wisconsin
Carter's ability to score makes me like the Irish. Wisconsin lost big man Butch for the year. That'll hurt.

7 Nevada over 3 Texas A&M
I like Acie Law IV better than the first 3 versions, at least for this tournament. But between Fazekas and Kavaliauskas, I like Fazekas and Nevada.

Elite 8 (all games)
1 Florida over 6 Notre Dame
The Gators are the defending champs and are just too good for the Irish, even though Noah is the worst dancer even. Is he a worse dancer than he is ugly? That's the real question.

2 UCLA over 4 Southern Illinois
UCLA is too athletic and there are too many of 'em for Falker the Salukis to overcome.

2 Georgetown over 5 USC
USC can't stop the Hoyas' big men. The Hoyas' guards are underrated too.

1 Ohio State over 7 Nevada
Sure Oden will be an NBA star, but point guard Conley is real good.

Final Four
Florida over UCLA
Goergetown over Ohio State

Final
Georgetown over Florida