Fansided

NCAA Tournament picks 2017: Predicting the March Madness bracket

By Cody Williams

Mar 23, 2016; Louisville, KY, USA; A view of a March Madness logo on a basketball during practice the day before the semifinals of the South regional of the NCAA Tournament at KFC YUM!. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 23, 2016; Louisville, KY, USA; A view of a March Madness logo on a basketball during practice the day before the semifinals of the South regional of the NCAA Tournament at KFC YUM!. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
11 of 12
Next
Feb 8, 2017; Tucson, AZ, USA; Arizona Wildcats guard Allonzo Trier (35) and center Dusan Ristic (14) and forward Lauri Markkanen (10) walk up court during the second half against the Stanford Cardinal at McKale Center. Arizona won 74-67. Mandatory Credit: Casey Sapio-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 8, 2017; Tucson, AZ, USA; Arizona Wildcats guard Allonzo Trier (35) and center Dusan Ristic (14) and forward Lauri Markkanen (10) walk up court during the second half against the Stanford Cardinal at McKale Center. Arizona won 74-67. Mandatory Credit: Casey Sapio-USA TODAY Sports /

Elite 8

East Regional Final: 1. Villanova vs. 6. SMU

After facing the defense of Florida in the Sweet 16, Villanova has a better matchup in the Elite 8 when it comes to SMU. However, the Mustangs contrarily offer a tougher matchup for the Wildcats defense as they can attack inside and out and with ferocity. Yes, Jay Wright’s team is the defending National Champions and, statistically, they have the advantage over SMU. However, the Mustangs have all of the makings of the slighted underdog that always surfaces in March Madness. Call it a gut feeling, but they pull off the biggest upset yet, knocking off the No. 1-overall seed to advance to the Final Four.
The Pick: SMU

West Regional Final: 5. Notre Dame vs. 2. Arizona

Even after gushing about him immensely to this point, you can’t say enough about what Mike Brey does with his teams at Notre Dame. He has a proven track record in the tournament and always knows how to best attack a given matchup with the personnel at his disposal. Unfortunately, I don’t think that’s going to matter in this matchup against Arizona. The Wildcats just have too many athletic and versatile weapons for the Fighting Irish to contain. Thus, the Pac-12 Champions punch a ticket to Phoenix.
The Pick: Arizona

Midwest Regional Final: 1. Kansas vs. 2. Louisville

Much like I’ve gushed about Brey’s coaching, I’ve done the same regarding the defensive prowess of Louisville. However, even the best of defenses sometimes meet their match, which I think is the case when the Kansas Jayhawks are before the Cardinals. The trio of stars for Bill Self’s team are going to be difficult for the Louisville defense to account for, simply because Jackson, Graham and Mason are all capable of taking advantage of whatever space a defense gives them to work with. This game should be an instant-classic, but Kansas prevails.
The Pick: Kansas

South Regional Final: 1. North Carolina vs. 2. Kentucky

Maybe the best game of the college basketball regular season featured the torrid scoring affair between North Carolina and Kentucky. The Tar Heels and Wildcats combined for 203 points as the latter emerged victorious with a three-point victory. However, it’s important to remember that Kentucky needed an absolutely supreme offensive effort for Malik Monk (40 points in the first meeting) to notch that big victory. Come tournament time, can Kentucky really count on that to happen again? With that factor in addition to the experience of North Carolina, the Tar Heels avenge their regular-season loss and move to the Final Four.
The Pick: North Carolina

Home/March Madness