NCAA Tournament 2019: Predicting the perfect March Madness bracket

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA - MARCH 14: Kyle Guy #5 of the Virginia Cavaliers reacts after a play against the North Carolina State Wolfpack during their game in the quarterfinal round of the 2019 Men's ACC Basketball Tournament at Spectrum Center on March 14, 2019 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /

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LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY – FEBRUARY 23: De’Andre Hunter #12 of the Virginia Cavaliers in action in the game against the Louisville Cardinals at KFC YUM! Center on February 23, 2019 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images) /

South Region – Columbia, SC (Friday, March 22)

1 Virginia vs. 16 Gardner-Webb

We arrive at the Virginia Cavaliers in a matchup that has to have every fan in Charlottesville flinching already. No, this has little to do with the Gardner-Webb Bulldogs, their matchup in this game, but it has everything to do with the fact that the Cavaliers find themselves in a 1-16 matchup for the second-straight year. And, of course, they became the first No. 1 seed to lose in that matchup just one year ago.

This is a completely different team than last year, though. Tony Bennett’s team will have De’Andre Hunter this year, which was not the case last year. On top of that, there is no chance in the world that this team isn’t playing with a chip on their shoulder after what happened last year. In all honesty, if Virginia doesn’t win this one by 30+ points, it’d be a shock.

Pick: Virginia

8 Ole Miss vs. 9 Oklahoma

Both the Ole Miss Rebels and Oklahoma Sooners have been all over the place throughout the 2018-19 college basketball season. The Sooners showed out really strong early in the year and in Big 12 play, but are 4-8 in their last 12 games, which doesn’t bode well for them. However, Ole Miss has also had plenty of disappointing letdowns, despite playing top teams in the SEC exceptionally well throughout the year.

Ultimately, it’s easier to have more faith in the likes of Breein Tyree and the Rebels than it is Christian James and the Sooners. Ole Miss has simply performed better as of late and has a history this season of coming to play in big games. This qualifies as that, so the Rebels get out of the First Round.

Pick: Ole Miss

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