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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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 15: Saddiq Bey #15 and Eric Paschall #4 of the Villanova Wildcats celebrate in the second half against the Xavier Musketeers during the semifinal round of the Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden on March 15, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /

South Region – Hartford, CT (Thursday, March 21)

6 Villanova vs. 11 St. Mary’s

If not for a shocking upset of Gonzaga in the West Coast Conference title game, the St. Mary’s Gaels might not be in the NCAA Tournament. Now they draw a matchup against the Big East champions and the defending national champions, the Villanova Wildcats, in the First Round. They have playmakers and high-end scorers in Jordan Ford and Malik Fitts, but they have a shallow roster that has struggled against top-tier competition this season.

While Villanova isn’t the powerhouse and juggernaut that they were a year ago, Jay Wright is still one of the best coaches in college basketball and continue to show that they have offensive firepower when led by Phil Booth and Eric Paschall. Though St. Mary’s will put up a fight, they’ll fall short against ‘Nova.

Pick: Villanova

3 Purdue vs. 14 Old Dominion

This 3-14 matchup is an absolutely terrible draw for the Purdue Boilermakers. In truth, perhaps any team would be at this point given how Purdue and Carsen Edwards looked down the stretch. The star guard has been shooting abysmally as of late and the team looked hapless in an early loss in the Big Ten tourney. Now a team that is struggling to find offense comes up against a great defensive team in the Old Dominion Monarchs.

Old Dominion plays as slow as any team in the tournament, but they’re effective at it in every regard. They have the ability to lock down on the outside and in the interior, but also to limit second chance opportunities as a great rebounding team. With that and the way the Boilermakers are playing right now, we get our second upset of the South Region here.

Pick: Old Dominion

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