A college hoops fan’s guide to golf’s March Madness

Move over Zion Williamson, there’s a new 1-seed in town. Here’s a guide for hoops fans to fill out the most exciting bracket in March: The WGC Match Play.

The World Golf Championship Dell Technologies Match Play kicks off on Wednesday as players prepare for a different variety of golf tournament. Like all things in this country that fancy themselves quirky and hip, the Dell Match Play recently moved to Austin, TX.

While the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 teams enjoy a day off, the biggest names in golf will squeeze in an extra day and a whole lot of extra holes as they begin play at Austin Country Club. Many of you probably put golf on the backburner of late in favor of March Madness. Don’t worry, if your basketball bracket busted all that research can still be put to use. Just follow this handy guide to picking a golfer to go the distance.

Crack open a Lonestar, grab a breakfast taco and see who you should root for this weekend based on your favorite hoops team.

Duke – Blue Devil fans have a perfect match in Phil Mickelson. He has supporters all over the nation despite the fact that I can’t understand why anybody likes him. Just like Duke! His five majors align nicely with Coach K’s five national titles, and I can’t remember a time when either of them weren’t a serious contender.

Villanova – Last year’s champion matches up with Bubba Watson, who happens to be last year’s champion. Bubba’s had a slow season so far, and the Wildcats looked pretty domesticated getting bounced early from the bracket. Last week Bubba showed signs of life before a wayward shot got stuck in a tree, which feels an awful lot like something a cat would do, too.

Gonzaga – Casual fans aren’t quite sure how to pronounce it, which makes Gonzaga a natural fit for Louis Oosthuizen. Gonzaga is famous for coming close but not quite breaking through. Oosthuizen, despite winning the Open in 2010, has a similar reputation. He’s never won in the United States and has finished second in all four majors. Coming off a tie for second last week at the Valspar, the South African hopes to earn his top-seeded hoops comparison with another strong Match Play outing.

Kentucky – What better player to sync up with a school known for one-and-done athletes than Patrick Reed, who won one major last year and has since disappeared from contention. Need evidence of Reed’s “done” status? Look no further than last week, when he missed the cut by nine strokes.

Yale – There’s two ways to go with this one. The obvious route for Elis is to pull for Bryson Dechambeau and embrace the academic approach to the game. The more fun way to do it would be to back Lee Westwood, the British Bulldog.

Wofford – Staying on the mascot theme, the Wofford Terriers have a corresponding golfer of their own. Australia’s Cam Smith is perfect for Terrier fans. His baby-faced look reminds us all of adorable lap dogs, and he even brings his own miniature mutt with him on tour. It’s a dachshund, not a terrier, but that’s pretty darn close.

Marquette – If you like Golden Eagles, try rooting for Harris English or Russell Knox. They both knocked in double eagles this month.

Auburn – Tigers fans love notable alumnus Charles Barkley and his unorthodox swing. Why not pull for Jim Furyk, whose got the most unorthodox swing on tour?

Fairleigh Dickinson – If you love pulling for the underdog, this was the school for you. The 16 seed won a play-in game to make the final field of 64, just as Luke List, the 66th ranked player in the world, managed to sneak into the field this weekend. He may be the last team in, but Luke’s got a fairleigh better shot at advancing than his hoops counterpart.

Louisville – Let’s see … we’ve got a school known as much for their incredible success as they are for ongoing scandals, and they wear red. The good news for Tiger Woods is that instead of the NCAA vacating his wins, he’s managed to vacate his demons. He may not be the Tiger of old, but I can think of 63 guys who’d prefer not to tee it up against him one-on-one.

Looking for a Cinderella story? With PGA Tour pros, anybody can get hot and win on any given week. But if you need a Disney princess to root for, cheer on Tommy Fleetwood. He’s got the same haircut as Rapunzel.