NCAA Tournament Instant Reaction Bracket

I am going to do an instant reaction bracket here. I won’t be looking too deep into each matchup, just gut feeling what I think is going to happen.

East Region:

The East is filled with a ton of really solid teams and honestly was a tough one to pick. South Florida beating Louisville was the first major upset. I think USF is a strong team that can score with ease and I am not sure if the Cardinals will be able to stop it. I have St. John’s beating Kansas in what is a matchup of legendary coaches, but they will fall to Duke in the sweet sixteen. UCLA is a dark horse, bringing back two injured players from the Big Ten tournament and they are going to go and beat UConn, a team that has been struggling in big games. Michigan State will roll through NDSU and USF before beating UCLA and then beating Duke to go to the Final Four. Michigan State lost to Duke by 6 earlier in the season and I think they will avenge that loss. 


South Region:

The South region has some insanely good matchups each round and I think this might be one of the toughest regions. To start, I think McNeese is going to do it again and beat another 5-seed in the first round. While Vanderbilt made a great run in the SEC tournament, I just don’t think they are that good. I also see VCU knocking off North Carolina, down their star in Caleb Wilson I think they will struggle. Jumping to the Sweet Sixteen, I think that Florida and Houston will advance to the Elite Eight before Houston knocks off Florida in a revenge game from last year’s national championship.


West Region:

The West seems like it will be Arizona’s to lose. I think they will cruise in their first two matchups, be tested by Wisconsin, but ultimately make it to the Elite Eight. The bottom portion of the bracket gets a bit more dicey. I think BYU is playing great basketball right now and I am not a fan of Gonzaga, I see BYU getting by them and advancing to the Sweet Sixteen. Purdue will roll against Queens and Missouri, but their magical run of the last couple weeks will end at the hands of BYU. A BYU vs Arizona Elite Eight will be a great game, but unfortunately I don’t think AJ Dybantsa will be able to do enough and the Cougars will fall. 


Midwest Region:

The Midwest is going to have three major things happen. One, Michigan will make it to the Final Four, beating Iowa State in a close game. Two, Akron is going to take down an injured Texas Tech before losing in a shootout against Alabama. And three, Miami (OH) is going to prove everyone wrong, beating SMU and then Tennessee before losing to a great Virginia team. Miami has so much to prove and I think they will do it in a major way. This region ultimately belongs to Michigan. Despite the way they played at the end of the Big Ten tournament, I think they are one of the two best teams in the country.


Final Four:

I am going to make the same mistake I do every year, pick Houston to win the whole thing. I think the Cougars will handle Michigan State while Michigan is in a long, back and forth game against Arizona, which they ultimately win. Michigan will go into the National Championship prepared, but slightly fatigued and Kelvin Sampson will finally have his moment. Houston is going to be lifting the trophy on April 6th, beating Michigan by a score of 88-86.


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