As another year sweeps by, so does another March. However, with 2012 possibly being the last year of human existence (if the Mayans are right), this month may bring the last March Madness — the NCAA Men’s college basketball tournament — ever. And with the tournament starting Friday, March 16, so many Americans — college students and others alike — might expect the last basketball tournament to provide drama, suspense, and lots of highlights. And boy, are this year’s men’s teams providing much hype for the tournament. Here is a run-down of my picks to make it to the Final Four in New Orleans:
The University of Kentucky: No. 1 seed, South regional
The Kentucky Wildcats earned this year’s No. 1 overall seed with a 32-2 record. Although they lost a close game against Vanderbilt in the SEC tournament championship last Sunday, head coach John Calipari and freshman phenom, and Chicago native, Anthony Davis are looking forward to surpass last year’s Final Four loss to Connecticut and play for the national title. A forward-center, Davis, who leads the team in scoring (14.3 points per game) and in rebounding (10.0), has had a spectacular season and is in the hunt for the Player of the Year award. Davis also broke the Kentucky all-time record for blocked shots with 157, crushing the previous record of 83. Davis’ 157 blocks also surpassed Shaquille O’Neal’s SEC record of 116. Kentucky also has another top freshman in Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, a small forward who averaged 11.8 points during the season.
There is no question that Kentucky is one of the most dominant teams in the tournament this year, but anything can happen during March Madness, so Kentucky’s road to the title game isn’t a shoo-in. The Wildcats open tournament play Thursday against No. 16 seed Western Kentucky. With the spotlight on Kentucky and its stars to play lights-out basketball, I see the other teams Kentucky might play against, like Duke or Baylor, having no match for Davis and Co. along with their strong-minded Coach Calipari.
Michigan State University: No. 1 seed, West Regional
Michigan St. is coming off of tremendous victory against Ohio St. in the Big Ten Tournament championship game, which the Spartans hadn’t won since 2000. Their victory against the nationally ranked No. 7 Ohio St. team solidified Michigan St. as the Big Ten Conference Champions, which also helped them earn a No. 1 seed in the West Regional part of the tournament. The Spartans (27-7) are led by senior Draymond Green, the Big Ten Player of the Year, the team leader in points per game (16.1), rebounds (10.4), and minutes (33.0). Green has experience playing in the tough games; he was a freshman in 2009 when the Spartans fell to North Carolina in the championship game. Michigan St. heads the tough West Regional division of the tournament, with teams including No. 2 Missouri, No. 3 Marquette, and No. 6 Murray St.
MSU was seen as an underdog against top teams like Ohio St., Kentucky, and Syracuse, but I see them squeaking past the Missouri Tigers in the Elite 8 and moving on to the Final Four. The Spartans kick off their tournament play on Saturday against No. 16 LIU Brooklyn.
The Ohio State University: No. 2 seed, East Regional
The Ohio St. Buckeyes are going to be a dangerous No. 2 seed this year. Had they won the Big Ten, they most likely would have earned one of the No. 1 seeds. The Buckeyes aren’t hanging their heads after the loss to Michigan St.; they still have a legitimate chance to make it to the Championship game in New Orleans. Sophomore stud Jared Sullinger leads the Buckeyes (27-7) into the tournament as the team’s top scorer (17.6) and rebounder (9.3). Sullinger, along with fellow sophomores Seshaun Thomas and Aaron Craft and senior William Buford are hungry for more after an early exit in a loss to Kentucky in the Sweet 16. Ohio St.’s region will not be an easy ride, playing against the likes of ACC champ and No. 3 Florida St., as well as No. 4 Wisconsin and No. 1 Syracuse. I have Ohio St. prevailing over Florida St. in the Sweet 16, and moving on to the Elite 8 to face the Syracuse Orange and their tough zone defense.
The upside for the Buckeyes in this match-up is that the Orange will be playing without its starting center and Big East Defensive Player of the Year, Fab Melo, because of an ineligibility issue with the school. Just because Syracuse will be playing without its top defender, don’t expect them to give up so easily against Ohio St. With Ohio St.’s dominant play and Syracuse’s loss of Melo and their inability to stop Sullinger and the high-powered offense, Ohio St. will move on to New Orleans to face the Midwest champion in the Final Four.
Kansas University: No. 2 seed, Midwest Regional
The Jayhawks (27-6) finished 1st in the Big 12 Conference, but lost to Baylor in the semifinal of the Big 12 Tournament. Even though they did not finish off the regular season with a flash, junior forward Thomas Robinson and senior guard Tyshawn Taylor, the team’s top scorers, want to make a push for the Final Four after getting upset by No. 11 VCU in the Elite 8 last year. The Midwest region, hosting top teams in No. 1 North Carolina, No. 3 Georgetown, and No. 4 Michigan, will have a slew of eventful games this March. The competition will even start in the first round, when Kansas tips off against No. 15 Detroit, the winner of the Horizon League title. However, Kansas will make it past the pesky No. 15 seed and No. 6 San Diego St. to face Michigan in the Elite 8. Pulling off the unthinkable, upsetting No. 1 North Carolina in the Sweet 16, Michigan will face a tough Kansas squad.
In the end, the Jayhawks will hold off the Wolverines and advance to their second Final Four in the last five years.
Final Four; New Orleans, LA
Michigan St. will face Kentucky in their Final Four game, but will be no match for the juggernaut Wildcats and Anthony Davis. At most, I see this game being somewhat close in the beginning, but Kentucky will shut down on defense and get their offense rolling to move on into the Championship game. Likewise for Ohio St., I just don’t see Kansas being able to stop Sullinger and the rest of the Buckeyes. With two of the last four teams in the dance coming from the Big Ten, only one, Ohio St., will advance to take on Kentucky in the Championship game.
National Title game: Kentucky vs. Ohio St.
With Kentucky and Ohio St. facing off in possibly the last Championship game ever, they will not fail to provide a game full of highlights and intense basketball. Anthony Davis’ talents will prove to be a key factor in this game, as he will most likely have to guard Jared Sullinger. The game will go back and forth; many lead changes will keep the crowd on their feet biting their nails to the very last buzzer.
Of course though, with a Championship on the line, one team will have to step up and finish the other off. The 2012 NCAA Tournament found a way to cap off a great and final March Madness with the Kentucky Wildcats and the Ohio St. Buckeyes facing off in the finale. Winner: Kentucky, 67-64
To see my full bracket and its progress throughout the tournament, click here.
For a printable version of the 2012 tournament bracket, click here.
