WalterFootball.com - Detailed NFL Mock Drafts, Player Prospect Rankings, and One of the Largest Mock Draft Databases on the Web

2011 NCAA Tournament Picks: East

No. 1 Duke vs. No. 16 Hampton
Remember the episode of Seinfeld when George Costanza lied about having a place in the Hamptons? Good times. I'll be laying the points with Duke.

2011 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 1 Duke

No. 8 Michigan vs. No. 9 Tennessee
As I wrote in my preview, Michigan head coach John Beilein has made four NCAA Tournament appearances since 1996. He has won at least one game in each run. Bruce Pearl, meanwhile, always struggled in the NCAA Tournament prior to last year. The Vols are undisciplined and don't take inferior competition seriously.

2011 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 8 Michigan

No. 5 Arizona vs. No. 12 Memphis
Memphis stinks. They have a sub-par defense (61st) and an awful offense (134th). They can't win on the road. They have only one consistent scoring option. They're extremely young. And they have a freshman point guard.

2011 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 5 Arizona

No. 4 Texas vs. No. 13 Oakland
Texas could easily lose this game. If they don't take Oakland seriously, this will be an upset. Untouched by Al Davis, this Oakland squad has balanced scoring and a terrific offense (15th). Center Keith Benson (18.0 ppg, 10.1 rpg) will be playing in the NBA next year.

I'm not going to pick Oakland, however, because of their awful defense (200th). Texas shouldn't have any trouble scoring against them.

2011 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 4 Texas

No. 6 Cincinnati vs. No. 11 Missouri
Missouri's going to be a popular upset pick - just not on this site. The Tigers play with a frenetic pace and force a ton of turnovers, but Cincinnati does a good job of taking care of the basketball.

The Tigers have a ton of flaws. Their defense isn't very good (53rd). They were just 2-7 on the road this year. And they're slumping going into the Big Dance (1-3 previous four).

2011 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 6 Cincinnati

No. 3 Connecticut vs. No. 14 Bucknell
Bucknell is a talented team, but they're young. Four of their top six scorers are underclassmen. Plus, they have to go up against Kemba Walker.

2011 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 3 Connecticut

No. 7 Temple vs. No. 10 Penn State
Call this a homer pick, but Temple head coach Fran Dunphy is 1-12 in the NCAA Tournament. One and twelve. Yes, many of those losses came with Penn, but isn't it convenient that an Ivy League team (Cornell) finally won a game (actually two games) once Dunphy moved on to Temple? And besides, Dunphy has been upset as Temple's head coach in the NCAA Tournament.

2011 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 10 Penn State

No. 2 San Diego State vs. No. 15 Northern Colorado
This is a matchup between two great players. Everyone knows about Kawhi Leonard, but Northern Colorado's Devon Beitzel (21.4 ppg) is extremely clutch.

In the end though, San Diego State's defense is third. Northern Colorado's? 139th.

2011 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 2 San Diego State

2011 NCAA Tournament: West Bracket Second Round

No. 1 Duke vs. No. 8 Michigan
Of the 36 No. 1 seeds since 2002, 32 have advanced to the Sweet 16. I don't see Duke losing to either Michigan or Tennessee.

2011 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 1 Duke

No. 4 Texas vs. No. 5 Arizona
I don't like Texas very much - I'll get into that in the next round - but I wish they were going against a better second-round opponent so I could call an upset. Arizona's defense is a pedestrian 67th, and they have only one consistent scorer.

2011 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 4 Texas

No. 3 Connecticut vs. No. 6 Cincinnati
I guess the Big East Tournament isn't over. Kemba Walker didn't get a chance to debaclize Cincinnati at Madison Square Garden, so he'll have the opportunity to do so in Chicago.

Cincinnati head coach Mick Cronin has never won an NCAA Tournament game, so I'll take Jim Calhoun in this matchup. Plus, the Huskies beat the Bearcats at Cincinnati in late February, so I don't think they'll have much trouble with them on a neutral site.

2011 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 3 Connecticut

No. 2 San Diego State vs. No. 10 Penn State
As much as I'd like to have Penn State going to the Sweet 16, I don't think the Nittany Lions have what it takes. Their defense is pretty pedestrian (58th). They have a sluggish offense (63.1 ppg) and they have no quality road wins (3-8 away record).

2011 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 2 San Diego State

2011 NCAA Tournament: West Bracket Sweet 16

No. 1 Duke vs. No. 4 Texas
I said that I would get into why I don't like Texas, and I'm a man of my word.

Rick Barnes is an overrated coach; the Longhorns underachieve in the NCAA Tournament ever year. Also, Texas has a freshman point guard (Cory Joseph) and a very young team overall. Duke's experience will carry them into the Elite Eight.

2011 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 1 Duke

No. 2 San Diego State vs. No. 3 Connecticut
This is essentially a road game for Connecticut, as San Diego State doesn't exactly have to make a long trip up to Anaheim. However, unlike most East Coast coaches, Jim Calhoun thrives out West. I don't think travel will be a problem for his team.

As you can tell, I'm taking the Huskies. I can't bet against Kemba Walker this early. Plus, Mountain West teams tend to underachieve in the Big Dance.

2011 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 3 Connecticut

2011 NCAA Tournament: West Bracket Elite Eight

No. 1 Duke vs. No. 3 Connecticut
Pick your poison: Do you want to go against Nolan Smith or Kemba Walker? It's a tough choice. I really like Jim Calhoun's ability to win on the West Coast, but I love Duke's experience even more.

Connecticut's a really young team. As the ESPN guys said, "It's Kemba Walker and a bunch of freshmen." While it wouldn't surprise me to see the Huskies move on to the Final Four, I'm just not comfortable advancing an inexperienced squad over seasoned Duke.

And one more thing: I'm not really sure how Connecticut's Big East Tournament run will affect them in the Big Dance. We've seen teams that go four games in four days struggle. But five games in five days? That's just insane.

2011 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 1 Duke

2011 NCAA Tournament Picks:
Sweet 16 Redo | East | West | Southwest | Southeast | Final Four | Winning Tips | 2011 NCAA Tournament Home
2011 NCAA Tournament Bracket Breakdowns:
West | East | Southwest | Southeast | Final Four | Schedule
2011 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 Breakdowns:
West | Southeast |
2011 NCAA Tournament Preview:
ACC | Atlantic 10 | Big 12 | Big East | Big Ten | Mid-Majors | Mountain West | Pac 10 | SEC

Dragon 01-18-2012 10:22 pm xxx.xxx.xxx6.60 (total posts: 1)

Knowelgde wants to be free, just like these articles!

Celina 01-17-2012 06:58 pm xxx.xxx.xxx0.13 (total posts: 1)

Ab fab my godloy man.

Kelenna 01-17-2012 09:48 am xxx.xxx.xxx8.42 (total posts: 1)

Shoot, so that's that one spupoess.

Morgan 03-27-2011 06:26 pm xxx.xxx.xxx1.29 (total posts: 1)

Ha! So much for this bracket. Not even one correct final four pick.

Adam 03-25-2011 12:11 pm xxx.xxx.xxx.187 (total posts: 1)

Walter thank you man! I know nothing about college basketball and copied your bracket exactly (Except i switched temple and PSU) and as long as Ohio st holds on I'm gonna win my bracket and a lot of money! thanks a million!

Josh 03-22-2011 07:37 am xxx.xxx.xxx.198 (total posts: 1)

Like SDSU near home vs a young U Conn team ,getting a point is just a bonus with a solid 2 seed,also like VCU ,had FSU for 10 units in the first and second rounds but VCU can play defense with them and have the penetrators to cause their great defense trouble,plus 4 points is great in that matchup.GL ALL

Ian 03-21-2011 01:52 pm xxx.xxx.xxx1.76 (total posts: 1)

Duke will not make the final four. There defense is really over rated, and they should have lost to Michigan. SD State will run them off the floor.

Walter 03-21-2011 01:32 am xxx.xxx.xxx9.63 (total posts: 2)

@Disappointed - Why do you say that? Bracket still looks very good.

DIsappointed 03-18-2011 12:34 pm xxx.xxx.xxx.110 (total posts: 1)

I now know why it's not walterBASKETBALL.com

JF220 03-18-2011 11:36 am xxx.xxx.xxx9.54 (total posts: 1)

UW teams defense is 6th according to USA today.

J320 03-17-2011 07:06 pm xxx.xxx.xxx.253 (total posts: 1)

Championship: San Diego St. over Brigham Young University

hurricane maryjane 03-17-2011 06:56 am xxx.xxx.xxx0.76 (total posts: 1)

haha, i would love to know how many of you actually know how talented and deep kansas's team is
not many teams are going to beat the morris twins
deal with it?

Pcat 03-16-2011 06:08 pm xxx.xxx.xxx.114 (total posts: 1)

@DKM

if you wanna win your bracket, make it a little unique,

my ff is texas, oh st, pitt, kansas...

pitt/tex final...

pitt win

https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B1i4OZhrUOJxZWNhZTQyNDYtMDJhNi00MmQ1LWJkY2MtNzkxOTE1MjJkNThh&sort=name&layout=list&num=50

here is my bracket

common people post your brackets!!!

DeathSpeculum 03-16-2011 10:47 am xxx.xxx.xxx1.22 (total posts: 1)

i had Purdue beating Kansas to make it to the final four. Does the recent suspension of Barlow make that an impossibility?

DKM 03-15-2011 09:17 pm xxx.xxx.xxx1.97 (total posts: 1)

Right now I have Texas and SD St. meeting in the Elite 8, but who does everyone think is a better bet to make it to the Final 4? I think Texas is a better team but San Diego St.'s more likely to get to that game. Thoughts?

Pages: 12 3

2013 Fantasy Football Rankings - June 19

2014 NFL Mock Draft - June 18

Charlie's 2014 NFL Mock Draft - June 17

2013 NBA Mock Draft - May 22

NFL Picks - Feb. 3

2011 NCAA Tournament Picks: East

Leave a comment