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2016 NCAA Tournament Picks – East Bracket
By Walter Cherepinsky – @walterfootball
NCAA Tournament Picks: East Bracket First Round
No. 1 North Carolina vs. No. 16 Florida Gulf Coast
People have fond memories of Florida Gulf Coast’s run three years ago, but I don’t. My ex and I broke that day, so I was pretty sad. Fortunately, it all worked out for the best, as I realized that dating a self-destructive alcoholic wasn’t the best thing. I’m hoping I can create some new, great memories with Florida Gulf Coast this year, but sadly, that’s probably not going to happen.
2016 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 1 North Carolina
No. 8 USC vs. No. 9 Providence
This is pretty much a coin toss on paper. Providence is only slightly better than USC, but this game could go either way. It’d be interesting to see how much damage the Trojans can do, given that their coach, Andy Enfield, was the one who made the run with Florida Gulf Coast three years ago. Unfortunately for USC, it has to travel three time zones (to North Carolina) to play this game, so that could be the deciding factor in a battle between two evenly matched teams.
2016 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 9 Providence
No. 5 Indiana vs. No. 12 UT-Chattanooga
Nice job by the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee to make sure that UT-Chattanooga wouldn’t advance very far. The committee does this every year – they seed down talented teams like Indiana to make sure that mid-majors they’re fearful of, like Chattanooga, don’t advance. It’s freaking ridiculous. The Hoosiers are a high No. 4 seed, so they should be able to advance.
2016 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 5 Indiana
No. 4 Kentucky vs. No. 13 Stony Brook
How is Kentucky a No. 4 seed? They beat Texas A&M in the SEC Championship, yet they’re a four and the team they beat, Texas A&M, is a three. The NCAA Tournament Selection Committee has once again shown that it doesn’t factor Sunday conference championships into account. It’s also possible that the committee wanted the Wildcats here to take care of potential Cinderella Stony Brook. Either way, it’s yet another example of how crooked this whole process is.
2016 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 4 Kentucky
No. 6 Notre Dame vs. No. 11 Michigan
I don’t think Michigan should be in the NCAA Tournament. The Wolverines should be a No. 14 seed, which is where the automatic winners are stationed. However, I like John Beilein as a coach quite a bit, while Notre Dame’s Mike Brey tends to disappoint in the Big Dance. Notre Dame is way overseeded here; the Irish should be a No. 10, so I actually like Michigan in the upset here.
2016 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 11 Michigan
No. 3 West Virgnia vs. No. 14 Stephen F. Austin
Stephen F. Austin is one of several teams that qualified for the NCAA Tournament that got hosed. The Lumberjacks are a great team. They should be a No. 8 seed. At the very worst, they should’ve been a No. 12 battling (and upsetting Duke). So, does that mean there will be a 14-3 upset? No, because the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee underseeded West Virginia intentionally so that Bob Huggins would take care of a mid-major they were scared of. Huggins doesn’t lose in the first round, and he’s currently coaching the sixth-best team in the country.
2016 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 3 West Virginia
No. 7 Wisconsin vs. No. 10 Pittsburgh
Wisconsin is no longer a lock to win in the first round because Bo Ryan is no longer coaching. He’s been replaced by someone named Greg Gard, who is probably better than Pitt’s Jamie Dixon, who has an atrocious NCAA Tournament record.
2016 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 7 Wisconsin
No. 2 Xavier vs. No. 15 Weber State
You know, it would make more sense if Xavier and Kentucky were swapped in this bracket. If the people on the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee actually had a clue, perhaps they would’ve made this change.
2016 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 2 Xavier
NCAA Tournament Picks: East Bracket Second Round
No. 1 North Carolina vs. No. 9 Providence
North Carolina doesn’t really have a second-round opponent that can threaten it. As discussed, Providence and USC are the weakest of the eight and nine seeds, as it’s very apparent that the NCAA wants the Tar Heels to advance to the Sweet 16 and sell tickets in Philadelphia. Roy Williams will get all of the calls in this game, as his team advances.
2016 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 1 North Carolina
No. 4 Kentucky vs. No. 5 Indiana
In terms of just pure talent, this could easily be an Elite Eight matchup. There are tons of skilled players in this game, so it’ll be a fun one to watch. At least in theory. In reality, Kentucky has a big advantage, with John Calipari having so much more relevant tournament success (in terms of under/overachievement) than Tom Crean. Calipari isn’t a great coach (he’s the best recruiter ever, but he’s not as sharp in the X’s-and-O’s), but he’s definitely superior compared to Crean.
2016 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 4 Kentucky
No. 3 West Virginia vs. No. 11 Michigan
West Virginia, a team that should be a two-seed, doesn’t really have the potential to have a tough matchup in the second round. In fact, Stephen F. Austin is better than Notre Dame, Michigan and Tulsa. That’s how screwed up the seeding is this year.
2016 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 3 West Virginia
No. 2 Xavier vs. No. 7 Wisconsin
Xavier is overseeded for sure – it should be a No. 4 seed – but as with West Virginia and North Carolina, its potential second-round matchups are pretty lackluster. Wisconsin is better than Pitt, but still isn’t very impressive, especially with Greg Gard coaching instead of the legendary Bo Ryan.
2016 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 2 Xavier
NCAA Tournament Picks: East Bracket Sweet 16
No. 1 North Carolina vs. No. 4 Kentucky
This is an elite matchup, as North Carolina and Kentucky are the fourth- and eighth-best teams in the nation, meaning they should be one- and two-seeds, respectively. It’s kind of ridiculous that the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee would submit their bracket before all of the Sunday games. I don’t understand why they choose to ignore games, but I’m willing to bet that they wouldn’t if they had some sort of financial interest at stake.
Anyway, I talked about John Calipari being a somewhat-overrated in-game coach. He’s good, don’t get me wrong, but sometimes people forget to differentiate recruiting and X’s-and-O’s. The same applies to Roy Williams, who is an even-worse in-game tactician. Williams gets the best players, which is why he wins; it has very little to do with what he’s telling his players and how he prepares for games. I like Calipari over Williams, so I’m going to take Kentucky in an upset victory.
2016 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 4 Kentucky
No. 2 Xavier vs. No. 3 West Virginia
Xavier is the higher seed, but West Virginia is the better team. The Mountaineers also have the superior coach. To me, this one seems pretty easy.
2016 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 3 West Virginia
NCAA Tournament Picks: East Bracket Elite Eight
No. 3 West Virginia vs. No. 4 Kentucky
This has been a very coach-centric region in terms of my write-ups, so why not keep ranting about them? In this matchup, Bob Huggins will be taking on John Calipari, which has to frighten the latter. That’s because Huggins’ West Virginia squad took down one of Calipari’s best teams ever when it knocked off the John Wall- and DeMarcus Cousins-led Wildcats back in 2010.
Kentucky was the better team that year, but Huggins was able to out-coach Calipari. Things are quite different this time, as the Mountaineers are the slightly superior squad. They also have more experience, so all of these factors will prompt me to choose West Virginia to come out of this region.
2016 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 3 West Virginia
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