2012 NCAA Tournament Picks:
South | West | East | Midwest | Final Four 2012 NCAA Tournament Home
2012 NCAA Tournament Bracket Breakdowns:
East | West | Midwest | South
2012 NCAA Tournament Resources:
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2012 NCAA Tournament: West Bracket Picks
2012 NCAA Tournament: West Bracket First Round
No. 1 Michigan State vs. No. 16 Long Island
I was born and raised in Philadelphia, yet I never made a single trip into the state of New York. That’s why I’m picking Michigan State.
2012 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 1 Michigan State
No. 8 Memphis vs. No. 9 Saint Louis
I’m really pissed off. I LOVE Memphis and St. Louis, and I wanted to have them both make a deep run into the tournament. Lo and behold, they play each other in the first round and then have to deal with Michigan State in the second round. FML.
Saint Louis has great coaching, but I’m going to pick Memphis because of its shear talent. The Tigers rank in the top 20 in both offensive and defensive efficiency. They’re on fire, having won 11 of 12, and I think their momentum will benefit them in this matchup.
2012 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 8 Memphis
No. 5 New Mexico vs. No. 12 Long Beach State
Long Beach State is a favorite of Digger Phelps, but New Mexico is the better team. The Lobos have the superior offense and defense, and own a really good road record. The Beach, meanwhile, might be missing point guard Larry Anderson (14.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 3.1 apg) for this matchup. He sat out the Big West Tournament. He could man up and play, but that might mean that he’d hurt his team by not being 100 percent.
2012 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 5 New Mexico
No. 4 Louisville vs. No. 13 Davidson
Poor Davidson has to travel from its home in North Carolina all the way out to Portland and deal with Louisville’s hectic trapping. The Wildcats are a good team, and they deserved better than this. The NCAA Selection Committee, once again, screwing over the mid-majors like it’s their job.
2012 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 4 Louisville
No. 6 Murray State vs. No. 11 Colorado State
Can someone tell me why this terrible Colorado State team is in the NCAA Tournament? The Rams have the No. 175 defense and own a 3-9 road record. Drexel should be dancing instead of Colorado State. What a joke.
2012 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 6 Murray State
No. 3 Marquette vs. No. 14 BYU
BYU-Iona is a classic offense-defense matchup. BYU is 25th in defense, while Iona is 15th in offense. It’s a very close call, but I’m picking the former because defense is more important. The winner of that game, however, is pretty much screwed because it’ll have to play on Thursday – just two days after playing another game. Marquette will be well rested.
2012 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 3 Marquette
No. 7 Florida vs. No. 10 Virginia
Florida couldn’t have asked for a better matchup. The offensively challenged Cavaliers are complete garbage, having lost five of their previous eight games.
2012 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 7 Florida
No. 2 Missouri vs. No. 15 Norfolk State
Norfolk State is the second-worst team in the NCAA Tournament, being superior to only Mississippi Valley State. And yes, I’m preparing for a series e-mails from crazed homers from the State of Norfolk, wherever the hell that is.
2012 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 2 Missouri
2012 NCAA Tournament: West Bracket Second Round
No. 1 Michigan State vs. No. 8 Memphis
If Memphis were playing in the East region, I’d pick them over Syracuse. The Tigers are that good. It’s just a damn shame that they have to run into Tom Izzo in the second round. The talent of these two teams is pretty comparable, but Izzo will coach circles around the inexperienced Josh Pastner. I’ll never understand how the Selection Committee decided that Memphis should be a No. 8 seed.
2012 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 1 Michigan State
No. 4 Louisville vs. No. 5 New Mexico
These teams are really close. I have New Mexico being slightly better than Louisville because of the Cardinals’ offensive struggles, but in a second-round toss-up, I’m always going to select the team that has the better chance of being there. Louisville will not lose to Davidson. New Mexico could go down to Long Beach State.
2012 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 4 Louisville
No. 3 Marquette vs. No. 6 Murray State
One of the seedings that the Selection Committee got right was Murray State. I haven’t really thought much of the Racers all year; they hover around No. 50 in both offense and defense, and their strength of schedule (250) indicates that they’ve feasted on terrible teams all year.
2012 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 3 Marquette
No. 2 Missouri vs. No. 7 Florida
I don’t think much of Missouri, but I think even less of Florida and its No. 119 defense. The Gators have struggled on the road all season, which indicates that they’ll be bounced early in the NCAA Tournament.
2012 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 2 Missouri
2012 NCAA Tournament: West Bracket Sweet 16
No. 1 Michigan State vs. No. 4 Louisville
As mentioned, Louisville has serious trouble scoring at times. The Cardinals rank No. 122 in offense and average only 69 points per game. The number of conference blowouts is usually a barometer for how well a team fares in the NCAA Tournament. Louisville has only three all year. Michigan State has seven.
2012 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 1 Michigan State
No. 2 Missouri vs. No. 3 Marquette
I’m picking another three-seed to knock off a No. 2. It’s close, but I think Marquette is the more solid team. Missouri’s offense is awesome, but its defense is 75th. The Golden Eagles, meanwhile, are No. 25 in offense and No. 19 in defense. They also have an advantage in coaching, as Buzz Williams has enjoyed more NCAA Tournament success than Frank Haith, who has coached in only two tournament games.
2012 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 3 Marquette
2012 NCAA Tournament: West Bracket Elite Eight
No. 1 Michigan State vs. No. 3 Marquette
Tom Izzo is usually capable of taking mediocre and injury-plagued teams to the Final Four. He’s not going to lose early with a great roster like this. Draymond Green is too good not to advance to New Orleans.
2012 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 1 Michigan State
2012 NCAA Tournament Picks:
South | West | East | Midwest | Final Four 2012 NCAA Tournament Home
2012 NCAA Tournament Bracket Breakdowns:
East | West | Midwest | South
2012 NCAA Tournament Resources:
Computer Rankings
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