2013 NCAA Tournament Picks:
South | West | East | Midwest | Final Four
2013 NCAA Tournament Home
2013 NCAA Tournament Bracket Breakdowns:
East | West | Midwest | South
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2013 NCAA Tournament: East Bracket Picks
2013 NCAA Tournament: East Bracket First Round
No. 1 Indiana vs. No. 16 James Madison
One more bracket to analyze before I can go out drinking for St. Patrick’s Day!
2013 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 1 Indiana
No. 8 N.C. State vs. No. 9 Temple
This is an easy pick for me. N.C. State is so athletic and can beat anyone, while Temple head coach Fran Dunphy has a terrible tournament record (2-14).
2013 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 8 N.C. State
No. 5 UNLV vs. No. 12 California
I mentioned this in one of my other bracket pages, but teams that lose right away in their conference tournaments usually exit the Big Dance quite early. I’m tempted to take California because it’s essentially at home, but I can’t ignore its loss to Utah.
2013 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 5 UNLV
No. 4 Syracuse vs. No. 13 Montana
Montana is a team I really liked to become this year’s Cinderella – until it lost its leading scorer, Mathias Ward, to a season-ending foot injury. Thank your lucky stars, Syracuse.
2013 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 4 Syracuse
No. 6 Butler vs. No. 11 Bucknell
Everyone on ESPN liked Bucknell over Butler as a potential upset, but I have the Bulldogs much higher (No. 22) than Bucknell (No. 52) in my rankings. Has everyone forgotten how great of a coach Brad Stevens is?
2013 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 6 Butler
No. 3 Marquette vs. No. 14 Davidson
Do I have the balls to pick Davidson over Marquette? The Golden Eagles aren’t much higher (20th) than Davidson (25th) in my rankings. It’d be fun to take a 14 over a 3-seed, but… no… I have no balls.
2013 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 3 Marquette
No. 7 Illinois vs. No. 10 Colorado
Colorado over Illinois was another popular pick in ESPN’s Bracketology, but once again, Illinois is higher in my rankings (17th) than Colorado (27th). The Buffs struggle on the road, while the Illini head coach, John Groce, has a history of success in the NCAA Tournament with Ohio.
2013 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 7 Illinois
No. 2 Miami vs. No. 15 Pacific
Pacific head coach Bob Thomason is retiring after a 25-year career. That’s an awfully long time to be marooned in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Hope he got a nice tan out of it.
2013 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 2 Miami
2013 NCAA Tournament: East Bracket Second Round
No. 1 Indiana vs. No. 8 N.C. State
One over eight. Hedging my bet. Blah blah blah.
2013 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 1 Indiana
No. 4 Syracuse vs. No. 5 UNLV
I don’t like this Syracuse team at all, but I’m going to pick them to win this game. I hate to sound like a broken record, but there’s a much better chance the Orange will be here than UNLV. I had problems picking the UNLV-Cal winner, so it would only be logical to have Syracuse advancing to the Sweet 16. Besides, Syracuse is slottted above the Rebels in my rankings.
2013 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 4 Syracuse
No. 3 Marquette vs. No. 6 Butler
I have Marquette and Butler ranked right next to each other. I think I’m going to take the upset for three reasons. First, Brad Stevens is a stud tournament coach who always takes his team at least one round past its projection. Second, Butler beat Marquette on a neutral court at the beginning of the season. That was at the beginning of the season, but that ties into my third reason, which is that Marquette lost its first Big East Tournament game. That’s not a good sign.
2013 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 6 Butler
No. 2 Miami vs. No. 7 Illinois
Miami’s the fourth team in my rankings. Illinois is 17th. I really like this Hurricane squad. The team has tons of experience, plus Jim Larranaga is a great NCAA Touurnament coach who won’t let his team bow out of the Big Dance prior to the Sweet 16.
2013 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 2 Miami
2013 NCAA Tournament: East Bracket Sweet 16
No. 1 Indiana vs. No. 4 Syracuse
I don’t like Syracuse as a team, and I don’t like Syracuse’s travel schedule. The Orange has to go all the way out to San Jose in the first couple of rounds and then travel east again. That’s a ton of jet lag. Indiana’s the better squad anyway.
2013 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 1 Indiana
No. 2 Miami vs. No. 6 Butler
Butler’s Cinderella run is over. Miami is almost 20 spots higher in my rankings. This is a pretty easy road for the Hurricanes to the Elite Eight.
2013 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 2 Miami
2013 NCAA Tournament: East Bracket Elite Eight
No. 1 Indiana vs. No. 2 Miami
Miami (4th) and Indiana (5th) are right next to each other in my rankings. The thing weighing down the Hoosiers is their freshman point guard. Teams with freshman point guards need to be elite in all other areas to overcome that blemish. The Hoosiers are not elite in all other areas. Their defense is 20th, and they have just four conference wins of 15-plus points. When it comes down to it, I trust Shane Larkin over Kevin Ferrell.
2013 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 2 Miami
2013 NCAA Tournament Picks:
South | West | East | Midwest | Final Four
2013 NCAA Tournament Home
2013 NCAA Tournament Bracket Breakdowns:
East | West | Midwest | South
2013 NCAA Tournament Resources:
Computer Rankings
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