2018 NCAA Tournament Picks: Midwest

NCAA Tournament Picks: South | West | East | Midwest | Final Four

2018 NCAA Tournament Picks – Midwest Bracket

By Walter Cherepinsky – @walterfootball

Rather than go through, game by game, I’m going to show you my selections on the brackets and post notes on some of the interesting contests:

I’m saying this right now: Kansas better not slack off in the opening round. Penn is the best No. 16 I’ve seen in a very long time. I don’t think the Quakers will pull the upset, but I think they’ll be competitive.

I actually don’t like the Jayhawks all that much. Their defense is suspect, and I actually don’t think they deserved a No. 1 seed. However, they have an incredibly easy road to the Elite Eight, as all of the top teams in their half of the bracket are flawed. Both Auburn and Clemson are dealing with lots of injuries. The former Tigers are banged up and happen to be in a tailspin, while Clemson is missing Donte “Lord” Grantham. I actually have both teams losing, and it’s really a toss up as to which of New Mexico State or College of Charleston advances to the Sweet 16.

In the bottom of the bracket, I the Nos. 10 and 11 seeds winning in the opening round. I don’t like TCU at all. Jamie Dixon couldn’t coach his way out of a paper bag in the NCAA Tournament, and he’s missing his best player, Jaylen Fisher. Meanwhile, Oklahoma has too much talent to not win a tournament game. Yes, yes, I know, the Sooners are 2-8 in their previous 10 games. So what? They’ve been battling elite Big XII teams the entire time. They can handle Rhode Island.

Duke and Michigan State are head and shoulders better than everyone in this half of the bracket. It’s a tough call as to who wins that matchup, but my money is on Tom Izzo, who is a wizard in March. In fact, I have the Spartans advancing to the Final Four.

NCAA Tournament Picks: South | West | East | Midwest | Final Four