My 2006 Picks

The first bracket I did was when I was 10 I think. I was just getting into basketball and how can you not get sucked in by all of the close games and buzzer beaters. Plus, I thought it was the greatest thing being able to watch basketball on a Thursday afternoon. In fact, when I was in 4th grade maybe, my elementary school principal pulled me out of class to watch Miami play North Carolina for a little bit. Jamie Mercurio hit 7 threes, unfortunately missing one at the end of regulation that would've sent the game to overtime.

Now, take my picks with a grain of salt, the last three years have been struggle city for me. My best run was 1993-95 actually:

• 1993: Had 3 of the Final 4, had UNC/Michigan in the title game, but had Michigan winning. Darn Chris Webber!!!!!
• 1994: Had 3 of the Final 4 again, had Arkansas/Duke in the final and had Arkansas winning.
• 1995: Had 3 of the Final 4, had UCLA/Arkansas in the final and UCLA winning.

2001 was pretty good, I had 3 of the final 4, Arizona/Duke in the final, but had Arizona winning. The last correct winner I picked was Maryland in 2002.

But this is my year (I hope). Here are some things I took into account when doing my bracket:

• Previous matchups during the year or last year (i.e. Villanova/Boston College)
• What did they do well in games they won.
• What did they not do well in games they lost.
• Matchups against teams during the season that play a similar style of ball that their opponent plays.
• How they're playing now.
• What type of gameplan they'll put in for the game.
• Time the game starts, where it's at, etc.

Atlanta Region, 1st Round:

• Duke over Southern, no explanation needed.
• UNC Wilmington over George Washington. How healthy is Pops Mensah-Bonsu??? GW doesn't like to play a half-court game and Wilmington is afraid of no one.
• Syracuse over Texas A&M. I'm not sure how long Syracuse can keep this run up. They won the Big East tourney last year, then lost in the 1st round to Vermont. I don't think A&M will be able to make enough shots against the Syracuse zone, and Syracuse is a more experienced team.
• LSU over Iona. LSU had Baby Shaq in the middle, Iona has Stevie Burtt outside. This will be a good game. If Iona had a little tournament experience, I'd be tempted, but I'll go with LSU.
• West Virginia over Southern Illinois. WVU will score a little more and Southern won't be able to solve WVU's defense.
• Northwestern St. over Iowa. I think you know how I feel about Iowa. They don't shoot well, they're not very athletic and their guards should play better for being experienced. It's the first game of the day in Auburn Hills, Northwestern St. won't be intimidated, they shoot the ball better than Iowa, they're deeper and definitely more athletic. This is a crazy upset pick I know. But Iowa has had trouble playing away from home and against athletic teams.
• California over NC State. NC State isn't playing well right now. They'll have trouble scoring against Cal's physical, quick defense.
• Texas over Penn.

2nd round:

• Duke over UNC-Wilmington. Too many athletes for Duke, especially inside.
• Syracuse over LSU. Experience wins here. Tyrus Thomas not being 100% will hurt LSU inside.
• West Virginia over Northwestern St. It's tough to play against West Virginia's style of play when you've never seen them before.
• Texas over Cal. Texas's guards will be too much.

Sweet 16:

• Duke over Syracuse. You can't zone Duke and Duke will outwork them.
• Texas over West Virginia. Texas had to come from behind and beat them earlier in the year. I think Texas is better now than then.

Elite 8:

• Duke over Texas. Another rematch. This one won't be a blowout like the 1st one, but Duke's guards are better than Texas's guards, or at least more consistent.

OAKLAND REGION:

1st round:

• Memphis over Oral Roberts.
• Bucknell over Arkansas. Bucknell is more experienced and better at shooting the ball. Tournament games are half-court games and Bucknell is the better half-court team.
• Pittsburgh over Kent St. Kent's guards can be turnover-prone and Pitt's guards love to cause turnovers. This Pittsburgh team is also better than ones in years past. They can actually make shots.
• Kansas over Bradley. Bradley plays good defense, but they have trouble scoring. Kansas has too many playmakers and they have Julian Wright.
• San Diego St. over Indiana. The Aztecs are used to playing at altitude and they have inside players who can contain Marco Killingsworth.
• Xavier over Gonzaga. Gonzaga plays no defense. And if they play zone, they have to guard everybody on Xavier because they can all shoot the 3. This means problems for the Zags. You have to be able to stop somebody.
• Marquette over Alabama. Marquette has better shooters and they played in a tougher conference. No Chuck Davis hurts Alabama.
• UCLA over Belmont.

2nd round:

• Memphis over Bucknell: Too many athletes and too much depth for Bucknell to overcome.
• Kansas over Pittsburgh: Better guard play from Kansas and better interior play as well. When someone can match up with Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh struggles. They usually don't beat teams that are as good or a little better than they are talent-wise.
• San Diego St. over Xavier. San Diego St. has the post play that gives Xavier problems. Stanley Burrell not being a true point guard will hurt against the Aztecs guards.
• UCLA over Marquette. UCLA has better guards and better interior play. Too much balance for Marquette to keep up with.

Sweet 16:

• Kansas over Memphis: Kansas matches up with Memphis and are better at every position I think. Kansas playing better competition later in the year will help, as well as their more consistent outside shooting and their sharing of the ball.
• UCLA over San Diego St.: Too much inside/outside balance for the Aztecs to deal with.

Elite 8:

• UCLA over Kansas. Here's where the inexperience will catch up with Kansas, especially at the guard position. Kansas is a year away.

WASHINGTON REGION:

1st round:

• UConn over Albany.
• Kentucky over UAB. This UAB isn't nearly as good as the one that beat Kentucky a couple of years ago in the 2nd round. UK will like the quick tempo and UAB has no answer for Randolph Morris.
• Utah St. over Washington. My 12 over 5 special. Washington doesn't play great defense and they have young guards. Utah St. is disciplined and very solid at every position, and well-coached.
• Illinois over Air Force. Too much size for Air Force to handle. Illinois will close the back door.
• Michigan St. over George Mason. Maybe if the Colonials were at full strength I'd be tempted, but in a game of athletes, no one is better than Sparty.
• North Carolina over Murray St. Too much Tar Heel depth.
• Wichita St. over Seton Hall. WSU is better suited for a slow-paced game and they have better guards. Paul Miller vs. Kelly Whitney inside will be interesting to watch. Miller has a better supporting cast.
• Tennessee over Winthrop. A lot of people like Winthrop, but they rely too much on the 3 and lose focus during games. As bad as Tennessee has played, their press will bother Winthrop and Winthrop doesn't shoot the 3 that well.

2nd round:

• UConn over Kentucky. UConn is bigger, faster, stronger, and better at every position. UK will have trouble at each end, this could be a blowout.
• Illinois over Utah St. More experience and more size favor Illinois. Illinois is a great defensive team, they'll shut the Aggies down.
• North Carolina over Michigan St. Michigan St. doesn't have the depth and physical presence. This is the type of game you'd think MSU would win with their experience, but Roy Williams is a great coach and UNC will win this matchup again.
• Tennessee over Wichita St. If you're unfamiliar with Bruce Pearl's style of play, you're in for a rude awakening.

Sweet 16:

• UConn over Illinois. Too much offensive firepower from UConn. It will be a low scoring game, but Illinois will struggle in defending Denham Brown and Rashard Anderson.
• North Carolina over Tennessee. UNC will break the press, score at will and wear out the Vols. Tennessee has no answer for Tyler Hansbrough.

Elite 8:

• UConn over North Carolina. In a matchup of Men vs. Boys, Boston College beat UNC. UConn are a bunch of men. Unfortunately, UNC is a year away.

MINNEAPOLIS REGION

1st round:

• Villanova over Monmouth
• Wisconsin over Arizona. Bo Ryan teams are tough to prepare for and tough to beat. Arizona doesn't shoot the ball well from the outside and where will Hassan Adams's head be?
• Nevada over Montana. This will be a close game, but Nick Fazekas will be too much in the end.
• Boston College over Pacific. Pacific can't matchup with Smith and Dudley inside.
• UW-Milwaukee over Oklahoma. The Panthers have better guard play and better shooters. Oklahoma's guard play is too inconsistent.
• Florida over South Alabama. Florida's guards are turnover-prone, but they will break it more times than not, which means a lot of easy buckets for Joakim Noah.
• Georgetown over Northern Iowa. UNI may not break 40 against the Hoyas athletic defense.
• Ohio St. over Davidson. Another interesting 2/15 matchup, but being played in Dayton and the way Ohio St's guards play, I like the Bucks.

2nd round:

• Villanova over Wisconsin. Villanova's guards are too good.
• Boston College over Nevada. Boston College is too physical.
• UW-Milwaukee over Florida. Florida's guards turn the ball over too much. UW-Milwaukee has more experience and are more consistent from the outside.
• Ohio St. over Georgetown. Everyone likes Georgetown in this game, but lest you forget, the Hoyas are good for at least one 5+minute scoring drought per game, usually in the 2nd half when the game is close. Ohio St. has better guard play and they make more shots.

Sweet 16:

• Villanova over Boston College. These two teams are familiar with one another. They split last year, but Villanova is a lot better, Boston College is simply just better. Villanova will contain BC's guards and will force Smith and Dudley to guard quicker, smaller players. The flex can be defended with the right game plan.
• Ohio St. over UW-Milwaukee. Ohio St. has the guards that can handle the pressure. And they have Terrence Dials inside.

Elite 8:

• Villanova over Ohio St. Villanova has better guards and more experience.

Final 4:

• Duke over UCLA. Duke's only losses have come to teams who have post players who can score with their back to the basket. To the best of my knowledge, UCLA doesn't have one of those type of players. Shelden Williams will have a big night and UCLA will struggle shooting from the outside.
• Villanova over UConn. The ultimate matchup game. UConn is bigger and stronger, Villanova can shoot and are quicker. Villanova will be the underdog, a role I think they enjoy. I think they have the game that is better suited for a neutral site and they have better guards.

Championship:

Villanova 73, Duke 68. Way back in October, I took Villanova as my team. I'm sticking with them, despite Allen Ray coming back from injury and Curtis Sumpter being gone. I love watching them play. Who doesn't? 4 little guys and an undersized center trying to compete against teams who are bigger than they are. They have more experience than Duke's guards. They will shut down Duke's role players, and will contain JJ Redick. Plus, they'll probably get the crowd behind them with the anti-Duke thing and all that. But I think Villanova is better than Duke, at least they will be on that final night.

So, there you have it. A lot of these thoughts were quick-hitters, but if I broke down every single aspect of every single game, I'd be up all night.

Good luck with your respective brackets, it's time to play the games!!!!!!