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What are your Final Four picks?

Glenwood Springs, CO Colorado

This prognostication stuff can be pretty contagious ” might want to stock up on some antibiotics or macrobiotics or mac and cheese … it’s all “stuff and nonsense,” but hopelessly addicting, so here goes:

Last year, I got chalk all over my bracket and actually picked three of the four correctly ” only Kansas let me down. So tempted as I am to take the Rock-chalks again,

I’ll go Tigers (Clemson) devouring the Jayhawks. We can’t have two Tigers in the finals, so who to pick to bust the Memphis Presleys? Longhorns, Panthers or the Tree (with a Cardinal in it)? Let’s go Texas ” Kevin Durant, wouldn’t you rather play for a national title than the Subsonics?



Oh yeah, cue up Stevie “Guitar” Miller and “Take the Money and Run.”

The top two teams both should have lost their conference tournaments, so that might scare them into playing up to their abilities: Take North Carolina and the Bruins (that’s P-I-G, courtesy of Josh Shipp’s over-the-backboard shot) of UCLA.



This year I see a wide open tournament. I can see the Final Four teams this year are: North Carolina, UCLA, Texas and Tennessee.

Texas is close to home, especially in Round 2 where it is played in Houston.

I feel that Tennessee will get motivated, and I can see them making a run at the title this year.

I know that a lot of people think the tournament might be weak this year, but as a sleeper, watch St. Joseph’s this year. They could work their way into the Sweet 16 with wins over Oklahoma, and a sleepwalking Louisville team. You can usually count on one No. 11 seed to cause havoc on someone’s bracket.

March Madness has now officially began.

GOOD LUCK !!

March Madness is upon the nation again. People everywhere are raging mad that winter is still here, daylight savings time and Easter are too early, and the fact that people all over are donating money to an office pool for college basketball in which the person with the least knowledge always seems to win.

I have entered countless bracket pools, tried a wide array of strategies, and lost my money every single year. Naturally, I feel very indecisive in picking my Final Four teams.

Sentiments drive me to take Arizona, my favorite team, all the way. I also cannot resist Boise State making it to San Antonio with their perfect colors and mascot: an orange and blue Bronco. However, I know these picks will lose my money as well.

Finally, in haste, I’ve picked the four winners to go all the way. North Carolina, Georgetown, UCLA and Memphis are my picks. Memphis will win it all using the same offense as the Grand Valley Cardinals. I’d justify my picks, but I’m over the word limit.

I’m going completely conservative with my picks this year. I have all four of the first seeds making it to the final four ” North Carolina, Kansas, Memphis, and UCLA.

I just felt that each of these teams was just too good to go against.

UCLA played in perhaps the toughest conference in the nation this year, and its defense can be stifling, just the way Hall of Fame former coach John Wooden would like it.

Kansas has at times just rolled over teams. Their recent win over rival Kansas State by almost 40 points is evidence of the kind of play they are capable of.

North Carolina is on a roll right now, and not many teams have found a way to stop Hansbrough.

Memphis was just awesome for most of the year and just barely lost to Tennessee. That loss probably helped them to tighten things up going into the tournament.

My championship is UCLA against Kansas with UCLA winning it all 72-66 in the final game.

This year’s bracket is shaping up to be a good one. It was hard for me to pick out my Final Four but I finally narrowed it down to North Carolina, Georgetown, Texas, and UCLA.

I know they are all No. 1 or 2 seeds but from what I’ve seen this year they deserve to be in the Final Four.

For UNC, I think Tyler Hansbrough is ready to carry his team to victory.

Georgetown has looked unsteady at some times during the year but I believe they can come together and put up a good run to the final four.

Texas had to recover from the after Kevin Durant era, and they did. Putting a 28-6 record especially in the Big XII is quite a recovery.

UCLA caught everyone’s eyes right off the bat and with players like freshman Kevin Love playing well keep our eyes on them all the way to the Final Four.

I always like to “buck the odds” ” so only one of my picks is ranked No. 1 in its region:

East ” North Carolina looks unbeatable; Tar Heels wont stub their toes.

Midwest ” Wisconsin has Moe Men Tum from the Big Ten Tournament.

South ” Texas on a “hunch.” Long Horns are probably a “long shot”

West ” Duke just because of the “Coach Mike Krzyzewski factor.”

The Tournament should be a great one with a lot of closely matched teams!!

If I were a gambler ” which I’m most certainly not; gambling is wrong, kids ” I would bet on Tennessee, UCLA, Memphis and Kansas. Again, that gambling disclaimer is purely hypothetical.

I think whoever wins on Memphis and Youkla’s side of the bracket wins it all.

My darkhorse for the tourney: the University of Maryland-Baltimore County. Why? Cuz they’re rolling with the bestest nickname in the entire bracket: the Retrievers.


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