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2012 NCAA Tournament Picks: East

No. 1 Syracuse vs. No. 16 UNC-Asheville
UNC-Asheville is the best out of all the 16-seeds, but that's like pointing to a fat girl and saying that she's hotter than the other fat girls.

2012 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 1 Syracuse

No. 8 Kansas State vs. No. 9 Southern Miss
I'm not sure how Southern Miss and its No. 128 defense is a nine-seed. I only have seven teams in this entire field being worse than them.

2012 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 8 Kansas State

No. 5 Vanderbilt vs. No. 12 Harvard
I pretty much agree with what everyone on ESPN's Bracketology said about Vanderbilt. The Commodores are a really talented team, and it seems like they've finally gotten over the hump by defeating Kentucky in the SEC Championship. Harvard is a solid team, but no 12-5 upset is happening here.

2012 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 5 Vanderbilt

No. 4 Wisconsin vs. No. 13 Montana
Wisconsin tends to play ugly games sometimes, but Bo Ryan wins these opening-round games. The Badgers should be able to defeat Montana by double digits.

2012 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 4 Wisconsin

No. 6 Cincinnati vs. No. 11 Texas
Cincinnati finished the season on a strong note, and I expect them to continue playing well in the NCAA Tournament. Of course, the Bearcats don't have much of a challenge in this matchup. Rick Barnes' teams usually crap the bed in the Big Dance, and this might be his worst squad in quite a while.

2012 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 6 Cincinnati

No. 3 Florida State vs. No. 14 St. Bonaventure
Was there actually a saint named Bonaventure? If so, who names their kid Bonaventure? These questions are much more intriguing than this actual matchup.

2012 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 3 Florida State

No. 7 Gonzaga vs. No. 10 West Virginia
Mark Few must have slept with someone's sister on the Selection Committee. How are they, as a seven-seed, asked to travel all the way to Pittsburgh in the opening round to play what is essentially a home game for West Virginia? The Zags are the better team, but this location dynamic could be too much for them to overcome.

2012 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 10 West Virginia

No. 2 Ohio State vs. No. 15 Loyola-Maryland
I had no idea Loyola was in Maryland. I guess you learn something new every day.

2012 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 2 Ohio State

2012 NCAA Tournament: East Bracket Second Round

No. 1 Syracuse vs. No. 8 Kansas State
Syracuse is the weakest of the No. 1 seeds, but it won't be tripped up in the second round. Kansas State has a freshman point guard, which is usually really bad news come tournament time (unless he happens to be a stud like Derrick Rose).

2012 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 1 Syracuse

No. 4 Wisconsin vs. No. 5 Vanderbilt
Bo Ryan always wins in the first round, but he often has trouble getting out of the opening weekend because his team has issues scoring. The Badgers are 23rd in offensive efficiency, but average only 63 points per game. Vanderbilt is better overall.

2012 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 5 Vanderbilt

No. 3 Florida State vs. No. 6 Cincinnati
Florida State is on fire. The Seminoles' defense is amazing, and I figure they'll shut down the Bearcats, though a Cincinnati victory wouldn't completely surprise me. Florida State's wins against Duke and North Carolina were impressive on paper, but you can put an asterisk next to each of those victories. More on this later.

2012 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 3 Florida State

No. 2 Ohio State vs. No. 10 West Virginia
I have West Virginia winning its first-round matchup only because of the location. The Mountaineers aren't a good team. They're 70th in defense; they have a losing road record; and they've dropped five of their previous eight games. The Buckeyes won't have much trouble in this contest.

2012 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 2 Ohio State

2012 NCAA Tournament: East Bracket Sweet 16

No. 1 Syracuse vs. No. 5 Vanderbilt
This matchup is really close. I have Syracuse and Vanderbilt as the seventh- and eighth-best teams in the NCAA Tournament, respectively. As much as I want to pick the Commodores to pull the upset, I'm going to pencil the Orange Men into the Elite Eight. I mentioned this earlier - when a matchup is really tight in the second and third rounds, I'll always pick the squad that has the better chance of being there. Syracuse obviously won't lose to UNC-Asheville, and Kansas State won't offer much of a challenge either. Vanderbilt, meanwhile, could easily trip up against a solid Wisconsin squad.

Update: I'm going with Vanderbilt in the wake of Fab Melo's suspension.

2012 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 5 Vanderbilt

No. 2 Ohio State vs. No. 3 Florida State
I mentioned the asterisk. Florida State has impressed everyone by knocking off Duke and North Carolina, but both of those schools were each missing a key contributor. The Blue Devils didn't have Ryan Kelly, while the Tar Heels had John Henson out of the lineup. I don't want to take much away from the Seminoles because I love what Leonard Hamilton has done down there, but their ACC Conference title has everyone thinking that they are better than they really are.

2012 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 2 Ohio State

2012 NCAA Tournament: East Bracket Elite Eight

No. 2 Ohio State vs. No. 5 Vanderbilt
I have the Buckeyes as the better team in this matchup. They have the superior offense (7 vs. 14) and defense (1 vs. 15). Syracuse doesn't have a go-to player in crunch time, and it has feasted on overrated Big East squads. The Orange Men haven't been able to put away Connecticut, Rutgers and South Florida. Ohio State consequently has a better point differential despite having a worse record.

2012 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 2 Ohio 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

Kevin 03-18-2012 01:26 am xxx.xxx.xxx.171 (total posts: 1)

Guess you know where Norfolk St. is now don't you?

wow 03-16-2012 08:59 pm xxx.xxx.xxx.124 (total posts: 1)

way to not pick Norfolk State

waltsucks 03-15-2012 09:33 pm xxx.xxx.xxx5.42 (total posts: 1)

Great pick on the Shockers!!!!

Ben 03-14-2012 04:32 pm xxx.xxx.xxx.109 (total posts: 1)

Pointing out Iowa State's recent woes and using it as ammo to pick UConn huh? Apparently you forgot that UConn is 8-12 since Jan. 1. Nice research.

Spenser 03-14-2012 03:38 pm xxx.xxx.xxx3.41 (total posts: 1)

Kentucky has a better offense than UNC? lol not a chance. they won by 1 @ Rupp. UK gets atleast a 6 point home court advantage. also UNC wins that game if Henson doesnt miss two wide open dunks. revenge is a factor in that game and UNC has been waiting 4 months to see UK again. what happened last time they lost by 1 to a top team (Duke)? they SMASHED them. UNC 75, UK 70.

C Rhodes 03-14-2012 12:09 pm xxx.xxx.xxx1.20 (total posts: 1)

Will you update your thoughts on the elite 8 matchup? Vandy vs OSU

CJ 03-14-2012 06:05 am xxx.xxx.xxx6.44 (total posts: 1)

Walt seems to be analyzing the coaches quite a bit, in the UNC/KU match-up in particular. That game will be in St. Louis, and essentially be a home game for Kansas. I asked Walt about this:

CJ: So Walt, what about the actual players in the potential Kansas/North Carolina match-up?

Walt (doing his best Harry Caray impression): Trust me Norm, they won't be a factor!

Some Guy 03-14-2012 01:52 am xxx.xxx.xxx.226 (total posts: 2)

I will say though(about Kentucky) that they are the most talented team in the Tourney.

Some Guy 03-14-2012 01:51 am xxx.xxx.xxx.226 (total posts: 2)

I don't see Kentucky winning the National Championship, I don't really trust a team with that much inexperience to go all the way. I can easily see them losing to Wichita State.

Basketball writer 03-13-2012 11:52 pm xxx.xxx.xxx0.69 (total posts: 1)

I think Walter has a good east bracket, but his one slip up was putting Ohio st beating Vandy. Vandy is the most underrated team in the tourney. Meanwhile Ohio st is the most underrated team in the tourney. Vandy peaking at the right time. I think the Dores have a chance to raise a banner in Nashville this year. What are you guys thoughts on this?

Wow 03-13-2012 05:46 pm xxx.xxx.xxx9.34 (total posts: 1)

Love the originality in this bracket. 3 #1s and a #2, way to completely mail in your picks this year.

Jacob 03-13-2012 02:34 pm xxx.xxx.xxx.115 (total posts: 1)

Umm, Florida State beat UNC with Henson in the lineup...by 33!!!! So them beating UNC without Henson by 3 is that big of a deal? Hmmmm something's not right.

Brad 03-13-2012 12:12 pm xxx.xxx.xxx.140 (total posts: 1)

The South and West are ridiculously lopsided. The 1, 2, and 3 seeds on that side are all better than any of the 1, 2, and 3's from the East and Midwesst. Much like Walter, my left side is by the numbers while the right side of my bracket has all sorts of upsets.

Last year I went with my instincts over Walter's and it paid off, but his picks seem spot on this year.

Ian 03-13-2012 10:52 am xxx.xxx.xxx.213 (total posts: 1)

I like how he says Baylor will "choke" losing to the number 1 team in the tourney.

Andrew 03-12-2012 11:49 pm xxx.xxx.xxx.121 (total posts: 1)

Hey 'cuse is actually probably overlooked by many, they lost only two games, one without their big man and one that produced a zone defense last minute and made every single three they took. Other than that, this year unlike others they closed out all their games. I think the only thing stopping them is themselves

Pages: 12

2013 Fantasy Football Rankings - June 19

2014 NFL Mock Draft - June 18

Charlie's 2014 NFL Mock Draft - June 17

2013 NBA Mock Draft - May 22

NFL Picks - Feb. 3

2012 NCAA Tournament Picks: East

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