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2012 NCAA Tournament Picks: Midwest

No. 1 North Carolina vs. No. 16 Lamar
Would it be racist if I said that Lamar sounds like it's more athletic than Vermont? Yes? OK, good.

2012 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 1 North Carolina

No. 8 Creighton vs. No. 9 Alabama
This is really close, but I'll give the edge to Creighton for two reasons. First, Alabama has dropped three of their previous eight games, while Creighton has claimed seven in a row. And second, the Crimson Tide hasn't been able to win on the road, owning a 4-6 visiting record.

2012 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 8 Creighton

No. 5 Temple vs. No. 12 California
I want to pick one 12-5 upset, and this will be it. I think California is a better team than Temple because it plays much better defense. The Owls are 97th in defensive efficiency, and I don't like the fact that they lost their opening-round conference tournament game. I'll change this pick if South Florida prevails over California, but the Bulls can't score whatsoever.

2012 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 5 Temple

No. 4 Michigan vs. No. 13 Ohio
Ohio has trouble scoring and isn't very battle-tested. John Beilein is a really good tournament coach, so I can't see the Wolverines tripping up against their hated rivals.

2012 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 4 Michigan

No. 6 San Diego State vs. No. 11 N.C. State
N.C. State is the better team, but let's forget about that for a second. Think about what the Selection Committee is asking from the Aztecs. Not only do they have to travel all the way from San Diego to Columbus; they have to play basketball at 12:40 Eastern, which is 9:40 a.m. local time for them. The Selection Committee LOVES screwing over these non-BCS teams.

2012 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 11 N.C. State

No. 3 Georgetown vs. No. 14 Belmont
Belmont University is named after Simon Belmont, a famous vampire hunter from long ago. If that's not enough to convince you to take them in an upset, how about this? I have Belmont ranked one spot ahead of Georgetown in my rankings, determined by a formula encompassing everything I look for in NCAA Tournament teams (freshmen point guards, road success, coaching, etc.) The Vampire Hunters are great from deep, so if they hit their shots, they can pull off the upset against a lazy Georgetown squad that has a habit of being upset early in the Big Dance.

2012 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 14 Belmont

No. 7 Saint Mary's vs. No. 10 Purdue
Matt Painter has never lost in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament as Purdue's head coach. I don't expect him to start now. The Boilermakers are the better team because Saint Mary's plays terrible defense.

2012 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 10 Purdue

No. 2 Kansas vs. No. 15 Detroit
The ESPN people are talking up Detroit, but you should never pick a No. 15 seed to beat a No. 2 seed. It's only happened four times in NCAA Tournament history.

2012 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 2 Kansas

2012 NCAA Tournament: Midwest Bracket Second Round

No. 1 North Carolina vs. No. 8 Creighton
Lots of people are down on North Carolina, but the Heels are my No. 3 overall team behind Kentucky and Michigan State. Creighton is 49th because of its atrocious defense.

2012 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 1 North Carolina

No. 4 Michigan vs. No. 5 Temple
Michigan and California are about even according to my computerized rankings, so the aforementioned rule applies: Pick the team most likely to be there. It's more likely that the Golden Bears lose to Temple (or South Florida) than Michigan loses to Ohio.

2012 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 4 Michigan

No. 11 N.C. State vs. No. 14 Belmont
This is another situation in which I'm going to take one team in a close matchup because it's more likely that it'll be there than the other. It's more likely that N.C. State will beat San Diego State than Belmont will knock off Georgetown.

2012 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 11 N.C. State

No. 2 Kansas vs. No. 10 Purdue
Like Bo Ryan, Matt Painter fares well in the opening round, but struggles to get into the Sweet 16. The Boilermakers aren't very good, so even though I think the Jayhawks are a bit overrated, I'm going to pick Kansas in this matchup.

2012 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 2 Kansas

2012 NCAA Tournament: Midwest Bracket Sweet 16

No. 1 North Carolina vs. No. 4 Michigan
There's always a chance that Michigan goes nuts from three and consequently pulls the upset, but it's more likely that North Carolina will pull away with a victory because of its superior talent. John Henson is sure to be 100 percent by the Sweet 16, so the Tar Heels will be very dangerous at full strength.

2012 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 1 North Carolina

No. 2 Kansas vs. No. 11 N.C. State
N.C. State can easily win a game or two in the NCAA Tournament, but advancing past the Sweet 16 will be difficult for them because of their 78th-ranked defense. Again, I'm not a big fan of this Kansas team, but Bill Self's squad should be able to knock off the Wolfpack.

2012 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 2 Kansas

2012 NCAA Tournament: Midwest Bracket Elite Eight

No. 1 North Carolina vs. No. 2 Kansas
The Tar Heels have a better point differential and more conference blowouts - two indicators for how teams fare in the NCAA Tournament. More importantly, Roy Williams has had much more tournament success than Bill Self. Save for his championship run in 2008, Self's teams have had a habit of underachieving in the Big Dance. Williams is superior, by comparison, so he should be able to knock off his former team.

2012 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 1 North Carolina

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 - May 24

2013 NBA Mock Draft - May 22

2014 NFL Mock Draft - May 21

Charlie's 2014 NFL Mock Draft - May 20

NFL Picks - Feb. 3

2012 NCAA Tournament Picks: Midwest

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