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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

Ian 03-12-2012 08:07 pm xxx.xxx.xxx.142 (total posts: 1)

Didn't Ku knock off North Carolina in the 08 Championship run?

Dan 03-12-2012 04:19 pm xxx.xxx.xxx6.54 (total posts: 1)

Even though FSU won against injured Duke and UNC, they beat Duke in Cameron and UNC by 32. Just saying.

msmear 03-12-2012 04:09 pm xxx.xxx.xxx.167 (total posts: 1)

There's a difference between Ohio State University, Michigan's rival, and Ohio University. A bobcat doesn't closely resemble a buckeye.

Critical thinker 03-12-2012 01:31 pm xxx.xxx.xxx.126 (total posts: 3)

BYU shouldn't be there and Drexel should. It's not Drexel's fault they don't have the name to get some bigger games. BYU is garbage though.

B!tching 03-12-2012 01:28 pm xxx.xxx.xxx.216 (total posts: 1)

CSU is in because their RPI was in the top 30 and the had a top 10 strength of schedule.

Drexel was 61st in RPI and had a SOS outside the top 200. Winning a bunch of games in a joke conference while playing sh!t-all OOC doesn't make you a tournament team.

If you want to whine about someone getting in over mediocre Drexel then at least whine about a team like BYU or Iona who you could actually make a case against.

Shaun 03-12-2012 01:21 pm xxx.xxx.xxx.217 (total posts: 1)

Walt-
No Norfolk State homer here, just a NSU alum....its a city in the tidewater area of VA and a HBCU. And they are maybe the 3rd or 4th worst team in the tourney- they beat LIU earlier this season. Please do more research before you rag on the small schools. No one expects them to make a run, but just getting in the dance is reward enough.
P.S.- def agree on the Drexel front, they wouldve been a tough out for a number of teams

Critical thinker 03-12-2012 11:34 am xxx.xxx.xxx.126 (total posts: 3)

I guess to be considered an expert at the tourny you pick 3 number 1's every year and maybe put a 2 or 3 in to show an upset... Every year the "Experts" pick the same way.

Just goes to show you anything can happen and if you aren't a big school name you are given no credit.

Final Four 03-12-2012 11:31 am xxx.xxx.xxx.126 (total posts: 3)

Kentucky, Flordia State, Kansas & Missouri.

Kentucky Beats Flordia State in the championship.

Don't buy into the hype of the number 1's this year. The only number 1 that doesn't look flawed is Kentucky.
Also, how did Michigan State get a number 1? They might not even make it past New Mexico, but will get shellacked by Missouri if they do.

Marc 03-12-2012 11:23 am xxx.xxx.xxx.109 (total posts: 1)

@Enrique: A couple years ago there were 4 #1s in the Final Four. Anything can happen, but yes, usually there are 2 #1s and 2 others, however, no #1s made it last year.

Chris 03-12-2012 10:36 am xxx.xxx.xxx23.3 (total posts: 1)

Louisville over Mich St.

Lee 03-12-2012 10:34 am xxx.xxx.xxx.243 (total posts: 1)

I could see Mich St. knocking off kentucky. KU plays undisciplined at times and Mich St. doesn't wow you but are very consistent.

Enrique 03-12-2012 08:48 am xxx.xxx.xxx.108 (total posts: 1)

Very original Final Four. Three #1's and a #2. This practically never happens anymore. Guaranteed a mid major will crash the party.

John 03-12-2012 08:37 am xxx.xxx.xxx2.19 (total posts: 1)

what about the other times Florida State beat North Carolina and Duke this season?

Vince 03-12-2012 04:49 am xxx.xxx.xxx3.99 (total posts: 1)

Would you like to let us know WHY Syracuse is "overrated" and the "weakest of the one seeds?" I think they're excellent, and have incredible defense. Defense wins
championships.

Also, having the best bench scorer in the nation helps.

Pages: 1 2

2013 Fantasy Football Rankings - May 20

Charlie's 2014 NFL Mock Draft - May 20

2014 NFL Mock Draft - May 15

2013 NBA Mock Draft - May 3

NFL Picks - Feb. 3

2012 NCAA Tournament Picks: Midwest

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