March Madness

It is that time of year. A week ago everyone was excited about filling out their brackets and now a week later everyone talks about how bad their brackets look. It is the same thing every year but fans like me still love it!

What makes the college basketball tournament so great is all the upsets. Picking the wrong upsets is what ruins everyones brackets. I had Pittsburgh and Notre Dame in my final 4 and they did not survive the first weekend. So yes, my bracket is a mess but so what?

Assuming that the top 4 seeds from each region are expected to reach the Sweet 16, lets take a look at who is left and who might win each region and qualify for the Final 4.

WEST REGION: This region has gone pretty much as planned. (5) Arizona is a small surprise but I picked them to take out (5) Texas and now (1) Duke. (2) San Diego State should beat (3) Connecticut and go on to win the region. The Connecticut Huskies have played 7 games over a 12 day period and now face a more talented opponent.

EAST REGION: (11) Marquette has played great and made it here along with powerhouse programs like (4) Kentucky, (2) North Carolina, and (1) Ohio State. I will continue to root hard for the Golden Eagles but the Buckeyes appear to be the best team in college basketball and should win this region and possibly the championship.

SOUTHWEST REGION: This is the crazy one with (12) Richmond, (11) VCU, and (10) Florida State taking 3 of the 4 Sweet 16 slots. Should be a cakewalk for (1) Kansas to get to the Final 4 now right? NOT, this is March Madness where anything can happen. The Spiders are looking real good and make a great Cinderella story.

SOUTHEAST REGION: Last years runner up (8) Butler is not nearly as good as they were last season but they did knock off top seeded Pittsburgh to get here. (4) Wisconsin should end the season for the Bulldogs on Thursday night but the (3) BYU/(2) Florida winner should win the region. The Gators have been this far often but the Cougars have JIMMER.

Obviously I am as excited as can be that two Wisconsin schools have made it to the Sweet 16 this season and if they would keep winning, could meet in the NCAA Championship game. Anything is possible in March Madness and in sports in general. The Badgers football team was in the Rose Bowl on the first day of 2011. The Green Bay Packers won the Superbowl. The Milwaukee Bucks have come to life and could qualify for the NBA Playoffs. The Milwaukee Brewers have a promising outlook with a solid pitching staff now to go along with a decent lineup. With all of that and the Golden Eagles and the Badgers doing as well as they are, what a great year in Wisconsin sports!

To recap here is my Final 4: San Diego State, Ohio State, Richmond, and BYU.

My dream Final 4 would be: Arizona, Marquette, Wisconsin, and Kansas (Why Kansas you ask? because I want the Badgers to win a Final 4 game as a big underdog to make it even better)