Casually Breaking Down The NCAA Bracket And Picking A National Champion

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It's here.  Shout it from the mountaintops, the NCAA Tournament is finally here.  Georgetown fans have some hope in the form of a speedy little wrecking ball's third metacarpal.  If you haven't heard yet, senior point guard Chris Wright is coming back for the big dance, three weeks after breaking a bone in his left hand.  With that, we can dare to dream again, dare to breathe again, and dare to live again.

For now, let's walk through the bracket region-by-region, determining a Final Four and ultimately a national championship winner.  Spoiler Alert! Georgetown wins the national championship. Not because we are homers, but because Digger Phelps and Snoop Dogg are believers, ya dig?

After The Jump, it's prediction time.

East Region:

This is definitely the deepest region.  Ohio State is the best team in the country, UNC is the most talented two seed, Syracuse is primed for a deep run because their zone will give people fits going to lose in the first round to Larry Bird and Indiana State, and Kentucky just won the SEC Tournament with two top 15 NBA Draft picks in freshmen Terrence Jones and Brandon Knight.  I have no idea how Ohio State was the number one overall seed in this tournament and ended up with the best two seed, three seed and four seed.  Maybe Thad Matta was part of the Seth Greenberg led orgies with committee members' wives.

The Favorite: Ohio State

The Sleeper: Kentucky

The Pick: Syracuse

Upset Special: Marquette over Xavier

Region's Most Outstanding Player: Kris Joseph

West Region:

Whatever Seth Greenberg and Thad Matta have done wrong, Mike Krzyzewski has done right.  One year after the NCAA committee hand delivered Coach K and his goonies a Final Four berth on a silver platter, the Dookies are at it again.  San Diego State is the two seed out west, which is interesting as a potential Elite Eight matchup because the game will be played in Anaheim, but if we're being honest, there is no shot they are getting that far.  Texas and Arizona are both athletic teams that could give Duke fits, but last I checked, Rick Barnes is still the coach of Texas, so they will probably lose to Oakland in the first round.  UConn is a dangerous three, but recent history tells me that they left all their magic in New York during their ridiculous five game run through the Big East Tournament.

The Favorite: Duke

The Sleeper: Arizona

The Pick: Duke

Upset Special: Oakland over Texas

Region's Most Outstanding Player: Nolan Smith

Southwest Region:

Kansas is the number one seed in this region.  I'm not sure that this has been mentioned enough on TV and on the internet, but the program Bill Self is currently lording over is absolutely absurd.  He somehow lost Sherron Collins, Cole Aldrich and Xavier Henry from last year's team, without a doubt his three best players, and has a 32-2 record this year.  Notre Dame is senior laden with a Hansbrough leading their squad, so expect a ton of puff piece garbage surrounding that in the coming days.  Oh, and the fightin' Georgetown Hoyas are the sixth seed in this region.  Remember them?  Those guys who won eight straight games in Big East play and were 9-1 in their last 10 games before Chris Wright broke his hand? Yeah, well Wright is back on Friday when the Hoyas square off against the winner of the VCU/USC play-in game and it feels like the start of a beautifully corny sports movie.  Senior leader breaks hand, triumphantly returns for biggest tournament of his life, leads team to National Championship, end credits.

The Favorite: Kansas

The Sleeper: Georgetown

The Pick: Georgetown

Upset Special: VCU/USC over Georgetown (get it?! Cynical and delusional!)

Region's Most Outstanding Player: CHRIS WRIGHT SON

Southeast Region:

The new names of the regions are really stupid.  Everyone was fine with North, South, East and West. If it is good enough for a compass, it's good enough for college basketball.  Idiots.  Anyways, this region is completely bizarre.  I don't understand how Florida is a two seed after getting thrashed by 16 points against Kentucky earlier on Sunday.  I don't understand how Florida is a two seed while Texas and Kentucky are four seeds.  I also don't get how Michigan State got into the tournament with 14 losses, and how Kansas State was not even NIT bound a month ago but is now a five seed.  Anyways, this feels like the region where something funky is going to happen, like Pitt losing in the second round and not making the Sweet 16.

 The Favorite: Pittsburgh

The Sleeper: Kansas State

The Pick: Florida

Upset Special: Old Dominion over Pittsburgh

Region's Most Outstanding Player: Chandler Parsons

Final Four Picks: Georgetown over Florida, Duke over Syracuse, Georgetown over Duke.

It's that easy.