I struggled this year – maybe it was doing too much bracketology, or maybe it was the fact that it is midnight, but I had a hard time picking too major upsets.  I am sure they will happen, just couldn’t figure out where they would be.

Anyways, in the South, I kept coming down to the Sweet 16 game between Virginia and the Arizona / Kentucky winner as the key game – I think Tennessee will get to the Elite 8 and then fall to the Cavaliers.  I think both Arizona and Virginia will give Virginia a tighter game, but Virginia’s defense will win in the end.

In the West, I think Gonzaga is going to upset Xavier in the Sweet 16, before running up against North Carolina again.  For the second season in a row, the Zags will lose to the Tar Heels.  I think North Carolina is going to pull the upset on Virginia in the Final Four to get to the Championship.

In the Midwest, this is going to be a brutal region at the top.  I have Duke beating Kansas in both my brackets in a region where the top 3 teams are definitely going to dominate.  But they will fall to the winner of the East.

In the East, it comes down to Villanova – the team favored by Vegas to win it all, and my Boilers.  In my sane picks, I can’t go against the Vegas favorite – they know what they are doing, so I will take Villanova to the championship.   In my insane picks, my Boilermakers pull the upset and then ride that upset to the championship.  With them being one of the top 8 teams, I have to pick them.  I couldn’t live with myself if they won the tournament and I didn’t pick them with one of my picks.

So, there you have it.  Purdue will take down the 3 ACC teams in my insane picks, and Villanova will take down the 3 ACC teams in my sane picks.

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