I thought at first of picking the team that I hated the most in order to test the Lunatic Curse – but with my luck, they would all win to spite me, and then I would have to root for teams like Kentucky and Syracuse.

I also thought about truly handicapping it, and then realized that is probably a sure way to lose.

So, I decided to go with the teams I would want to root for (with a little bit of reason along the way).   I might as well be able to be cheering for the teams I want to see win.

In the South, I want Kentucky to beat Kansas State (yes, you read that correctly) and Loyola-Chicago to upset Nevada.  Then, after all the things that Calapari said about how it was unfair that they drew Arizona and Virginia, they end up not playing either those teams, and end up having their season end when the Missouri Valley Champion Loyola-Chicago Ramblers take them out with another last second shot.

In the West, I would like to see Gonzaga beat Florida State since I love seeing the smaller schools win, and I would like to see Michigan beat Texas A&M since I will root for the Big 10.  In the final, it is a tough call for me.  I normally want to stay loyal to the Big 10, but I love seeing the small school win.  It would be great to see Gonzaga make back-to-back Final Fours – so I will take Gonzaga.

In the East, I am not a big fan of West Virginia, so I will pick Villanova.   And obviously, I have to pick Purdue to beat Texas Tech.  And obviously, my Boilermakers continue to figure out how to win without their star center and beat Villanova to get to the Final Four.

In the Midwest, I don’t have a real rooting interest in the first game for either team, so I have to go with the team I originally picked to win this game – Kansas will beat Clemson.  In the second game, my despise for Jim Boeheim is well documented (even if I agreed with what he said about Tony Bennett, and I am truly amazed how his 2-3 zone is so successful when other teams that play 2-3 zone seem to always have holes in their defense) – Duke will take out Syracuse.  In the final, I have more friends and family who have attended Duke, so I will go with the Blue Devils.

In the Final Four, while I want to go totally crazy in the battle of the little guys, it seems to be more sensible to take Gonzaga to beat Loyola – Chicago.  To be truthful, if this game happens, I am going to be happy no matter the outcome, so I will take the more likely team to get to this game as the one likely to win.   Obviously, Purdue then upsets Duke, beats Gonzaga, and wins the National Championship.

I have to continue to support my Boilermakers.  This is the best team that they have had in a long time, and so I am going to go with them until the end, no matter the outcome.