It took a lot of brain power, but RedEye’s sports specialists picked their NCAA champ.
MIDWEST
Louisville (28-5)
Coach Pitino would be a great movie gangster.
Jimmy Greenfield, Amy Freeze’s pick
Michigan State (26-6)
Won the regular-season Big Ten title. That was so last week.
Kansas (25-7)
Last year’s title winner lands in the toughest bracket. Congratulations, Jayhawks.
Wake Forest (24-6)
The last time they were in the tourney, Bush was president. Ehh, that applies to everyone.
Utah (24-9)
Get the dreaded No. 5 seed, a.k.a. The Upset Seed.
West Virginia (23-11)
A lot of people are picking the Mountaineers to make a long tourney run.
Boston College (22-11)
The Eagles enter the tourney 5-5 in their last 10 games. BC-ya.
Ohio State (22-10)
The Buckeyes made a run to the Big Ten tourney title game. This is their reward.
Siena (26-7)
After they lose to Ohio St., they will be known as burnt Siena.
USC (21-12)
Former Bulls coach Tim Floyd leads the Trojans. Is that a good thing?
Dayton (26-7)
The Flyers face a mountain of a task in first-round foe West Virginia.
Arizona (19-13)
How did they get in at 19-13? Better yet, how did they get in last year at 19-14?
Robert Morris (24-10)
Let’s hope Robert brought along some help or it’s gonna be a short tourney for him.
Alabama St. (22-9) vs.
Morehead St. (19-15) These two play for the honor to be beaten by Louisville.
WEST
Connecticut (27-4)
A juggernaut in the regular season, they’re 4-3 since losing Jerome Dyson to injury.
Memphis (31-3)
Last season’s runner-up gets a chance to redeem itself.
Dr. Fantasy, Whizzer’s pick
Missouri (28-6)
The Big 12 champ is in the Big Dance for the first time since 2003.
Washington (25-8)
The Huskies are led by Isaiah Thomas. Not the Isiah Thomas.
Purdue (25-9)
The Boilermakers won the Big Ten tourney in Indy. Like that’s hard to do.
Marquette (24-9)
Dwyane Wade is long gone, but the Golden Eagles are still flying high.
California (22-10)
NBA star Jason Kidd played at Cal. That was a long time ago though.
Brigham Young (25-7)
BYU has lost in the first round the last six times in the tournament.
Texas A&M (23-9)
The Aggies have to go all the way to Philly for Round 1. Road warriors.
Maryland (20-13)
Maryland is 5-5 in the last 10 games. To be clear, that’s not a hot streak.
Utah State (30-4)
Thirty wins! That’s impressive no matter what league the Aggies are in.
Northern Iowa (23-10)
This is the team that ended Illinois State’s dream to make the tourney. Hate them.
Mississippi State (23-12)
Won the SEC tourney to likely knock a bubble team out of contention.
Cornell (21-9)
The Big Red has never won an NCAA Tournament game. They won’t this year.
Cal St. Northridge (17-13)
Gotta love a team called the Matadors. Ole!
Chattanooga (18-16)
What is a Moc? The first-round victim of the UConn Huskies, that’s what.
EAST
Pittsburgh (28-4)
Everyone apparently loves these guys.
Leo Ebersole, Sarah Spain’s pick
Duke (28-6)
Kyle Singler leads the Blue Devils with 16.7 ppg. But hACe’s not a singular talent. Ugh.
Villanova (26-7)
One of the last big underdogs to win an NCAA title. They did in 1985.
Xavier (25-7)
The Musketeers make a better candy bar than they do a tourney team.
Florida State (25-9)
To Tracy’s disapproval, FSU looks like a contender. For a weekend, at least.
UCLA (25-8)
The Bruins are looking to make it four-straight Final Four appearances.
Texas (22-11)
The Longhorns are a long shot. What? Too easy?
Oklahoma State (22-11)
Why weren’t the Cowboys sent out West? That’s where they belong.
Tennessee (21-12)
The Volunteers are volunteering to be a first-round knockout. Thanks, guys.
Minnesota (22-10)
The Golden Gophers have only won four of their last 10 games.
VCU (24-9)
Eric “The Mayor” Maynor is leading the Rams with 22.4 points a game.
Wisconsin (19-12)
The Badgers are going to be badgered about how they got in with 12 losses.
Portland State (23-9)
Portland State is based in Portland, Ore.? How weird is that?
American (24-7)
Everyone can cheer for American.
Binghamton (23-8)
Coach Kevin Broadus is no relation to Calvin “Snoop DoggAC” Broadus, as far as we know.
East Tennessee State (23-10)
ETSU. That sounds like the college Jack Bauer should have attended.
SOUTH
North Carolina (28-4)
Tyler Hansbrough will make lots of people angry.
Brian Moore, Tracy Swartz’s pick
Oklahoma (27-5)
Big man Blake Griffin is gonna be a big problem for Morgan State.
Syracuse (26-9)
The Orangemen are in the tourney again after two straight trips to the NIT.
Gonzaga (26-5)
OnAe of the most overrated teams gets a No. 4 seed. They’ll be gone by the Sweet 16.
Illinois (24-9)
Mike Davis and Co. are picked to be one of the teams tAo fall to the 12-over-5 curse.
Arizona State (24-9)
The Sun Devils play in Wells Fargo Arena. That’s rich.
Clemson (23-8)
The Tigers stumbled at the end of the year but still clawed their way to a No. 7 seed.
LSU (26-7)
LSU sure could use Shaq this year.
Butler (26-5)
If they win it all, we can say “The Butler did it.”
Michigan (20-13)
The WolveriAnes are big fans of Hugh Jackman.
Temple (22-11)
The Owls’ leading scorer is Dionte Christ-mas. He has a ACgift for finding the basket.
Western Kentucky (24-8)
When A.J. Slaughter is your top gun, you’re in good hands.
Akron (23-12)
They’ve already won one title. Coolest nickname: The Zips.
Stephen F. Austin (24-7)
It’s the first tourney for the Lumberjacks. Since when is a profession a nickname too?
Morgan State (23-11)
Coach TodAd Bozeman also took Cal to the tourney three times in the ’90s.
Radford (21-11)
The Highlanders won the Big South on the shoulders of big man Artsiom Parakhouski.
