March Madness Jumbo Post

The notorious Cameron Crazies at Duke University basketball games. Photo courtesy the LA Times / Getty Images.

March Madness (aka the NCAA Tournament) begins tomorrow and it seems like everyone's got a bracket. President Obama filled his out today. Last year, he correctly predicted the North Carolina Tar Heels to win, but then again, so did most people, myself included. This year, most people are picking the Kansas Jayhawks, and with good reason. The Jayhawks' guard tandem of Sherron Collins and Xavier Henry is one of the best in the country. Add in center Cole Aldrich as the defensive stopper in the middle plus the tournament's number 1 overall seed, and Kansas has the makings of a championship run.

So who else could take the title, if not Kansas? Kentucky is the runner-up in most people's brackets. The Wildcats, led by freshmen sensations John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins, have been near the top of the polls all season, but will the lack of tournament experience hurt Wall, Cousins, and Co.? Of the other number 1 seeds, Syracuse, and Duke, I'd give the edge to Duke, due to the experience of guard duo Jon Scheyer and Nolan Smith.

Here are the teams I'm watching for in this year's tournament:

The Mountaineers' DaSean Butler holding the Big East trophy. Photo courtesy of NY Daily News.

West Virginia (No. 2 East seed): WV probably should have been the number 1 seed in place of Syracuse, but they're the 2 seed instead. The Mountaineers won their first Big East title this season and are riding the clutch shooting of Da'Sean Butler. Second, West Virginia is not a traditional power like Duke, Syracuse, Kansas, and Kentucky are, so it'd be nice to see a team win the national title for the first time, and WV has the tools to do it. For more on WV, here's a good article by ESPN's Dana O'Neil.

Florida (No. 10 West seed): Gators coach Billy Donovan returns to the tournament after a 2-year absence. Donovan was previously covered here on FTRS. While I doubt the Gators will get by BYU in the first round, it's interesting to see Donovan return to March Madness.

Tennessee senior Wayne Chism. Photo courtesy of "The House that Bandy Built" blog.

Tennessee (No. 6 Midwest seed): Coach Bruce Pearl is one of the best in the country, but the Volunteers haven't been able to put together a deep run. Full disclosure: a good friend of mine is from Tennessee.

San Diego State (No. 11 Midwest seed): The Aztecs are looking for their first-ever tournament win. SDSU is one of the few bright spots in what was an atrocious year for West Coast basketball. They'll play Tennessee in the first round. It doesn't hurt that a few friends have or are currently attending SDSU.

To see my bracket, click here. My Final Four are: Kansas, West Virginia, Baylor, and Kansas State.