Let the Madness Begin!

AAAAAHHHHH YES, it's that time again. Grap your lucky Number 2 Pencil, your lucky pair of underwear, and your official copy of the NCAA TOurnament 2011 Bracket, because it's time for some good ol' March Madness...

As defending champ, it'd be wise to take my advise, but I'm not here to give you guys my bracket, but rather just a bit of insight into the genius that is my brain... But all kidding aside, I've gotten the past few national champions right, and usually I am right, but I'll be honest, what I say isn't gold, and will probably be wrong, but let's just have some fun, shall we?

Before I start telling you guys my favorites, sleepers, and frauds, let's take a gander at the field... and who didn't get invited to the party.

Right off the bat, UAB and VCU have no business being in, and leaving out Va Tech, Colorado, and St. Mary's are all unforgivable crimes of snubbery. UAB, VCU and USC should not be in, and the three mentioned above should. It's a no brainer. I want to be on the selection committee because I want to know how they decide these things. I listen to the experts, look at all the resumes, look at quality wins, road wins, SOS, RPI, all that good stuff... and yet the last teams in and the teams that are snubbed never make any sense to me... Those three teams got shafted, no doubt about it.

But let's look at who's actually in. BEfore we do that, actually I want to point out that MY prediction of the four one seeds was right and Lanardi's was WRONG. Check it, there's proof on my Facebook AND Twitter of my prediction. Lanardi had Notre Dame, and so did almost every other "expert." Chalk one up for the Bearded Fellow...

But that's enough tomfoolery, let's get down to the niddy-griddy... I'm not going to go game-by-game, but I will give some predictions, upset specials, and some other insights of the bracket... I haven't filled out a bracket yet, so no, I won't tell you my Natty Title Favorite, but I will probably Wednesday.

Predictions:
Big Ten will go 7-0 in round one.
I like everyone's match up in round one. State got a great draw of UCLA, Penn State has winnable matchup verse Temple, Michigan can easily beat Tennessee. Tennessee is short and relies on the three, perfect match up for them. Illinois also got a good draw playing UNLV. The other 3 are all favored, so it will be a good round for the Big Ten.

Upset Specials:
Oakland vs Texas
I loved Oakland no matter who they were playing, but Texas is a bad draw for them... having said that, Oakland can still definitely win this. Keith Benson is the best player you've never heard of, and he can dominate a game in the paint. Don't be surprised when the Golden Grizzles surprise the Longhorns.
Missouri vs Cincinnati
Cinci is one of those 11 teams in from the Big East, so that means they're good right? Wrong. Well Wrong to an extent, they're solid, you have to be to finish with a good record in that conference, but they are very beatable in this matchup with Missouri. If you're looking for an upset, this could be one.
Kansas State vs Utah State
If there is any game in this field that screams upset, it's this one. Kansas State underachieved, then overachieved. They are a one man team, and they live and die with Jacob Pullen, a recipe for disaster. Utah State is better than their seed, they will win this game, calling it right now.

Toughest Region: East Region
Ohio State, North Carolina, Syracuse, Kentucky... Enough said right?

Easiest Road to the Final Four: Pittsburgh
Pitt is in the weakest region, the Southeast Region. Pitt is the one, and the two seed, what's supposed to be their toughest competition... Florida... HOW IS FLORIDA A TWO??? Kentucky destroyed them in the SEC tournament and Florida is a two... that makes sense. BYU and Wisconsin are the next highest seeds, so yeah, Pitt is in the Final Four.

Sleepers:
Michigan State: They benefit from an easy draw with UCLA, then probably Florida, tehy could surprise a few people and bust some brackets, like Doug Gottlieb's (He has Florida in the Final Four, EW)
Duke: They're a one seed, but I don't hear anyone talking about them. Two great seniors, one great coach, and a deep team that is very versatile. They will make a run.
UCONN: They will go as far as Kemba will take them, and Kemba can take them far, he is a great player, and the team is solid around him.

Avoid at All Cost:
Notre Dame: FRAUDS! I've been saying it all year. THey take bad shots, and rely on Ben Hansborough, who takes way too many bad threes. But what will really be their downfall is their 7 man rotation.
BYU: Come on, do I really need to put this team on here? Jimmer will not take them to the promise land, they're too weak, especially without Davies.