NCAA Bracket 2011 Predictions: Joe Lunardi Plays It Very Safe
By on March 14, 2011
1,689 reads
Chris Trotman/Getty Images
The self-proclaimed "bracketologist" thinks all four No. 1 seeds will meet in Atlanta.
One of the premier college basketball analysts for ESPN is the king of bracketology, Joe Lunardi.
Lunardi had a rough season projecting the field this season. He nailed 65-of-68...but that is not up to the standards he has set for himself.
He posted his Final Four on ESPN.com and he has absolutely no surprises.
Yep that's right...Lunardi has Kansas playing Pittsburgh and Ohio St. playing Duke in the two Final Four matchups in Houston.
Way to go out on the limb, Lunardi.
While I certainly agree with his Ohio St. pick (like seemingly everybody), there is no way all four No. 1's win four games.
Notre Dame was quite possibly robbed of a No. 1 seed and is certainly the strongest No. 2. This is a team that beat Pittsburgh on its home court for the first time in a year. It won 11 of its final 12 regular-season games.
The Fighting Irish are going to give Kansas all it can handle.
Pittsburgh has to get by the defending national runner-ups in the Butler Bulldogs. They are more than tournament-tested and are a disciplined and cohesive team that can limit the possessions of Pitt and make them play their game.
That's just the second-round game!
Pitt still has to get by the likes of Wisconsin, Kansas St, BYU and Florida.
Too deep of a region for a historically bad tournament team. I expect BYU to make the Final Four out of the Southeast region.
Then we have the Duke Blue Devils. The defending champs returned everyone but Jon Scheyer as they had yet another top-notch regular season. This year they need to beat teams like San Diego St, UConn and Texas to reach their second straight Final Four.
Duke lucks out as I believe they reside in the easiest region. Every team has fatal flaws: SDSU, experinece in the tournament; UConn, fatigue; and Texas, a lack of a go-to scorer in the clutch.
Duke makes the Final Four based off the easy road ahead.
So overall I'm with Lunardi on two of his four picks...but c'mon...make a bold pick or two!
Need to print off a bracket? Click here.
For all of the latest on B/R's coverage of March Madness, click here.
Most recent updates:
What is the duplicate article?
Why is this article offensive?
Where is this article plagiarized from?
Why is this article poorly edited?
3 Comments
Loading comments...
This comment and all replies have been deleted This comment has been deleted Undo delete