You've got to be smart to pick smart. Through two rounds, we've learned a few things about the NCAA's biggest conferences. The ACC and Big 11 were overrated. The Horizon, Valley, Mountain West, and Conference USA teams were better than anybody thought. And the Big East and Pac-10 were significantly undervalued: Of the 12 combined invites from those leagues, five are still dancing.
Of course, a lesson is only useful if you can put it into practice. Bleacher Report readers went 24-8 in the first round and 11-5 in the second—not bad for a bunch of armchair bracketologists. Now we're trying to make sense of the regionals, where the conventional wisdom says only that the conventional wisdom goes entirely out the window.
Thursday, Memphis knocked out our pick, Texas A&M, on its way to a second-consecutive Elite 8 appearance. Kansas and UCLA earned the right to stay in San Jose. And Ohio State pulled the biggest rope-a-dope since Ali-Foreman.
In Friday's games, our voters are sticking to the seeding: Florida, Oregon, North Carolina, and Georgetown get the nods. Make your Saturday selections now, and check out the bracket below to catch up on our picks to date.
Bleacher Report Picks
(Correct winners in GREEN; incorrect winners in RED)
Midwest
1 Florida 112
16 Jackson St. 69
Florida 74
Florida 81%
Purdue 67
8 Arizona 63
9 Purdue 72
Florida
5 Butler 57
12 Old Dominion 46
Butler 62
Butler 19%
Maryland 59
4 Maryland 82
13 Davidson 70
6 Notre Dame 64
11 Winthrop 74
Winthrop 61
Oregon 56%
Oregon 75
3 Oregon 58
14 Miami (Ohio) 56
Oregon
7 UNLV 67
10 G. Tech 63
UNLV 74
UNLV 44%
Wisconsin 68
2 Wisconsin 76
15 Texas A&M CC 63
West
1 Kansas 107
16 Niagra 67
Kansas 88
Kansas 90%
Kentucky 76
8 Kentucky 67
9 Villanova 58
Kansas
5 Va Tech 54
12 Illinois 52
Va Tech 48
S. Illinois 10%
S. Illinois 63
4 Southern Ill. 61
13 Holy Cross 51
6 Duke 77
11 VCU 79
VCU 79
Pittsburgh 33%
Pittsburgh 84
3 Pittsburgh 79
14 Wright St. 58
UCLA
7 Indiana 70
10 Gonzaga 57
Indiana 49
UCLA 67%
UCLA 54
2 UCLA 70
15 Weber St. 42
East
1 N. Carolina 86
16 Eastern KY 65
N. Carolina 81
N. Carolina 54%
Michigan St. 67
8 Marquette 49
9 Michigan State 61
N. Carolina
5 Southern Cal 77
12 Arkansas 60
USC 87
USC 46%
Texas 68
4 Texas 79
13 New Mexico St. 67
6 Vanderbilt 77
11 G. Washington 44
Vanderbilt 78
Vanderbilt 13%
Wash. St. 74
3 Washington St. 70
14 Oral Roberrts 54
Georgetown
7 Boston College 84
10 Texas Tech 75
B.C. 55
Georgetown 87%
Georgetown 62
2 Georgetown 80
15 Belmont 55
South
1 Ohio State 78
16 C. Conn. St. 57
Ohio State 78
Ohio State 90%
Xavier 71 OT
8 BYU 77
9 Xavier 79
Ohio St.
5 Tennessee 121
12 Long Beach 86
Tennessee 77
Tennessee 10%
Virginia 74
4 Virginia 84
13 Albany 57
6 Louisville 78
11 Stanford 58
Louisville 69
Texas A&M 71%
Texas A&M 72
3 Texas A&M 68
3 Texas A&M 68
14 Penn 52
Memphis
7 Nevada 77
10 Creighton 71 OT
Nevada 62
Memphis 29%
Memphis 78
2 Memphis 73
15 North Texas 58
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about 1 year ago
1)The Big East can be considered under-valued right from the beginning of the tournament. Yes, only two teams from the Big East are in the Sweet 16. But it definitely might have been different had the selection committee not over-looked the Big East at the outset. For example, proper seeding could have allowed Louisville to make it to 16. The Texas A&M-Louisville game was a great one to watch, but it should not have been a second round game. Another example is Syracuse being left out of the tournament entirely. I am not saying they would have made the Sweet 16, but not putting them in the tournament definitely shows the committee did not feel the Big East was all that good.
2) Big 11 = Big 10. They actually have eleven teams in that conference. And the Big 10 was certainly over-rated.
3) So you think it is luck that wins close games? What about great coaching? Clutch shooting? Go to players? No. You're right. Must be luck.
about 1 year ago
1) big east absolutely undervalued... they were largely disrespected in terms of seeding, and they've had arguably the best success. louisville had a tremendous showing, pitt and g'town speak for themselves.
2) as denicola pointed out, the big ten has 11 teams, hence the intentional typo. thus, i would not say the big 12 or the sec are under/over valued. both have done well and the number of bids they received seems fitting.
about 1 year ago
Please please please
You have too many teams in the Big East to call it one conference. It's way overrated. Syracuse was whining about not getting picked and they are out of the NIT now. wah
SEC and PAC10 were the stars in the first two rounds
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