NCAA Tournament Predictions: My Picks in the Big Dance

Every second Sunday of March, I, along with millions across this country, watch the unveiling of the season's NCAA Tournament.

We then spend an excessive amount of time predicting what we think will happen in the tournament, and this year is no different.

By Tuesday afternoon, I finally had it all laid out. So here it is.

First, I'll go with my first round upsets, which in my definition means a higher seed over a lower seed.

East

(11) St. Joe's over (6) Oklahoma

Midwest

(9) Kent St. over (8) UNLV

(10) Davidson over (7) Gonzaga

South

(12) Temple over (5) Michigan St.

(14) Cornell over (3) Stanford

West

(11) Baylor over Purdue

Obviously, I'm going with the chalk for the other picks in the first round and the matchups in the second round.  Here are my picks in the Sweet Sixteen.

East

(1) UNC over (5) Notre Dame

(3) Louisville over (2) Tennessee

Midwest

(1) Kansas over (5) Clemson

(2) Georgetown over (3) Wisconsin

South

(1) Memphis over (4) Pittsburgh

(2) Texas over (6) Marquette

West

(1) UCLA over (4) UCONN

(3) Xavier over (7) West Virginia

Elite Eight

(3) Louisville over (1) UNC

(2) Georgetown over (1) Kansas

(2) Texas over (1) Memphis

(1) UCLA over (3) Xavier

Final Four

(2) Georgetown over (3) Louisville

(1) UCLA over (2) Texas

National Championship

(1) UCLA over (2) Georgetown

So there it is. I have UCLA cutting down the nets with a talented and experienced squad.

With their great defense, solid big men, and terrific guard play, Ben Howland and the Bruins finally get over the hump.