NCAA March Madness 2009: Predictions from a Scribe, Part One

And as we prepare for the NCAA Tournament, I do a ritual that goes back a decade and a half in the making: predicting who will progress, and who will win it all. Everyone here on b/r is doing the same thing, so I will as well.

Note that Alabama State is not involved. Sorry Hornets. Then again, you guys aren't worth your weight in gold in football down in the SWAC. (I'm a Grambling fan, by the way.)

Of course, this bracket will be busted, but I like to make sure mine's there just for the sake of it being there.

So, let's get to it.

MIDWEST

First Round

Louisville over Morehead State
Ohio State over Siena
Utah over Arizona
Cleveland State over Wake Forest
West Virginia over Dayton
Kansas over North Dakota State
Boston College over USC
Michigan State over Robert Morris

Second Round

Louisville over Ohio State
Utah over Cleveland State
West Virginia over Kansas
Michigan State over Boston College

Sweet 16

Louisville over Utah
Michigan State over West Virginia

Elite Eight

Michigan State over Louisville

WEST

First Round

Connecticut over Chattanooga
Texas A&M over BYU
Purdue over Northern Iowa
Mississippi State over Washington
Marquette over Utah State
Missouri over Cornell
California over Maryland
Memphis over Cal State Northridge

Second Round

Connecticut over Texas A&M
Purdue over Mississippi State
Missouri over Marquette
Memphis over California

Sweet 16

Connecticut over Purdue
Memphis over Missouri

Elite Eight

Connecticut over Memphis (but close!)

EAST

First Round

Pittsburgh over East Tennessee State
Tennessee over Oklahoma
Wisconsin over Florida State
Portland State over Xavier
UCLA over Virginia Commonwealth
Villanova over American
Minnesota over Texas
Duke over Binghamton

Second Round

Pittsburgh over Tennessee
Portland State over Wisconsin
Villanova over UCLA
Duke over Minnesota

Sweet 16

Pittsburgh over Portland State (blowout!)
Duke over Villanova

Elite Eight

Duke over Pittsburgh (last second heroics!)

SOUTH

First Round

North Carolina over Radford
LSU over Butler
Illinois over Western Kentucky
Gonzaga over Akron
Arizona State over Temple
Syracuse over Stephen F. Austin
Clemson over Michigan
Oklahoma over Morgan State

Second Round

North Carolina over LSU
Illinois over Gonzaga
Syracuse over Arizona State
Oklahoma over Clemson

Sweet 16

North Carolina over Gonzaga
Oklahoma over Syracuse

Elite Eight

North Carolina over Oklahoma

FINAL FOUR

Connecticut over Michigan State
Duke over North Carolina

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

Connecticut 80, Duke 76