WhatIfSports.com Bracket Preview: 2010 March Madness

It's the most wonderful time of the year, basketball fans.

The madness of March has returned, and the field of 65 is set.

Whatifsports.com is excited to follow up its NCAA basketball championship predictions of 2008 (Kansas) and 2009 (North Carolina) by accurately predicting the 2010 NCAA basketball champion.

Our award-winning college basketball simulation engine has "played" the NCAA basketball tournament 2,000 times. Our predictions are based on each team's statistical make-up and are adjusted for roster trends, including each player's average minutes per game and injuries.

So, after 2,000 simulations of the 2010 NCAA basketball tournament, the computers select the Kansas Jayhawks (26.4-percent chance of winning championship ) as the favorite to win the national championship.

The computer simulations also predict Kansas will meet Syracuse in the 2010 National Championship in Indianapolis. The Orange (17.6-percent chance of winning title ) have the second highest chance of taking home the title. (Note: Our simulation ran with Arinze Onuaku in the lineup.)

The shock and awe Whatifsports.com Final Four prediction of the tournament is Baylor. The 3-seed Bears have the third highest chance (8.7-percent ) of cutting down the nets in Indianapolis.

Duke, (6.2-percent ) followed by West Virginia and Kentucky (4.9-percent ), round out the tournament favorites heading into round one.

The listed score is the average score from the 2,000 runs of each first round game. The bracket represents the most likely outcome, where the team with the highest likelihood of advancing is moved on to the next round. Numbers in the table reflect the chance of a team making it to that round.

Midwest Region Preview

The NCAA Tournament Midwest Region is loaded with perennial powers. It begins with the overall No. 1 seed Kansas, who will look to crush the critics' opinions that no team in this year's tournament is a shoo-in champion.

Big Ten champions Ohio State join a tough region as the 2-seed, and if they escape Rounds One and Two, they could face the likes of Oklahoma State, Georgia Tech, and Georgetown.

The sexy first round upset could be San Diego State over Tennessee. The Aztecs are led by former Michigan head coach Steve Fisher and added some credibility to the Mountain West Conference.

West Region Preview

The NCAA Tournament West Region welcomes the likes of Syracuse, Kansas State, Pittsburgh, and Vanderbilt. The Orange is considered by many the best team in the nation with its suffocating zone defense acting as its calling card. But their early exit from the Big East tournament has many wondering if the Orange can run the table this season.

Kansas State is an intriguing team trying to step outside Kansas' shadow. The Wildcats have plenty of talent, and that talent will have a big stage to shine on over the next few weeks if they hang around.

It's cliché, but watch out for the 12-seed UTEP Miners, as they were the best team out of Conference USA this season; Houston just happened to catch them napping in the conference tournament title game. The Miners are solid.

East Region Preview

The NCAA Tournament East Region includes a young Kentucky squad led by freshman sensation John Wall. The Big East has two representatives in 2-seed West Virginia and 6-seed Marquette, strengthening the bottom half of the bracket.

Some believe Temple got hosed with their 5-seed, whereas some wonder if Missouri belonged in the dance at all.

The Washington Huskies out of the Pac-10 will look to bolster the conference's tattered reputation with an upset win as the 11-seed. The Ivy League is hoping its Cinderella story is penned by the boys from Cornell.

South Region Preview

The NCAA Tournament South Region is a hodgepodge of tournament veterans, unproven newcomers, and those ready to join the elite class of college basketball.

The Duke Blue Devils, love them or hate them, are the No. 1 seed in the region and will have to overcome a lack of size and depth with their ability to hit the deep ball.

Baylor's reputation as just another team in the Big 12 changed this year as the Bears made an impact in the conference and earned the 3-seed. Many "experts" expect great things from Baylor this tournament season.

Another sexy upset selection is Siena over a mentally beat down Purdue squad. They first lost Robbie Hummel and proceeded to get crushed by Minnesota in the Big Ten tournament. The Saints upset Ohio State last year and provide a first round challenge the Boilermakers were looking to avoid.

FINAL FOUR RESULTS:

Whatifsports.com is proud to say it accurately predicted the 2009 Super Bowl , 2009 BCS National Championship, 2009 World Series , 2009 NBA Finals, and 2009 NCAA basketball championship. Our hope is to add the 2010 national basketball championship to that running list of Whatifsports.com's simulation success.

Ryan Fowler is the Content Manager for Whatifsports.com. He can be reached at [e-mail] . Feel free to shoot him an email with any questions or comments regarding Whatifsports.com's NCAA Tournament Preview.