These are provisional. I reserve the right to change my mind while filling out my bracket. 
East: Duke over Kentucky.
South: Michigan State over Florida.
Midwest: Kansas over Arizona.
West: Maryland over Stanford.
At Minneapolis, I’m picking Duke over Maryland, Michigan State over Kansas, and the Blue Devils to win it all.
Anyone else?
I thought this was a Survivor thread
oh well…
::puts his naked Richard Hatch hat away and sighs::
These won’t be my picks by the time I really study the matchups, but the first time through I got some pretty crazy upsets. I just went through and quickly picked a winner without analyzing anything to much. I basically went on “gut feeling” and went with the first thing that popped into my head without considering if it had a prayer of happening.
My preliminary Final Four:
Boston College
Indiana
Arizona
Virginia
With Arizona over BC in the title game.
I do feel comfortable with my Arizona pick, and maybe the BC one (hey someone has to beat Duke), but can’t see myself sticking with Indiana or Virginia. Granted, I think Virgina can beat any team in the country, I just don’t think they can do it several times in a row.
I’ll update this thread later when I actauly think out my brackets and put some realistic picks in.
Actually I just went back and checked my east bracket, and I have UCLA over Duke, and then BC over UCLA. So, no one call me the dumbass with BC over Duke, I’m the dumbass with UCLA over Duke.
Of course. Why do you think they put Kentucky in the East bracket? 
Kansas? They’re too injured to get past Syracuse! And damn, Blunt! I’ve got Hofstra pulling the upset over UCLA in the first round!
Could someone tell my why they gave Indiana a #4 seed, and Kentucky a #2 seed? They’re both good teams, but when did Kentucky get close to the top 10 this year?
I’d pick Stanford over Maryland by under 5 points.
KANSAS? Illinois and Arizona have much better shots.
My picks: Duke, Stanford, Michigan State, Illinois.
Championship: Stanford over Illinois.
I hope Georgetown goes longer than round 2.
On January 16th, Duke beat BC by 22 points. 97-75. That’s a pretty big margin to account for.
That Duke-BC game was on Duke’s home court. The game was hard-fought and was “closer than the final score,” as the old cliche goes. It was a very physical game, and there were some hard feelings on both sides. A rematch could be very interesting.
…over Michigan State. Semi losers are Stanford and Arizona.
Gadarene, love the DBR links, I go there daily.
I defend my pick by the play and margins of victory Duke has had against UNC, NCSU, MD, and UNC (again) WITHOUT Carlos Boozer. They are firing on all cylinders right now, and have suddenly grown a bench.
But I AM biased.
UncleBill
Duke '88
AETBOND414 said:
C’mon AET! Show some backbone! 
Seriously, though, it is VERY rare (perhaps never?) that all four No. 1 seeds make the Final Four. Dick Vitale did it once and I laughed when that know-it-all was proven wrong. Dicky V is very entertaining, but he’s not the expert he’d have you think he is.
I’m running the pool for the intern group I’m in and still haven’t decided my Final Four, though I do like Boston College with the upset.
But I won’t have Duke winning, that’s for sure. They’re too favored to win to actually win.
You’re right, SNenc. All four #1 seeds haven’t made it to the Final Four since the tournament expanded to 64 teams. But I don’t agree that Duke is “too favored to win.” This isn’t like 1999, where they were supposedly one of the greatest teams ever (they were certainly one of the most hyped teams ever). This year Stanford and Michigan State have got to be at least as strong contenders for the title as the Blue Devils.
Blunt: That’s the same UCLA squad that lost to Washington and was pushed to overtime by mighty, mighty Oregon State, right? The Bruins actually scare me (as a Duke fan) more than any team in that bracket other than Kentucky, but they’ve had an inconsistent season to say the least. They could beat Duke and it wouldn’t shock me; they could lose to Hofstra and it wouldn’t shock me. I’m betting on something in-between.
Connor: Who’s injured on Kansas? They just got Gooden back. Oh, and I think Kentucky is in the top ten in the final polls.
UncleBill: I’m a regular poster on the DBR Board. Love the place. Actually, though, I linked DBR in my OP because links on the SDMB make a lovely shade of Duke Blue before you’ve clicked on them.
I fully agree with you about Duke’s newfound depth. Reggie Love is the man; he reminds me of Carmen Wallace. And Casey Sanders cracks me up–the kid’s got a ton of potential, a ton of heart, and stepped in admirably when Boozer when down. In fact, after last week’s Carolina game I felt like we were a deeper team without Boozer than we were with him–now I just can’t wait for him to get back.
Oh, and I’m definitely biased as well. Trinity '95.
Maryland shows promise, but would have to beat the you-know-who’s. Arizona is the only team I could really imagine upsetting a #1 seed.
And I thought the Tarheels fans were bad
Seriously, what is the true condition of Boozer and Williams? Are they going to be game ready? Will they be able to play good, hard defense? If they have any problems with OSU or UCLA running them hard, by the time UK comes along (with only one day of rest) it will be lights out. My BIG upsets are:
Charlotte as an Elite Eight,Kent St as a Sweet Sixteen and Gonzaga again making the Sweet Sixteen.
Final Four: Kentucky, Stanford,Michigan St, and Arizona.
Championship: Stanford over Michigan St
I will add that I have checked out about a dozen major sports news sites and Duke and Stanford seem to be the Co-favorites. I am glad uke is rated #1 in the country, because I hate to pick the top ranked team.
Most often picked Final Four teams: Duke, MSU, Arizona and Stanford.
You were right. Tarheel fans are bad.
Boozer looks like he will return the second weekend of the tournament, should Duke advance that far. He’s off his crutches, is walking without pain, and has begun working on a treadmill. Coach K reports that the x-rays show bone growth, which is a Very Good Thing[sup]tm[/sup].
Williams will be ready to go for the Monmouth game, though he may play somewhat limited minutes depending on the score. After that, he’ll be fine.
Um… You do realize, right, that Duke just plastered Carolina in its third game in three days despite being without Boozer and having been run hard by Maryland the day before? Neither Ohio State nor UCLA is likely to run Duke hard enough to wear them down for Kentucky. (Keeping in mind also that Kentucky will probably have just played Boston College, a team which plays all ninety-four feet to a much greater degree than the Buckeyes.)
OSU, UCLA, and Kentucky could all certainly beat Duke–but fatigue won’t be a factor unless it carries all the way over from the ACC Tournament.
As far as “good, hard defense,” I should note that Duke shot only 38 percent against North Carolina–worse from behind the arc–and yet still won by twenty-six. I don’t think you have to worry about Duke’s defense.
I trust I’ve allayed your concerns enough that you will be changing your East Regional pick to Duke. grin
Kentucky will spank Duke. First they will spank them figuratively in the game, and then the Duke team will line up and bend over while the Wildcats spank them quite literally. Afterwards, Kentucky will drink all of Duke’s Gatorade and then go sleep with all the Duke players’ girlfriends.
The Final Four will not actually be played–the title will simply be given to Kentucky, by mutual agreement of all three other teams and the NCAA officials. They will return triumphantly to Lexington to the adoration of the entire Bluegrass State. Rick Pitino will withdraw his name from consideration at Louisville to become Tubby’s new assistant coach. Duke fans, meanwhile, will realize the folly they’ve been living all these years and learn all the words to “My Old Kentucky Home”, which they join hands and sing led by Coach K himself.
Oh, and Christian Laettner is retroactively ejected from the 1992 East Regional Final game, and Kentucky is declared the rightful winner of that year’s title, as well.
You read it here first.
Dr. J
DoctorJ: Soooo…you’re a Kansas fan, are ya?
Gadarene,
You put forth some good arguments, but I have seen too much of the ACC play this year to think that any of them can play the type of defense (i.e., very physical) to win the tourney. Coach K has done a great job getting the most out of his team since Boozer went down, however, Duke has owned the ACC for the last 3 or 4 years. They basically start each game up 10 points when they walk on the floor for a conference game.
That being said, they could roll through the tourney this year. I just can’t bring myself to pick the favorite. It has burned me way too often. I do appreciate that you respond with an argument of logic not seen from some other posts.
For example:
Where’s the logic there? Besides DoctorJ, didn’t you hear what Doherety said about Duke’s cheerleaders?
EAST: Duke beats Boston College
WEST: Maryland beats Stanford
MIDWEST: Arizona beats Kansas
SOUTH: North Carolina beats Michigan State
National Championship: Maryland vs. Arizona
2001 National Champions: Maryland
Not that I’m anyone to dis somebody’s picks, but I just want to point out that Maryland has NEVER been to the Final Four.
Therefore, I believe this is their year to at least make it that far.
