It's finally that time again.
After an excruciatingly long and rare two year absence from the Big Dance — in 2020 due to COVID-19 causing the tournament to be canceled, and last season due to UK finishing 9-16, the Kentucky Wildcats are back in the NCAA Tournament.
Before the 'Cats take on 15th-seeded Saint Peter's on Thursday evening, the Cats Illustrated staff reveals their Final Four and national championship predictions with takes on how the brackets will play out.
JUSTIN ROWLAND
I'll go by region to start us off.
Kentucky prevails in the East. Though UK is the two seed, Baylor's injury issues give the Cats the best chance to reach the Final Four. Purdue may be UK's biggest stumbling block but I have the Boilermakers losing to Virginia Tech, which was red hot in the ACC Tournament in dispatching UNC and Duke.
The Wildcats will face Gonzaga in the Final Four if my bracket is correct. The Zags look eerily familiar as a high seed that hasn't really been tested much in several months. They have the talent and offensive firepower to reach the Final Four, but everyone will ask if they're good enough to get over that final hump to win championship hardware until they do it.
In the Midwest, I don't feel strongly about any team so I went with Iowa. The Hawkeyes are excellent offensively and I just don't trust Kansas as much as some seem to. It wouldn't shock me if the Hawkeyes lost in the first round, however. Low confidence in this pick. Auburn isn't playing its best basketball.
Iowa would take on Tennessee in the national semifinal, in my bracket's scenario. The Vols beat Arizona earlier this year and I have Rick Barnes' outstanding team prevailing against the Pac-12 Wildcats yet again in the Elite Eight.
From there: Kentucky over Gonzaga, Tennessee over Iowa. Kentucky defeats Tennessee for the national championship.
JEFF DRUMMOND
Starting with the East, I've got the Cats ending their Final Four drought by navigating what appears to be a very favorable draw that ends with a regional finals win over Baylor. With this path and a veteran team that includes a national player of the year, John Calipari really needs to take advantage of this opportunity. Anything beyond that is a crapshoot, but UK must advance to the Final Four in order for this to be considered a great season.
In the South, I have Arizona defending its No. 1 seed all the way through with a regional final win over Tennessee. I know the Vols are a trendy Final Four pick right now, but something tells me it's going to be hard for them to run the gauntlet while scoring 60-something a night. Arizona is a more complete club.
The Midwest was by far my trickiest region to pick. I don't think Kansas makes it out of the first weekend, and I don't have faith in Auburn's backcourt and overall decision-making to take advantage of it. I wound up with an all-Big Ten regional final with Wisconsin edging Iowa. The West was fairly straight-forward for me. I have No. 1 overall seed Gonzaga getting back to the Final Four with a hard-fought win over Texas Tech in the regional final.
FINAL FOUR: I have Gonzaga over Kentucky and Arizona over Wisconsin. It would be nice to see the Cats finish off their run with national championship No. 9, but I just don't like the matchups against Mark Few's club. The Zags finally cut down the nets.
DAVID SISK
I'm going to beg for mercy right off the bat. I usually don't watch games besides the teams I watch and their opponents. I also haven't had a lot of time to look at the brackets, but here is my best shot.
West: I've got this one going pretty well as planned. I am going with UCONN over Arkansas, but it doesn't matter. Gonzaga will dominate the top half of the bracket. I will take Duke at the bottom, with wins over Michigan State and Texas Tech. The Blue Devils are a poor defensive team, but neither the Spartans or Red Raiders can manipulate that. Gonzaga will get revenge against Duke in the region finale. I'm afraid Coach K's final memory will be the Zags gashing his defense.
East: The more I look at it the more this region looks brutal. At the top I don't think North Carolina will knock off a short handed Baylor squad. The Bears still defend, and if you get in the Tar Heel shooters their offense struggles. However, look for UCLA to knock off the defending National Champions in the Sweet 16. That is a heckuva game in that round. I have gone back and forth on the bottom half. Kentucky and Purdue are both legitimate top ten if not top five teams, but they will meet in the region semis. Each one would also be a serious Final Four contender if they were away from each other. I am still not convinced TyTy Washington is 100% after watching the SEC Tournament, and he has to be for the Cats to make a run. There is also one other problem. Purdue is big and deep in the post. The duo of Trevion Williams and Zach Edey will be one of the toughest matches Oscar Tshiebwe has seen all season long. I'm taking Purdue in a classic. From there the Boilermakers take out the Bruins on the way to the Final Four.
South: The south and the east are gauntlets. There are six to seven Final Four teams in the two regions. Houston and Illinois should be a great round of 32 matchup. I'm going to take Arizona and Illinois in the top half with the Wildcats advancing. At the bottom we should see a rematch of Villanova and Tennessee. I'm going with the Wildcats in that one as well. If for no other reason, Jay Wright has a better track record than Rick Barnes is this part of the tournament. I'm taking Arizona to advance.
Midwest: This region has the weakest ceiling in my opinion. I don't want to take three top seeds. If Kansas were in another bracket I don't think they would get out alive. But I don't see who can knock them out in the midwest. Auburn probably has the best shot, but they just aren't clicking at the end of the season.
Final Four: Gonzaga and Purdue will be a great semifinal, but I'm taking the Zags to outlast the Boilermakers. Arizona will be too much for Kansas on the other side, and in the Monday night finale. They simply have too many guns.
TRAVIS GRAF
I've got Kentucky coming out of the East. Baylor is hobbled entering the big dance and I have them losing to North Carolina in the second round. Kentucky beats Murray State in the round of 32, but the Racers give them a scare. The ‘Cats face Purdue in the Sweet 16 and win a barn burner in one of the best games of the tournament. Kentucky knocks off UCLA in the Elite Eight to advance to New Orleans.
Gonzaga comes out of the West. They’re the team with the least amount of warts on paper this season. Star power, rim protection, shooting, and guard play. They beat Texas Tech in the Elite Eight after the Red Raiders end Coach L’s last hoorah in the Sweet 16. UConn is the other Sweet 16 team in this region.
Arizona advances out of the South. The Wildcats’ size and overall team play stand out throughout the tournament and help them reach the Final Four. This is the region of upsets as UAB beats Houston, Chattanooga beats Illinois, and Loyola Chicago knocks off Ohio State. Arizona defeats Tennessee to reach to Final Four.
Iowa comes out of the Midwest after knocking off Kansas in the Sweet 16 and Wisconsin in the Elite Eight. South Dakota State, the nation’s best three-point shooting team, knocks off Providence in the first round. Iowa State beats LSU without Will Wade as well.
Final Four: Gonzaga over Kentucky and Arizona over Iowa. Gonzaga finally gets over the hump and wins their first national title.
