Roundtable: Final Four Picks
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There's a lot of basketball that will take place between now and the Final Four, but that's what the tournament builds up to every year. It's the culmination of every college basketball season and the last weekend is the goal of every coach and player.
With that in mind, Cats Illustrated's contributors chime in with their Final Four predictions now that the brackets are out.
Jeff Drummond: Full disclosure. I have scrapped two brackets already and just finished a third. I'm all over the map with my picks this year. Clearly, I am over-thinking it.
East: Michigan State. I'm a full-blown, card-carrying, no-apologies shill for Tom Izzo. If any coach is going to derail the Zion Univer... er, Duke University train this year, he's the guy to do it. The Spartans got a raw deal by being No. 6 on the S-curve and landing in the bracket with the No. 1 overall seed. That's one reason why I've always said these are not actual "seeds," rather random placements. But I digress... It may be folly to go against such a heavy favorite in Duke, but I think the Blue Devils, as talented as they are, have some flaws that often lead to an early exit: (1) inexperience; (2) poor 3-point shooting; and (3) inconsistent free-throw shooting. Sparty helps UK steal a title from Coach K the way Wisconsin helped Duke steal one from Coach Cal in 2015.
South: I'll be disappointed if we don't get the Virginia-Tennessee matchup in the regional finals at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville. This may have been my most difficult pick out of the four regions, but my gut feeling tells me that this is the Cavaliers' year after going through the Cersei Lannister walk of shame last year in becoming the first No. 1 seed to lose to a No. 16 seed. That will fuel and motivate UVA this year to reach the Final Four.
Midwest: Like the previous region, I'll be a bit bummed out if we don't get the Kentucky-North Carolina rematch. Both have some dangerous foes along the way: Auburn for the Heels, Houston for the Cats. But I think both will find a way to get to the regional finals in Kansas City. That's always a fun and exciting game because of the ways both teams play -- fast and fearless. This time, the Cats avenge their 2017 loss to Luke Maye and the Heels in Memphis.
West: I'm not buying Gonzaga stock. Sure, they looked great in defeating Duke in the Maui Invitational, but that was a long, long time ago. The Bulldogs are just 4-3 against Q1 opponents this year, and quite frankly, that did not merit a No. 1 seed. They are certainly talented enough to win this region, the weakest of the four in my view, but I think a more battle-tested Michigan squad will come out of it.
Travis Graf: My final four consists of LSU, Gonzaga, Virginia and Kentucky. Every year I try to avoid going with the chalk, but it looks like that’s how it’ll play out this season. What’s keeping me from putting Duke in the final four is the fact that no team shooting as poorly as they do from 3 (30.2%) has ever made it there.
Despite their off the court issues, LSU still has a ton of talent. They’re one of the most intimidating teams in the country from a physical aspect. A lot of pros with pro bodies on that roster. Tremont Waters is the type of electric guard that can put his team on his back and I think he gets hot in the tournament.Gonzaga comes out of the West, defeating Texas Tech in the Elite Eight. There’s definitely a handful of teams that can beat the Zags in that region, but the conference tournament loss lights a fire under them and they survive and advance to the final four. Rui Hachimura is a matchup nightmare for any team in the West.Virginia finally does it. They make a final four. Tennessee is the only team I really see giving them problems in the South, but even they don’t match up particularly well with the Cavaliers. This is the most talented team Tony Bennett has had during his time there and they finally get over the hump. Kyle Guy, De’Andre Hunter and Ty Jerome are a nice 3 headed monster and everyone on the team knows and plays their role to a T.
Kentucky defeats Auburn in the Elite 8 to advance to Minneapolis. Auburn is playing good basketball and has one of the best shooting backcourts in the entire country. They beat UNC in a game where there might be 100 three point attempts. Kentucky plays with a chip on their shoulder after the Tennessee loss in Nashville and goes on a nice run.I have Kentucky defeating Gonzaga in the championship game by a final score of 72-70. Ashton Hagans becomes the Marquis Teague of this team during the tournament and really runs the show down the stretch. Kentucky squeaks our a win in an absolute slugfest, giving John Calipari his second national championship. Herro and Hagans play themselves safely into first round draft pick conversation.
Warren Taylor: It's hard to pick against Duke coming out of the East Region. The Blue Devils are not invincible and could slip up against LSU or Michigan State in the Elite Eight if either team makes it that far, but even then I'll stick with the Blue Devils I know.
The South looks like a two-horse race between Tennessee and Virginia. Neither team has a history of performing up to their high seeding, however, see last year for example. I think this is the region where a lower seed comes out the winner, and I'll pick the defending national champions, Villanova.
The West has the weakest top seed in Gonzaga. The Bulldogs will make the Elite 8 and fall to the Michigan Wolverines.
Finally, in the Midwest, Kentucky advances over Auburn to punch their ticket to U.S. Bank Stadium. I'm picking the Cats to win it all over Duke in the final.
Justin Rowland: I have no problem picking the highest seeded teams to reach the Final Four. This year I'm going with two ones and a pair of two seeds. I like Duke to come out of the East, Gonzaga to rule the West, Tennessee to defeat Virginia in the South's regional final, and I see Kentucky taking out Auburn after the Tigers upset North Carolina.
From there, I'm calling for Duke to avenge their early season loss to Gonzaga in dramatic game and I see Tennessee winning yet another close game against Kentucky, simply because at the end of the game I thought the more experienced Volunteers showed a poise that the Wildcats' backcourt didn't display on Saturday in the SEC Tournament.
Then Duke defeats Tennessee in the national championship. It will be a good showing for the SEC. I don't feel overwhelming confidence in Duke as the national champion, but in a close game or an interesting matchup everything I have seen this year leads me to believe Zion Williamson will be the difference and their record against the nation's best teams, with him on the court, is the best of any team in the country. I do agree they're a bit like Kentucky's 2010 team which lost to West Virginia, but if that tournament had been re-played all over again I would have picked that Kentucky team to win it just as I did before that event started.
Duke is prone to a cold shooting night or an upset, but in a top-heavy year with several real contenders, I'll go with the team that has two NBA starters.
David Sisk: I've got to be careful and not get cute here. I think Duke defeats Michigan State in the finals of the East Region. Tom Izzo has done as good of a job as he ever has getting through the injuries of Joshua Langford and Nick Ward. Ward is back, but I still think Langford's absence will be their undoing. They are deep and physical and will give the young Dukies a test, but the Spartans aren't athletic enough on the wings.
I think the West Region could be one that gets destroyed beyond all recognition. Texas Tech and Michigan are two of the best defensive teams in the country, but I'm not as high on Brazdeikis as lot of people. Wagner was so good as stretching the floor last season. I don't think they do that as good this year. This could be a game that doesn't get out of the fifties and could be a toss-up. Gonzaga isn't a lock against Florida State either. I love that team, but it big games they become offensively challenged and can't make shots. I will lean with the Zags. Last season I ran with Michigan all the way to the championship game, but I think Gonzaga may be the last team standing in the region of upsets.
The South appears to be the weakest bracket. The only question is can Virginia get to the Elite Eight. Can somebody get them in the upper half? Kansas State will have an interesting trek as well. I believe Tennessee's will have a hard game on the first weekend against Cincinnati in Ohio. If Virginia gets Kansas State and Tennessee, these will be two defensive slugfests. In the end, I have more confidence in Tennessee than any other team in that region.
So I'm taking Gonzaga against Duke and Kentucky against Tennessee. These pairs played classics this season. I think Duke handles them this time and Kentucky will not lose three of four to the Vols. P.J. Washington has to stay out of foul trouble, but once again the Cats will be locked in. I'm holding my nose and going with Duke to win it. There is just too much talent there. They have four potential lottery picks. If Kentucky can keep it close, they can beat them. Late in close games there aren't enough balls to go around for them, but despite that, I am going to lean that direction.
