2017 NCAA Tournament: Final Four staff predictions
By Stuart Gill
The 2017 NCAA Tournament is finally upon us, and what a next 15 days we are in store for. Who does each member of our staff have in their Final Four?
March Madness is finally upon us, and what a success it has been already. The conference tournaments were as entertaining as ever, and their results undoubtedly impacted the selection committee’s decisions this past weekend.
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In the ACC Tournament, Duke looked scary-good as they won four games in four days en route to cutting down the nets for Coach K’s record-breaking 14th ACC Tournament championship. Gonzaga met expectations by taking care of business against Saint Mary’s to win the WCC Championship, proving that their loss on Senior Night was just a fluke. To many people’s astonishment, Kansas was sent home early from the Big 12 after a quarterfinal loss to TCU. Despite the loss, Kansas will claim the No. 1 seed in the Midwest region, while UNC, Villanova, and Gonzaga are the top seeds in the South, East and West, respectively.
So the perennial powerhouses will be there, but there are newcomers as well. Northwestern and UC Davis are each making their first appearances in the Big Dance, as are some other teams like North Dakota and Jacksonville State. Northwestern will matchup with Vanderbilt in the first round of action in the West pool, while UC Davis will play North Carolina Central for a chance to take on Kansas in the Round of 64.
All the off-court drama and on-court thrillers we’ve seen this year have set the stage for a wildly unpredictable and exciting NCAA Tournament. If you’re now scrambling to fill out your bracket like the rest of the country, take a quick look at who our staff thinks will make it to the Final Four in Glendale.
Brock Zimmermann
Villanova, Iowa State, Arizona, UNC
Carmine Carcieri
Duke, Louisville, Notre Dame, UCLA
Connor Hope
Duke, Kansas, Gonzaga, UCLA
Doug Winkey
Villanova, Oregon, Arizona, UNC
Lukas Harkins
Villanova, Iowa State, Gonzaga, UCLA
Michael Foy
Villanova, Louisville, Notre Dame, UNC
Stuart Gill
Duke, Kansas, Arizona, UCLA
Taylor Sturm
Duke, Kansas, Arizona, UNC
Duke, Kansas, and Arizona were our most frequently picked winners of the East, Midwest and West regions, while UNC and UCLA were an even 4-4 split coming out of the South, which make sense based upon how the season has unfolded thus far. Duke has dealt with adversity, but put together a nice 7-game win streak in February and their victory in Brooklyn this past week has effectively regenerated the National Championship buzz this team was getting before the season.
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Kansas has been unstoppable all year, outside of their untimely loss in the Big 12 Championship a few days ago. But with a 28-4 record and big wins against Duke, Kentucky, and Baylor (twice) nobody is seriously worried about their ability to make it far into this tournament.
Arizona has snuck back into the Championship conversation after an impressive win over UCLA in the Pac 12 quarterfinals, followed by a victory in the championship game over Oregon. Lauri Markkanen and Allonzo Trier lead a group that is capable of dismantling anyone’s championship hopes in a hurry.
Lastly, UNC and UCLA have each had terrific seasons in which they were forces to be reckoned with in their respective conferences. Both teams have incredibly high scoring ceilings and are more than capable of playing themselves into the championship game.
Next: Five teams that could win the East region
With the way the regular season turned out, it would seem we are in for one of the most entertaining and anxiety-inducing National Tournaments in recent years. From all of us here at Busting Brackets, good luck with your predictions!