The March Madness tournament is composed of the 68 best teams in NCAA men’s basketball. The tournament is held every year as teams try to play their way to win the tournament and sing the iconic song, “One Shining Moment”. What many people try to do with a tournament this big is to fill out a bracket with their friends and family or even their coworkers. Now, no one has ever filled out a perfect bracket because the chances of doing that have a 1 in every 9.2 quintillion. So as many people try to be the first to do such a feat we’re gonna try our best to help you and give you our personal picks this year. 

Starting off in the South region the best team not only in this region but the entire tournament are the Alabama Crimson Tide. They are led by star (and controversial) freshmen forward Brandon MIller. Other teams in this region are Arizona. Virginia, Baylor and New Jersey local Princeton who check in as a 15 seed in this region. This could be a region that can be competitive because there are a few teams in this region that have won National Championships in the last 5 years, but after all I think Alabama will win this region. If there were to be a dark horse watch out for the Charleston Cougars as they have accumulated a total record of 31-3 this season. 

Now checking in on the East region the top seeded Purdue Boilermakers are led by National Player of the Year frontrunner Zach Edey who is 6th in the country in scoring at a height of 7 '4. Unlike Alabama I see Purdue very vulnerable to an upset as they struggle with teams who put pressure on them. I could see a team like Duke, Tennessee, or even Michigan State coming out of this region. But in the end I see the 2nd seeded Marquette Golden Eagles making out of this region not just because of their veteran leadership but because of their versatile defense.  A sleeper team to watch for are the 12th seeded Oral Roberts led by Max Abmas who took his team to the sweet 16 just 2 years ago. 

Now on to the Midwest region where the one seed are the Houston Cougars who were led by senior guard Marcus Sasser, but in a game on 3/11 against Cincinnati, he hurt his groin and now his status for the tournament is unknown. And because of that injury I can’t really see Houston going very far in this region. I think the winner of this region will be either Miami, Texas or even Iowa. But I think Miami led by star guard Isisiah Wong puts the Hurricanes on his back to the FInal Four. I think Iowa could be a potential bracket buster because of their very high octane offense that could be too much for many teams in this region. 

And finally, the West region. The number 1 seed, the Kansas Jayhawks are the defending National Champions and have a very good chance to do it again as their star Jalen Wilson is one of, if not the best, players in the country. Teams that could compete with Kansas are UCLA, Gonzaga, or UConn. In my opinion this will be the least competitive region as I see Kansas taking advantage of their experience and talent to make it through to the Final Four. A huge bracket buster could be the UNC Asheville Bulldogs who are a 15 seed as their matchup, UCLA is very injured while the Bulldogs can take advantage of that with their great 3-point shooting. 

Now onto the Final Four and ultimately the National Championship to find a winner. In the first Final Four matchup it will be the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Marquette Golden Eagles. I see it as a very close game. I think Marquette’s defensive versatility will challenge the Alabama offense and send the Golden Eagles to the National Championship. In the Second Final Four matchup the Miami Hurricanes will take on the Kansas Jayhawks. It will be a very high scoring game as these are some of the better offenses in the nation. But I think the Hurricanes magic runs out and Kansas makes it back to the National Championship Game. 

For all the marbles, I think the National Championship game will be between Marquette and Kansas to crown a winner. I think Marquette star Tyler Kolek will have the hot hand for Marquette and carry a lead into the half. But then Kansas and star freshman Grady Dick will bring Kansas roaring back and tie the game. Then, ultimately Kansas rings on with their momentum and become the first back-to-back National Champions since 2006 and 2007 where the Florida Gators were able to accomplish that feat. I think this tournament will be one of the most competitive in years, as there is no true frontrunner to win. I think there are 20-30 teams that have the potential to win the  National Title.  This year truly will be March Madness!