Got My Brackets Filled Out

March Madness, the best time of the year, has arrived.

I went online and filled out my brackets last night at CBS Sportsline.  In past years I generally tried to pick based on which team I thought would win, which meant I often picked against my heart.  That hurt me in the two years Butler ran all the way to the final game.

So my bracket is mostly heart, and much less logic.  Which of course means Indiana wins it all.  That's a difficult pick for my brain, given that Indiana laid egg against Wisconsin in the Big 10 tournament last weekend.  If they are to make a run to the Final Four, Cody Zeller has to be more assertive, Victor Oladipo has to stop turning the ball over, Christian Watford needs to step up, Yogi Ferrell needs to protect the ball and become more creative as the point guard, and the team needs to do a better job finding Jordi Hulls open behind the arc.

If the Hoosiers play the unbeatable team they showed in spurts in their game against Illinois, instead of the rattled team that forgot how to run their offense that we saw late against Wisconsin, they can win the whole thing.  But their tournament opponents merely need to get hold of the tapes of their games against Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Butler and learn how to rattle Zeller & Co. and steal a win.

Butler proved that St. Louis really is better than they are.  VCU most likely is also a better team.  Fortunately, neither of those teams is in Butler's bracket, but Indiana is.  So my dream final four is destroyed, since two of my picks are in the same bracket.  But if Butler simply makes it through to play Indiana for the final four bid, I'll be happy.

There's no dominant team this year like Kentucky was last year.  So I think all of the top 5 Big 10 schools have a shot.  Duke might have a chance, except they've been inconsistent through their season.  Miami is getting a lot of encouragement from the talking heads, but I think they're vulnerable.  I think St. Louis and VCU are going to be tough outs in the tournament.  I'm not sold on Gonzaga, partly because one of their two losses came from Butler, and they haven't really played anyone else of note.  I really don't believe the west coast schools can compete with the teams from the East and MidWest, although it is nice to see Steve Alford be successful with his New Mexico Lobos.

Now all we have to do is sit back and enjoy the ride.  There will be lots of upsets, guaranteed.  That's what makes it fun, at least until it's one of my favorite teams that gets upset.