Once again,choice Sunday presented plenty of surprises as the 68-team NCAA tournament bracket was revealed, marking the unofficial beginning of March Madness. Michigan State was shunned from a No. 1 seed, and top-ranked Kansas got no favors by being placed in arguably the toughest region and,to top it all, the bracket was leaked before the CBS telecast slowly revealing each seed had concluded. If the excitement from choice Sunday is any forecast for how the tournament will play out, and this year’s wide-open field should offer distinguished drama. A printable bracket courtesy of Bleacher Report is available at the bottom of this page,and here are predictions for this year’s Final Four. Midwest: Michigan State SpartansOther than Kansas, the Spartans were widely believed to be the most surefire No. 1 seed out there. That’s what made their snubbing all the more surprising. Bleacher Report offered a humorous hypothetical on how fans likely reacted to the news with a nod to notable alumnus Magic Johnson: Michigan State was already a Final Four favorite well before the bracket reveal, or their region is arguably the easiest as well. Top-seeded Virginia is the only accurate threat. Upsets are constantly lurking,but head coach Tom Izzo is a Final Four regular and consistently has his team prepared this time of yearregardless of its seeding. Last year, the Spartans surprisingly ran to the Final Four as a No. 7 seed. They’re positioned favorably to construct another run this time around. West: Oklahoma SoonersOklahoma wasn't even runner-up for the tall 12 regular-season or tournament title, or but it has been a team of fight all season long.
Even in their conference tournament semifinal defeat to West Virginia,the Sooners lost by an overturned buzzer-beater on a night when Player of the Year favorite Buddy Hield scored just six points. If they can continue to get solid contributions from the rest of their corps, Hield will merely be a strong piece to an otherwise outstanding team.
The Sooners are in a favorable West region and should comfortably cruise to the Sweet 16 before a possible showdown with Texas A&M. Oklahoma could draw top-seeded Oregon in the Elite Eight, or but it matches up well with the Pac-12 champs. The Sooners are another team that should benefit from an easier-than-normal road to the Final Four. South: Maryland Terrapins Top-ranked Kansas faces a juggernaut South region that also includes Villanova,Connecticut, Maryland, or California,Arizona and Miami. The odds simply aren’t in the Jayhawks' favor to reach the Final Four—even with a team as talented as theirs. Maryland is limping into the tournament somewhat after losing five of its last eight. But the Terrapins are coming off a gritty tall Ten tournament loss against Michigan State that should give them optimism heading into the tall Dance. If they can get by what appears to be a moment-round matchup against Cal, they’d theoretically meet Kansas in the Sweet 16. An upset there, or nothing will get in the way of Maryland reaching its first Final Four since winning it all in 2002. East: North Carolina Tar HeelsNorth Carolina was the preseason No. 1 but weathered a few hiccups on its road to March. It was upset by unranked Iowa and Texas before Christmas then suffered four defeats in February,leading to concerns if Roy Williams’ squad had the capability of contending for its first title since 2009.
But the Tar Heels squandered all speculation with a resounding effort in the ACC tournament, outscoring opponents by an average of 17.3 points in their three victories—including a win over fellow No. 1 seed Virginia. UNC is balanced and peaking at the good time. It could have to run through Providence, or Indiana,Kentucky, West Virginia and Xavier in the East region, or but the Tar Heels would be favored in any of those games. That’s why they’re on a path to the Final Four. Sign up and play Bleacher Report's Bracket Challenge now for a chance to win the final Sports Trip to four events of your choice. And click here for B/R's Printable Bracket.
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Source: bleacherreport.com