Madness Recap and Final Four Predictions

Well I'm a couple days late, but it is time to see how I did on the Sweet 16 round. My picks were:

Cornell vs. Kentucky || Butler vs. Syracuse

Washington vs. West Virginia || Xavier vs. Kansas State

Purdue vs. Duke || Tennessee vs. Ohio State

Northern Iowa vs. Michigan State || Saint Mary’s vs. Baylor

All in all, it was not a bad round for me. I picked 6/8 games correctly, with Michigan State and Butler messing things up. Great play by both #5 seeds to make it to the Final Four. Butler has been a solid team all year and they showed it on the big stage with impressive victories over Syracuse and Kansas State. Some people have been comparing them to George Mason, but I do not think that is fair. Butler is a 5 seed and has been in the top 25 during the year. They were ranked #11 in the AP rankings at the end of the season. Butler has been a good team all year. George Mason was an 11 seed that literally came out of nowhere to reach the Final Four. Butler is not the Cinderella team that Mason was.

Also, congratulations to:
- Tom Izzo and Michigan State for getting to the Final Four again. (Us Maryland fans wonder what would have happened if they didn't hit that heartbreaking shot in the second round)

- West Virginia for taking out #1 seed Kentucky, who was looking really good before this game

And finally...ugh...
- Duke for making another Final Four. Seriously, why couldn't Baylor just get some rebounds in the second half??

So for the last weekend of NCAA basketball, here are my March Madness picks:

West Virginia over Duke
I am hoping that West Virginia can rebound better than Baylor did. AND I am hoping that Duke's outside shooting will not tear apart West Virginia's zone. And did I mention I hate Duke? So yes...West Virginia is my pick.

Butler over Michigan State
I liked Butler from the beginning, but I certainly did not think they could get past Syracuse or Kansas State. Well Butler, you have made me a believer. Do not let me down now.

For the final game:

West Virginia beats Butler
Maybe I'm riding on West Virginia because they looked good this weekend. Maybe I'm taking them because I think they are the strongest team left and I think they can take Duke. Or maybe I am simply choosing them because they helped me beat my girlfriend in our 1 on 1 pool (Thanks again for that, West Virginia). No matter what reason, I now have West Virginia winning it all.