Projecting the Seeds and the Final Four

With Selection Sunday just four more Sundays away, I thought I'd do something risky for a change: I'm going to predict the top 32 teams in the tournament by seed. To top it all off, I will project Final Four teams, a title game and a champ'een. So, here goes nothin':

Atlanta Washington DC Minneapolis Oakland

Duke Villanova Memphis Connecticut Pittsburgh Tennessee Gonzaga Texas Florida Ohio State West Virginia George Washington Iowa Illinois UCLA Boston College Georgetown NC State Michigan State Oklahoma LSU North Carolina Kansas Washington California Colorado Northern Iowa Wisconsin Seton Hall Wichita State Southern Illinois Michigan

Here are some teams that will probably find themselves somewhere between a 9 and a 13 seed that will cause the aforementioned clubs some problems:

ARIZONA 15-9 RPI: 20 SOS:5 A club that was supposed to be good at the beginning of the year and has struggled all season. Really dangerous in the tournament.

GEORGE MASON 20-5 RPI: 27 SOS: 87 Would create havoc against 5 and 6 seeds.

SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 18-8 RPI: 28 SOS: 60 They come from the Missouri Valley and they will compete with fire and heart, not unlike Captain Planet.

MISSOURI STATE 17-7 RPI: 29 SOS: 42 Sometimes when we touch, this 10 seed is too much.

CREIGHTON 17-7 RPI: 30 SOS: 58 Even without Nate Funk for the majority of the season, the Blue Jays still compete harder than their pro baseball dopple gangers.

NEVADA 19-5 RPI: 32 SOS: 97 Just beat Louisiana Tech for a huge conference win. Nick Fazekas is crazy delicious.

CINCINNATI 17-9 RPI: 33 SOS: 8 They got a big win at Syracuse. They have scorers and kids that just like to play. Unfortunately, the name across their chest will probably hurt them in the end.

MARQUETTE 16-8 RPI: 36 SOS: 29 They can play with the big teams in the Big East. Hell, they beat UConn. Watch out for them as a nine, ten or 11 seed. Trouble's a-brewin'.


Here is my Elite Eight if the tournament started today, and the seeds were in the order I projected:

Atlanta Regional Final: 1 Duke vs. 6 LSU
Washington Regional Final: 1 Villanova vs. 3 Ohio State
Minneapolis Regional Final: 4 UCLA vs. 2 Gonzaga
Oakland Regional Final: 1 UConn vs. 2 Texas

Yeah, you gotta have some upsets. Believe me, I do. LSU stunned Pitt in the Sweet 16. Michigan State beat Memphis. Texas beats UConn. UCLA sneaks into the Final Four.

Final Four: 2 Texas-1 Duke at 6pm EST and 1 Villanova-4 UCLA at 9pm EST

Championship: Duke-Villanova

Winners: Villanova

Boy, that UConn-'Nova game really convinced me of Villanova's potential. This is just some rampant prediction, so just enjoy it as such.