Early Bracketology

It's coming up on March Madness, so with a trifle more knowledge than in years past, I'm attempting to assemble some early thoughts on whom I like to make the Final Four this year and potentially win it all. My early thoughts, apparently, need to talk to some of these teams, because UNI Star Jordan Eglseder (see above) got nabbed for a DWI on campus this past weekend (three game suspension with the big Bracketbuster against Old Dominion this week) and Villanova, my homies 'Nova after getting thumped by Georgetown rebounded nicely against West Virginia, only to go down to hapless UCONN.

So now I don't know what to think. My basic rules for March Madness work this way: Not UNC, not Duke and all the rest? Them we can talk about. I tend to take a very dim view of teams that win all the freakin' time. Variety, my friends, is the spice of life and never more so in the mass chaos and glorious collisions of talent we see in March Madness.

This year: from the Big East, Syracuse and Villanova stick out. Georgetown is lurking in there somewhere, but I don't think they're a Final Four Team this year. In the Big Ten (even more vicious than the Big East, basketball-wise) you have four: Purdue, Michigan State, Ohio State and flying firmly under the radar Wisconsin. The Big 12 has Kansas, the ACC Duke and potentially Wake Forest. And if you're looking for potential cinderella- presuming they get it- New Mexico and UNI might serve you well.

I think 'Cuse and 'Nova- one of them, if not both will go to the Final Four. Both, provided they don't have to climb over each other to get there, should be Elite 8 Teams. Kansas is rolling along nicely, so I think they're inevitably bound for the Final Four, barring a shock somewhere along the way. This isn't the year for the ACC, I don't think- which leaves the mess of the Big Ten to sort out. Sparty has been living on a prayer for awhile, so it's no surprise they've started to drop a few. Evan Turner and Ohio State are insane right now and the team I think could surprise a lot of people is Wisconsin. They're good. And they don't get a lot of attention.

But Purdue? (And I'm not saying this because the Hawkeyes got yet another beatdown from the Boilermakers a couple of days back either...) If they romp through the Big Ten Tournament, I'll be a believer. But there's something about them that just doesn't make my mojo sing, so to speak.

So: My Mardi Gras Elite 8
1. Syracuse
2. Villanova
3. Kansas
4. Purdue
5. Kansas State
6. Wisconsin
7. Gonzaga
8. Kentucky