In the span of six days, the once-gargantuan 68-team tourney has been slimmed to just 16 teams. Now the tournament we all love shifts from early-round upset specials to middle-round instant classics. If you’re like me and are still bitter about your team’s unceremonious exit from the tourney (Kansas, yet again), to the point where you don’t want to see anyone else advance out of spite, you risk missing the next Christian Laettner moment or another Kentucky–Wichita State classic. Here’s how I see these next two rounds playing out, keeping in mind I thought Wichita State would fall to Indiana and Kentucky would lose to Kansas.
Midwest Region
Kentucky over West Virginia—I have a lot of respect for West Virginia. Bob Huggins is a great coach, and he nearly pulled off a clean sweep of Kansas. But when Kentucky is on (and they were clearly on last weekend), they’re the best.
Wichita State over Notre Dame—I don’t know what is Gregg Marshall’s most impressive feat: Final Four in 2013, the 35–0 start last year, or man-handling big brother KU (much to my dismay) in the Round of 32. The Irish are good, but I think the Shockers are relishing a rematch with Kentucky.
Kentucky over Wichita State—This should be another classic in waiting. This time it'll be Wichita State’s turn to ruin the best start in history, as the Wildcats would enter at 37–0. It would be the ultimate upset, though, as on paper they are way too small to even have a chance. Of course, I also thought they were too small for KU—turns out they weren’t.
West Region
North Carolina over Wisconsin—I’m calling the upset now. The Badgers looked shaky against Oregon and have a history of coming up short in the NCAAs—save for last year, which was Bo Ryan’s first trip to the Final Four in 13 years at Wisconsin. Carolina certainly has the talent to keep up with anyone, and Marcus Paige is as good of a clutch scorer as there is in the final minutes.
Arizona over Xavier—This one gives me pause, but only because Sean Miller used to coach at Xavier. Sometimes it’s hard to go against your old team. Arizona is the better team, though, and should have been a 1-seed instead of Villanova.
Arizona over North Carolina—The best coach in the Sweet 16 who has yet to make a Final Four has got to be Miller. The fiery coach already has three 30-win seasons at Arizona, and the team was clearly slighted by not being awarded a 1-seed.
