March is here! For sports fans, this means yet another trip around the March Madness carousel. Bracket creation and destruction are guaranteed.

Despite not even making the SEC Tournament Final, the Auburn Tigers secured the top seed in this year’s tournament. They will play out of the South Region, running a gauntlet that includes Big Ten regular season champions Michigan State, Big Ten Tournament champions Michigan, ACC Tournament runners-up Louisville, and Big East Tournament runners-up Creighton. Auburn will meet the winner of the Louisville/Creighton matchup in the second round if they can defeat 16th-seeded Alabama State. The Tigers are favored to make it out of this region and head to the final four, but in a region with so many potholes and upset potential, there is no easy choice, as is the case for most of this tournament. Whoever plays Auburn in the second round will have a chance to win, as will Michigan if the Wolverines meet the top seed in the Sweet 16. As for the bottom quadrant of the South Region, Michigan State should head to the Elite Eight to face Auburn, but there is potential for Iowa State, North Carolina, and to a lesser extent Marquette, to upset the Spartans. All of my brackets include #13 Yale upsetting #4 Texas A&M, and many have made the argument for #12 UC San Diego to defeat Michigan in the first round. Iowa State’s injuries also open them up to a first-round upset against Lipscomb, but this seems to be a consensus long shot. I believe Michigan State defeats Auburn to head to the Final Four in this region.

With Auburn’s SEC Semifinal loss, many expected Duke to move up to the top overall seed. The ACC regular season and tournament champions settled for the second-overall seed, and what, on the surface, is perhaps the easiest region in the tournament. The Blue Devils should have an easy path to the Sweet 16, where they will probably play fourth-seeded Arizona. Provided they make it through to the Elite Eight, expect them to play, and defeat Alabama. Upset potential comes from the 11 seed in this region, VCU. The Atlantic 10 champions will face a tough test in their first-round opponent, BYU, but I think the Rams prevail and reach the Sweet 16 by defeating Wisconsin. As for the East Region’s Final Four representative, I think Duke runs through Newark to reach San Antonio, defeating Alabama in the regional final.

Every year since 2013, except for 2019, a seven seed or higher has made the Final Four. This year, I believe that team comes out of the Midwest Region. Houston, in my opinion, is the weakest of the four one-seeds in the tournament. I have the Cougars losing in the second round to the eighth seed in this bracket, Gonzaga. It has been a down year for the Bulldogs, compared to past success, but their statistics point to the West Coast Conference Champions being the most likely contender to make a run to the Final Four. Their path will see them beating Georgia, Houston, Clemson, and Kentucky. The Sweet 16 game between Kentucky and Tennessee should be as close to a pick-em as you can get, but the Wildcats have defeated the Volunteers in both regular season matchups between the two. A potential upset is #13 High Point over fourth-seeded Purdue. To reiterate, Gonzaga will beat Kentucky to reach the Final Four out of the Midwest.

One last spot remains, and this one will come out of the West. Florida is the top seed in this region. They hung 104 points on Alabama in the SEC Semifinal, then defeated Tennessee for the SEC Championship. As for our local teams, only one has made noise. They are the two seed in this region, out of Queens, the St. John’s Red Storm. The Big East champions are a favorite pick to make the Final Four, but they will first have to make it to the Sweet 16. Their second-round matchup will feature either Kansas or Arkansas, and all three teams have some of the best basketball coaches ever. Whoever comes out of Providence on Saturday should be set for an Elite Eight date with the Gators, but Florida’s scoring will be too much to handle. The Gators defeat St. John’s to head to San Antonio.

My Final Four features Michigan State, Duke, Gonzaga, and Florida. Tom Izzo and Michigan State can finally shut down the Florida offensive machine, and they will face Duke in the National Championship. This would be an incredible matchup, and I believe Michigan State would get the best of Duke to win their first national championship since 2000. This year’s tournament is shaping up to be the most unpredictable of the decade, and I’m just ready for it to get started. Enjoy the game!