Elite 8 Predictions...
yung_keeks
Junior Member
Gotta pick the Elite 8 by the end of tonight...
This is one of the better combinations I could come up with after looking at the matchups, but there are some teams I don't have much confidence in (I.e. Cuse, Creighton, Duke) yet they end up in most of my preliminary E8 projections.
South: Florida, Syracuse
It's tough for me to put Kansas into the E8 due to the uncertainty surrounding Embiid. I'm also not a Bill Self fan when it comes to in-game coaching. UCLA is another team I considered, but I just figured Florida would be 3 or 4-point faves if they met in the S16. I'm not sold on Syracuse at all, but I don't feel comfortable putting Kansas or Ohio St. in my E8. I thought about New Mexico, but I haven't seen them play much and thus don't know if they would be able to handle the 2-3 zone.
Midwest: Louisville, Duke
This region is absolutely stacked. It's tough for me to put Wichita St. into the E8 considering they might have to navigate past Kentucky and Louisville to get there. I also figured Louisville would be favored over Wichita in a potential S16 matchup, and with the way the bracket is set up, I can't pick them both. Duke is a jump-shooting team that is soft on the interior which is obviously a concern. I narrowed it down to either Duke or Michigan and just went with Duke because I thought they would be short faves if they met in the S16.
East: Michigan St., Villanova
Think the bracket sets up well for Nova and I like their chances against either UConn or Saint Joe's. I would make Nova small faves over Iowa St. on a neutral and that's basically the reason I have them in as of now. I feel like Michigan St. and Virginia is almost a toss up for the other E8 spot in this region, but I honestly haven't seen Virginia play that much. Bennett seems like an exceptional coach and I'm interested to see whether anyone has thoughts on a potential Virginia-Mich St. clash in the S16.
West: Arizona, Creighton
This is definitely the weakest region IMO. I'm nervous about a potential Arizona-OK St. meeting in the round of 32, but it's tough for me to pick anyone else besides Zona to come out of that part of the region. As for the other section, I narrowed it down to either Creighton or Wisconsin. Creighton makes me a nervous because they rely so much on the 3 ball (although they do have a plethora of excellent shooters). I've watched this team closely throughout the year and they just aren't the same team at home. Wisconsin hasn't fared well historically in the NCAA tournament, but their team appears to be structured differently than in previous years (much more offensive-oriented), which kind of throws me off.
This is one of the better combinations I could come up with after looking at the matchups, but there are some teams I don't have much confidence in (I.e. Cuse, Creighton, Duke) yet they end up in most of my preliminary E8 projections.
South: Florida, Syracuse
It's tough for me to put Kansas into the E8 due to the uncertainty surrounding Embiid. I'm also not a Bill Self fan when it comes to in-game coaching. UCLA is another team I considered, but I just figured Florida would be 3 or 4-point faves if they met in the S16. I'm not sold on Syracuse at all, but I don't feel comfortable putting Kansas or Ohio St. in my E8. I thought about New Mexico, but I haven't seen them play much and thus don't know if they would be able to handle the 2-3 zone.
Midwest: Louisville, Duke
This region is absolutely stacked. It's tough for me to put Wichita St. into the E8 considering they might have to navigate past Kentucky and Louisville to get there. I also figured Louisville would be favored over Wichita in a potential S16 matchup, and with the way the bracket is set up, I can't pick them both. Duke is a jump-shooting team that is soft on the interior which is obviously a concern. I narrowed it down to either Duke or Michigan and just went with Duke because I thought they would be short faves if they met in the S16.
East: Michigan St., Villanova
Think the bracket sets up well for Nova and I like their chances against either UConn or Saint Joe's. I would make Nova small faves over Iowa St. on a neutral and that's basically the reason I have them in as of now. I feel like Michigan St. and Virginia is almost a toss up for the other E8 spot in this region, but I honestly haven't seen Virginia play that much. Bennett seems like an exceptional coach and I'm interested to see whether anyone has thoughts on a potential Virginia-Mich St. clash in the S16.
West: Arizona, Creighton
This is definitely the weakest region IMO. I'm nervous about a potential Arizona-OK St. meeting in the round of 32, but it's tough for me to pick anyone else besides Zona to come out of that part of the region. As for the other section, I narrowed it down to either Creighton or Wisconsin. Creighton makes me a nervous because they rely so much on the 3 ball (although they do have a plethora of excellent shooters). I've watched this team closely throughout the year and they just aren't the same team at home. Wisconsin hasn't fared well historically in the NCAA tournament, but their team appears to be structured differently than in previous years (much more offensive-oriented), which kind of throws me off.
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