2019 NCAA TOURNAMENT

ELITE EIGHT PREDICTIONS

Chalk ruled most of the 2019 NCAA tournament brackets after the first weekend, and this weekend is much of the same. Auburn crashed the party. Duke survived on dumb luck yet again in a game in which they were outplayed. A couple of two seeds bowed out, but three one seed advanced to the regional finals. How many make it to Minneapolis?

Duke is lucky to still be here. Virginia and Texas Tech played some of the best defense we’ve seen in a while. What is going to be the theme of these last four games?

Fortunately, the round by round game is still alive, and we have a mostly clean slate! And the best part: each correct pick earns a donation to Coaches vs. Cancer. So keep playing the round by round!

I only have 37 out of 60 games correct. This is actually one pick worse than last year’s disaster. I had an abysmal Elite Eight. I need to hit these four to maintain some respectability.

2019 NCAA EAST REGION FINAL

(1) DUKE VS. (2) MICHIGAN STATE

As I’ve hinted at already, Duke is very fortunate to have made it this far. Zion Williamson has been everything advertised if not better. Whenever Duke needs a play, he makes it. Duke almost looked more organized without Cam Reddish in there. I know it was just an illusion, but it was interesting none the less.

Michigan State made short work of a LSU team that was really playing well. Their defense up front was better than advertised, but the guard play is what really separated the Spartans.

Two heavyweights clash in the regional final. Duke is much like Michigan State or Arizona in the respect that they don’t always make it this far in the tournament, but when they do, they are going a long ways.

Duke could have issues without Reddish against a deep Michigan State team. Both Zion Williamson and Tre Jones played the entire game against Virginia Tech. The Hokies don’t run deep enough for that to make a difference, but the Spartans usually do.

Nick Ward still only played 16 minutes for Michigan State. He still won’t be much of a factor here. That’s bad news for the Spartans. Duke can survive without Reddish because the Spartans really don’t have anyone that can handle Williamson.

PICK: DUKE

2019 NCAA TOURNAMENT WEST REGION FINAL

(1) GONZAGA VS. (3) TEXAS TECH

Gonzaga exacted revenge on the Florida State team that knocked them out of the tournament last year. The difference this year is that Gonzaga had the size up front to combat Florida State, and their guard defense is outstanding.

Texas Tech makes a second straight Elite Eight appearance. Culver is the only major piece left over from last year, but the philosophy is still the same. This team is better defensively than last year. They exhibited that in the sheer dominance of Michigan. The Wolverines didn’t score their 20th point of the game until four minutes deep in the second half.

Gonzaga hasn’t really faced a defense like this. Michigan only had five players score in the game, but Gonzaga will make it a point to get more players involved. They can play some defense too up there in Spokane, but the offense gets more notoriety.

Texas Tech has the size up front to handle the Gonzaga bigs. Defense wins out at this stage of the tournament, and Texas Tech’s might be the best around.

PICK: TEXAS TECH

2019 NCAA TOURNAMENT SOUTH REGION FINAL

(1) VIRGINIA VS. (3) PURDUE:

Perhaps the most impressive thing about Virginia’s run this year is the fact that they are winning not because of Kyle Guy, but in spite of him. Guy continues to shoot, but hardly makes anything. At some point, that’s really going to hurt. The Virginia defense shut down a really good Oregon offense in this one. Oregon never had that one run that was their trademark of the first weekend.

Tennessee played both overtime games in this tournament. It was the Vols that made the huge comeback in this one, only to foul on a three with time running out. The Boilers got two of the three free shots and proceeded to dominate the overtime.

Purdue’s offense has found a rhythm that they didn’t hit all season long. Carsen Edwards has probably been the most electric player of the tournament so far. The bad news for Purdue is that Virginia has the defense to stop him. Purdue has a lot of offensive weapons, but if the Hoos clamp down on Edwards, Purdue is going to come up short.

PICK: VIRGINIA

2019 NCAA TOURNAMENT MIDWEST REGION FINAL

(2) KENTUCKY VS. (5) AUBURN:

Auburn ran off and left a good North Carolina team. A large part of that was Chuma Okeke. He left the game with a little over eight minutes left, and likely won’t play in the regional final. That’s a huge blow for an Auburn team that is hitting stride right when they need to.

Kentucky is now the deepest team left in the tournament. Their bench locked down the Houston bench. Kentucky’s defense made Houston a lot more one dimensional than they are used to. Tyler Herro was a monster knocking down shots for the Wildcats when they really needed it.

Kentucky beat Auburn by two in Auburn and blew them off the court in Rupp Arena. With Okeke and the offense playing the way they were, I thought Auburn had a decent shot. Without Okeke though, I don’t give Auburn much of a chance. This is going to be the most lopsided of the regional finals, and this effectively means I lose my office pool.

PICK: KENTUCKY

We have a little of everything in the Elite Eight. Duke vs. Michigan State in an ultimate heavyweight bout. Texas Tech making their second straight Elite Eight appearance after never having made one. A Virginia team seeking redemption for suffering the biggest upset loss in history. The SEC battle is the least exciting of the four!