With the NCAA men’s tournament tipping off in earnest with a full slate of games on Thursday, we pulled together a roundtable to answer burning questions that’ll help you fill out your Tourney Pick’em bracket. Here are our Cinderellas, dark horses, first No. 1s to fall, best first-round bets and Final Four/champion picks.
Which teams will make the Final Four and who will win it all?
Frank Schwab: I somehow picked four SEC teams for our “Yahoo Bracket Now” show this week, and I might as well stick with it: Kentucky, Arkansas, Auburn and Tennessee, with Auburn and future top-three NBA draft pick Jabari Smith carrying Auburn to the title over Kentucky.
Nick Bromberg: It just means more to Frank and I am meeting him halfway. Kentucky and Auburn are making the Final Four and will be joined by Gonzaga and Arizona. The latter two teams win their semifinal games and Gonzaga takes down Arizona in a close national championship game.
Sam Cooper: I’ve got Arizona, Kansas, Kentucky and Texas Tech in the Final Four. Kentucky beats Texas Tech and Arizona takes care of Kansas in the Final Four. From there, I’ve got Kentucky taking down Arizona in the title game. I like the way John Calipari has assembled this roster. After so many years of teams that rely on mainly freshmen, he’s got just one in the starting lineup this year, TyTy Washington. Washington and Oscar Tshiebwe get the job done for BBN.
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Greg Brainos: Gonzaga, Kentucky, Tennessee and Kansas. In the final, Kansas falls to Kentucky in a battle of Midwest versus fake Midwest, Ashley Judd hires a brass band to march everyone from the Superdome to Bourbon Street, and the night ends with John Calipari and Drake singing karaoke in a dive bar.
Pete Truszkowski: Gonzaga, UCLA, Kansas and Tennessee. I think this is the year Gonzaga finally gets it done. UCLA returns a lot of the team that went on that run last year and they had a double-digit lead over Arizona in the second half of the Pac-12 championship game. The Midwest region features a bunch of teams who could be described as frauds such as Providence and Wisconsin, so Kansas has a good path there. As for Tennessee, they might be the hottest team in the country right now.
Mark Drumheller: Gonzaga, Kentucky, Houston and Iowa make up my Final Four. Ultimately, Kentucky cuts down the nets. TyTy Washington, Kellan Grady and Oscar Tshiebwe give Kentucky the offensive versatility to score several different ways. That makes all the difference when trying to win six straight games against the best teams in the nation. They stumbled down the stretch, but with it will come together with their point guard healthy.
