March Madness begins Thursday

By Mario Sarmento
SPORTS EDITOR

If you’re a sports fan, this is one of the most exciting times of the year. The NCAA Tournament begins Thursday with the first day of Round of 64 play.

Since the tournament expanded to 64 teams back in 1985, No. 1 seeds are a combined 92-0 against the No. 16 seeds. So obviously, you don’t want to pick North Carolina, Kansas, UCLA or Texas to lose. Choosing a No. 15 seed over a No. 2 is dicey as well, as No. 2 seeds are 88-4 during the same span. The key in the first round is to find the upsets in the lower halves of the brackets, like a No. 9 seed over a No. 8, or a No. 10 over No. 7, statistically the two most likely scenarios.

So, here’s some help for you in your pool:

East
North Carolina has had few hiccups as the No. 1 team in the nation, and the Tar Heels won’t have to face a top team until a possible Elite Eight showdown with Louisville. North Carolina has the experience from a deep run last year and the top player in the country in Tyler Hansbrough, and that should be enough to get them to another Final Four.
Round of 64 upset picks: Winthrop over Washington State, Saint Joseph’s over Oklahoma, South Alabama over Butler
Sweet 16 picks: North Carolina, Winthrop, Louisville, South Alabama

Midwest
Kansas is the No. 1 seed, but the Jayhawks have a history of underachieving in the NCAAs (see last year under Bill Self and 15 years under Roy Williams). This team has the most talent, but it will be the most rugged team, Georgetown, that will advance to its second straight Final Four.
Round of 64 upset picks: Kent State over UNLV, Siena over Vanderbilt, Davidson over Gonzaga
Sweet 16 picks: Kansas, Clemson, Wisconsin, Georgetown

South
Memphis is the top seed, but the Tigers were largely untested during a 33-1 season thanks to their Conference USA schedule. Pittsburgh, the No. 4 seed, is battle tested, having overcome injuries to surprise Georgetown in the Big East Championship. The rugged Panthers will continue their hot streak all the way to the Final Four.
Round of 64 upset picks: Saint Mary’s over Miami
Sweet 16 picks: Memphis, Pittsburgh, Stanford, Texas

West
No. 1 seed UCLA has been one of the top teams all year, and though they’ve had some divine intervention lately (questionable calls that gave them wins against Stanford and California), the Bruins are the class of the region and should advance to their third straight Final Four.
Round of 64 upset picks: Western Kentucky over Drake, Baylor over Purdue
Sweet 16 picks: UCLA, Connecticut, Xavier, West Virginia