Stone Cold Lock - My 2021 NCAA Bracket

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Well, here's my 2021 NCAA Tournament bracket.

If you win big money betting on this, I get 50%.

If you lose big money betting on this, I never heard of you.

If you just use this for comic relief ... you're very smart.

(Click on the image if you actually want to see it.)

Some upsets in there because, well, ya gotta. Rutgers in the Sweet 16. San Diego State and Oregon in the Elite 8. And UConn in my Final Four.

What the heck, right?

In the end, I have the Fighting Illini cutting down the nets for the first time ever thanks to an exciting win over the Zags.

One thing I didn't pick were any 12s to upset any 5s. Everybody loves picking 12s, and three 12s did win in the last pre-COVID tourney. But in the previous four tournaments, 12s went 3-13 -- including 0-fers in 2015 and 2018. I'm feelin' another 0-fer coming. (So now watch the 12s go 4-0.) 

Anyhoo ...

Good luck, everybody, and may your March be as Mad as yiou want it to be.

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The Baldest Bracket

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March has been a rough month for basketball, with my Ardrey Kell Lady Knights falling in the 3rd round of the state tournament to a Butler team that I honestly felt we should have beaten and my Marquette Warrior Eagles struggling to close out games and falling to a 5-seed in the NCAA tournament. And don't even get me started about the Hornets. Please.

One thing we know about March, though ... it is full of opportunities for redemption and for amazing surprises.

It's too late for my Lady Knights this season, and it's been too late for the Hornets for awhile. But Marquette ... my heroes are still a dangerous team because we can play defense and hit 3s.

In online brackets and among hoops pundits, the most popular 12-5 upset is Murray State -- led by future NBAer Ja Morant -- beating Marquette. I actually am buoyed by that group-think, and will enjoy seeing so many people be so wrong.

I, on the other hand, am predicting Marquette to go a long way. Yes, I am a fan. And I could be proven so wrong in a matter of hours.

Anyway, here's one guy's bracket. I will not reimburse any followers' foolish bets!

I know it's kind of small, but that's the only way I could make it fit the page. Click on it and you can actually see it.

Oh, and no fair laughing.

Have a great rest-of-March, everybody!

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Mike's March Madness Mulligan

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Those who golf with me know I'm not a big mulligan taker. I mean, if I shank my drive into the woods, re-tee, hit one down the middle and make a birdie, who am I fooling? I know I didn't really get a birdie. So why bother? I'd much rather scramble after a horrendous drive and hack my way to a "good bogey" than pretend I got a birdie. But hey, maybe that's just me.

So even if I go 15-0 with the March Madness Mulligan I'm about to take, I promise I won't pretend I did anything special.

Before getting to the MMM, I'll allow myself a couple of back-pats ... but only a couple: Nice job on N.C. State and Wichita State. OK, that was quick. I'd have had more success with my bracket if I had let my pooch Simmie make predictions with tail-thumps.

Now, here goes ...

MIDWEST

Kentucky easily over West Virginia ... Notre Dame's luck runs out against Wichita State ... The Wildcats chew up overmatched Wichita State.

WEST

Wisconsin survives a challenge from North Carolina ... Arizona crushes Xavier ... Bucky Badger beats Arizona in a thriller.

EAST

N.C. State pulls off another upset, this time against Louisville ... Michigan State keeps getting better and beats Oklahoma ... Sparty goes to another Final Four after a narrow win over N.C. State.

SOUTH

Duke struggles but holds off Utah ... Gonzaga finally gets a second-weekend win, beating UCLA ... The Dookies have too much firepower for the Zags.

+++

So our new, improved Final Four is Kentucky, Wisconsin, Duke and Michigan State. Three No. 1 seeds and a No. 7 ... but not your run-of-the-mill No. 7. It's kind of funny that Michigan State is suddenly an underdog darling, no?

+++

In one national semifinal, Kentucky and Wisconsin put on a sensational show, with Kentucky's superior interior defense prevailing. In the other, Duke has too much offensive balance for Michigan State.

One thing hasn't changed from my original bracket: Kentucky still ends up 40-0.

Translation: "Bet everything you have on West Virginia to beat Kentucky on Thursday night."
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Reason No. 864 why NCAA hoops tourney is so much better than BCS B.S.

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When the NCAA basketball tournament has one of those wacky years filled with incredible upsets and capped by surprise teams in the Final Four, that's one example of why the hoops tourney is so much more exciting and satisfying than football's BCS.

Fairly often, though, the team that was the best in November, December, January and February also excels in March and early April. When that happens, it's even better proof.

So it was with Kentucky, certainly the best team in college hoops all season and a most deserving national champion after Monday's gritty win over game but overmatched Kansas.

"OK," the half-dozen or so BCS proponents might ask, "does it really matter how the best team gets to be the best? After all, few would deny that Alabama was a worthy national football champion."

Well, I might deny it, but that's besides the point.

Kentucky played a nonconference schedule featuring games against some of the nation's best teams. The Wildcats then dominated their conference, wrapping up the NCAA tourney's overall No. 1 seed. Finally, they went 6-0 in the tournament, with victories over one fine team after another, beating opponents of different styles, sizes and strengths.

That, my friends, is how you win a national championship.

You truly earn it.

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Thanks for the fun season, Marquette

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Sad it's over, but I really enjoyed this Marquette team. Very entertaining, hard-working guys who left it on the court every game.

My lads simply couldn't make enough shots against Florida; 30.8 percent isn't gonna get it done.

But as an adult, I don't derive self-worth from 20-year-old college kids. I remain proud to be a Marquette Warrior, and grateful for the five months of fun Buzz Williams' guys gave all of us alums and fans.

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Baldy's Bracket

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No time to go into my thought processes. Then again, delving too deep inside my brain is dangerous for man or beast, so let's get right to my NCAA hoops predictions now that the play-in preliminaries have been played. (Legitimate upset picks are in italics.)

SOUTH

Kentucky over Western Kentucky
UConn over Iowa St.
Wichita St. over VCU
Indiana over New Mexico St.
Colorado over UNLV (11-6 upset)
Baylor over S. Dakota St.
Xavier over Notre Dame
Duke over Lehigh

Kentucky over UConn
Wichita St. over Indiana
Baylor over Colorado
Duke over Xavier

Kentucky over Wichita St.
Baylor over Duke

Kentucky over Baylor

WEST

Michigan St. over Long Island
Memphis over St. Louis
Long Beach St. over New Mexico (12-5 upset)
Louisville over Davidson
Colorado St. over Murray St. (11-6 upset)
Marquette over BYU
Florida over Virginia
Missouri over Norfolk St.

Memphis over Michigan St. (8-1 upset)
Long Beach St. over Louisville (12-4 upset)
Marquette over Colorado St.
Missouri over Florida

Memphis over Long Beach St.
Marquette over Missouri

Marquette over Memphis

EAST

Syracuse over UNC-Asheville
Kansas St. over S. Mississippi
Vanderbilt over Harvard
Wisconsin over Montana
Cincinnati over Texas
Florida St. over St. Bonaventure
West Virginia over Gonzaga
Ohio St. over Loyola Md.

Syracuse over Kansas St.
Vanderbilt over Wisconsin
Florida St. over Cincinnati
Ohio St. over West Virginia

Vanderbilt over Syracuse (5-1 upset)
Florida St. over Ohio St.

Vanderbilt over Florida State

MIDWEST

North Carolina over Vermont
Creighton over Alabama
Temple over S. Florida
Michigan over Ohio
N.C. State over San Diego St. (11-6 upset)
Georgetown over Belmont
St. Mary's over Purdue
Kansas over Detroit

North Carolina over Creighton
Temple over Michigan
Georgetown over N.C. State
Kansas over St. Mary's

North Carolina over Temple
Kansas over Georgetown

Kansas over North Carolina

FINAL FOUR

Marquette over Kentucky
Kansas over Vanderbilt

CHAMPIONSHIP

Marquette over Kansas

I didn't start out meaning to sound like the Marquette alum and fan that I am. But as I went along, I legitimately believed my Golden Warriors were good enough to win every game ... so what am I supposed to do? Pick against them?

The last time I picked them to reach the Final Four was 2003, and they did.

Ipso fatso, cash in those 401ks and IRAs and bet it all on Marquette, kiddies!

(Having said that, I hope my lads don't lose their first game to BYU!!!!)
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UConn? Champs? I beg to differ!

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Six weeks ago, Marquette went into Hartford and beat UConn. Ipso fatso, my boys are the national champs!

See how easy it is to think positively?
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Big East didn't need UConn for validation

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So I guess this means the Big East and the Horizon League are the two best basketball conferences in the country, right?

Seriously, all those who thought the Big East was overrated and therefore didn't deserve 11 teams in the tournament simply weren't paying attention.

UConn went 21-0 outside the conference but had to fight just to finish tied for ninth in its conference. One of the Huskies' last losses came at home against Marquette, which also was tied for ninth in the league and which advanced to the Sweet 16.

I don't think it's any coincidence that a UConn squad toughened by the Big East gauntlet for three months had what it took to reach the title game.

Still, this doesn't "prove" the Big East is the best, any more than some second-round losses "proved" the league was overrated. The conference didn't need this for validation. Anybody who really follows college ball knows what's what.

As for explaining Butler reaching the final for two straight years, well, I've got nothing. Except admiration for the program, that is.
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Thank goodness NCAA football doesn't subject us to a boring, basketball-style, single-elimination playoff

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VCU. Multiple overtimes. Shelvin and Kemba and Knight, oh my!

Clutch performances. David versus Goliath ... with David slaying Goliath ... repeatedly. Derrick Williams!

UConn won 9 games in 19 days. Kentucky barely got past Princeton and then made it to the Final Four. The Butler did it ... again!!

Yep, the NCAA yahoos who preside over college football are right: March Madness sure sucks when compared to a Dynamic December that includes the Beef 'O' Brady Bowl, uDrove Bowl, MAACO Bowl, S.D. County Credit Union Bowl, Little Caesars Bowl, Meineke Car Care Bowl, AdvoCare V100 Bowl, Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl, New Era Pinstripe Bowl, Franklin American Mortgage Bowl, Bridgeport Education Bowl and Chick-fil-A Bowl.

Not to mention the AutoZone Bowl. I mean, who could forget Central Florida's thrilling 10-6 victory over Georgia -- 6-7 Georgia, by the way -- for absolutely none of the marbles?

So you just keep on keepin' on, you half-dozen BCS-and-bowlpoop proponents, and keep resisting the kind of playoff scenario that would produce something as boring as this year's NCAA hoops tourney.
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Thank God it's not Friday any more

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Rough Friday.

About three hours after the high school softball team I coach lost 17-0, my beloved Marquette Golden Warrior Eagles lost by 18 to North Carolina.

The bright side: Neither game resulted in a late, heartbreaking defeat. No, I had plenty of time to get used to the fact that each team was in the midst of a whuppin'.

I was really impressed with the comportment of the hundreds of Tar Heel backers at the Charlotte establishment where a couple dozen of us MU faithful watched the game. Very little trash talk -- no doubt partly due to none of us Marquetters having any reason to do any woofing -- and a hardy "good game" at the end as my wife and I left the bar.

Anyway, it was a fun season for The Gold, and among the graduating seniors, only Jimmy Butler will be missed on the court. We will be a hungry, veteran squad next season, with a few talented kids thrown in the mix.

As for my softball team, that opponent was the best we'll face this season. Thank goodness.

Taking the rest of the weekend off to chill out. Have a good one, folks.
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Marquette over Carolina? A man can dream ... that Duke showed Carolina how to lose

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If you're a Marquette fan like I am -- and really, isn't everybody? -- you have to be at least a little encouraged from the results of Thursday's games:

-- A nice victory by fellow Big East survivor UConn.

-- A superb team effort by the anti-Jimmers of Florida.

-- Butler's cool takedown of Wisconsin (leaving Marquette as the lone Cheeseheads still alive).

-- And especially, Arizona's defeat of defending champion Duke.

Wait? Did I say defeat? Arizona didn't just defeat the Dookies; the Wildcats destroyed them.

And so maybe, just maybe, another underdog can take down another ACC heavyweight.

All I know is that Marquette already is playing with house money. Many critics said The Gold shouldn't even have been invited to the tournament, and now here they are one of the final dozen still standing. So win or lose, it already has been pretty sweet.

My wife and I will be joining some fellow Charlotte-area Marquette alums area to cheer on our beloved Golden Warrior Eagles. We'll probably be outnumbered 50-to-1 at the sports bar, meaning there is potential for great public embarrassment if the Tar Heels thrash our lads from Milwaukee.

Nevertheless, this is sports. And in sports, you really do never know ... which is why it's the only reality TV worth watching.

The Dookies went down hard. Maybe next it will be Carolina's turn to fall.

I've got to admit I'd be a little more confident if Arizona would let us borrow Derrick Williams for a couple of hours.
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Today's High 5 - NCAA Hoops Edition

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Countdown from the one sporting event that never, ever disappoints ...

5. As I said all along, my beloved Marquette Golden Warrior Eagles -- a.k.a. The Gold -- were shoo-ins for the Sweet Sixteen.

OK, so I was worried -- really, really worried -- that they'd lose their tourney opener to Xavier. Once the lads got past that one, though, I had a strange, unexplainable confidence heading into the Syracuse game. And boy, did the Warrior Eagles play well down the stretch Sunday night.

Makes me so proud, I'm thinking about flying to Milwaukee just to enjoy dollar pitchers at The Gym and then snarf down a bowl of Real Chili with extra oyster crackers!!

4. Thanks, CBS, for not hogging the whole tournament (and thereby doing half a job).

I really enjoyed the way the opening weekend was spread over four networks, letting every fan watch every minute of every game we wanted to watch.

Added bonus: With TNT/TBS in the picture, it meant we got treated to the broadcast team of Marv Albert and Steve Kerr.

Marv simply is the best hoops play-by-play man in history and, when he's not being a terrible NBA GM, Kerr is a talented analyst.

Yesssss!

3. The clock snafu at the end of the Carolina-Washington game and a questionable 5-second call against Texas notwithstanding, it's been a strong tournament for the refs.

They have made several outstanding no-calls on late blocked shots and totally nailed the crazy end of Butler's win over Pitt by calling fouls that absolutely had to be called despite the general (and erroneous) belief that "you don't make those calls in the final seconds."

There. I said it. We rail at the refs when they stink, so they should get one of these (I'm doing the thumbs-up sign) when they excel.

2. Marquette and UConn are the only survivors of the 11 Big East teams that began the tournament, and lots of folks are whining about how overrated the conference is.

Look, nine of the 11 were absolute locks, and one of the other two teams -- mine -- now is one of the last 16 standing. Losing NCAA tourney games, most by slim margins, proves little about the strength of a conference as a whole.

I mean, Virginia Commonwealth beat both Georgetown and Purdue, so that means what? The Colonial is better than the Big East and Big Ten? And if BYU beats Florida and San Diego State defeats UConn in the regionals, it means the Mountain West is better than both the SEC and the Big East?

A few years ago, when all those Missouri Valley teams advanced, did it mean that conference suddenly had surpassed the ACC? Or last year, did Butler's amazing run mean the Horizon was the second-best league in the land?

You don't have to answer those rhetorical questions.

While we're on the Big East ... I'll admit I enjoyed Notre Dame getting spanked by Florida State. And I'm not especially surprised it happened. Marquette killed the Irish once this season and had them in trouble before blowing a lead in losing their other matchup.

All you do is put long, quick athletes on Ben Hansbrough and Tim Abromaitis, take away their 3-point shooting and force someone else to beat you. Meanwhile, you force Hansbrough and Abromaitis to defend on the other end.

And faster than you can say "green beer is stupid," Irish eyes ain't smiling.

One of my pet peeves during my time at Marquette was that so many of my Catholic friends (which meant just about all of my MU friends) hated ND basketball but loved ND football.

Feh. If you're a Warrior (or Golden Eagle, Hilltopper, Avalanche or even The Gold) , you don't root for Notre Effin Dame. Period.

1. So now my boys move on to face my new state team, North Carolina. I have to admit that "concern" isn't a strong enough word to describe my feeling about the matchup.

The Tar Heels are a little loose with the ball and they take a lot of dumb shots, but they are so athletic, so talented and so well-coached, they of course will be huge favorites over my 11th-seeded Golden Warrior Eagles.

Hey, I look at it this way: Carolina barely beat Washington, which a year ago barely beat Marquette in the tourney. Ipso fatso, we are due (and destined) for victory.

Or something like that.
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Marquette lose? My bad ... and that's good!

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Never happier to be wrong about Marquette! My beloved Golden Warrior Eagles pretty much dominated Xavier from start to finish. Very impressive win over a team that had reached the Sweet 16 the previous three years.

So I guess now I hafta say I'd go with Syracuse if I were a betting man ...
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An oasis in desert of bracket overkill

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No bracket racket here.

None.

For the first time since I can't remember when, I'm not filling out an NCAA tournament bracket.

I'm not betting, so otherwise what would be the point? So a week or two from now, I can tell everybody how smart I am (or, more likely, amn't)?

The last couple of years, I've started to realize that people yammering on about their tourney picks -- present company included -- was only slightly less annoying than people yammering on about their fantasy football teams.

Tourney bracket conversations are dopey, anyway. I mean, the listener never really listens. He/she just waits till you shut up so he/she can tell you about his/her brilliant/lame picks.

So I'm going to do my own teeny, tiny part to mute the clatter.

Ahhhh ... it already feels so liberating!
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NCAA hypocrites unite!

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The world is full of hypocrites and, it being March, we might as well talk about one of the biggest groups of hypocrites on the planet:

The university presidents and other Pooh-bahs atop the NCAA.

They refuse to sanction a national football tournament. Why? Because one or two extra games would put too much wear and tear on their beloved athlete-students. Plus, any system other than the BCS would cost those same athlete-students too much class time (even though almost all would be on Christmas break during a real championship tourney).

OK, let's say we take them at their word. (We don't ... but for the sake of argument, we'll say we do.) How do they explain what's going on this week in college basketball, with one conference tournament after another pushing hundreds of athletes to the brink of exhaustion and keeping tens of students among the athletes out of the classroom?

In the Big East on Friday, UConn will be playing its fourth high-intensity game in as many days. If the Huskies beat Syracuse and advance to Saturday's championship, they'll be the first ever to play five games in five days. And basketball games, unlike their football counterparts, include more than 10 minutes each of actual action.

Apparently, the money grab that is March Madness -- from the conference tournaments to the NCAAs to the NIT -- trumps all the fear of wear and tear.

My beloved Marquette Golden Warrior Eagles played three games in three nights in the Big East tourney, the third being Thursday's quarterfinal loss to Louisville. That the rest of the Marquette student body has been taking midterm exams all week was of little concern to the NCAA honchos. Not when there's big coin to be made at Madison Square Garden. Let the athlete-students make up the exams later (if they take the exams at all).

The NCAA wants it both ways ... and they're succeeding at getting what they want.

OK, fine. We know when we're beaten. Just don't look so smug while blowing smoke up our butts. Say what it is: preservation of status quo, cash grab, lording over the sports world, whatever.

And just don't say it's about the kids. Because everybody with an IQ over 50 -- even Digger Phelps and Dickie V -- knows it isn't.
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