My March Madness Brackets With Very Little Explanation
Mostly vibes over here, don't mind me
IT IS TIME FRIENDS. THE DANCES ARE HERE.
One last time, for those who would like to join my Women’s NCAA Tournament group, The Hoopla Groupla 2023, you have until tomorrow at 11:30 a.m. to do so. It is free, with the reward being a shoutout if you beat me.
The men’s tournament starts within an hour of me writing this, so let me quickly show you this definitely right, definitely correct bracket that I have cooked up.
I have gone with my gut and picked UCLA to win it all. Despite the loss of Jaylen Clark, the Bruins are such a well-rounded team that have avoided major slip-ups all season. They have veterans that have been here before, but also some new faces like Adem Bona (who should be able to play) and Amari Bailey, the latter of which I’m hoping steps up in a big way.
The Bruins are taking down Alabama in my championship game, and I predicted a blowout because I will be hoping for it. The Crimson Tide are an excellent team, but everything surrounding this team off the court makes them easy to root against.
Some other upset picks, and my reasonings (or lack thereof) for them:
Purdue is a fraud and should lose early. I don’t think that the team is, well, good, besides Zach Edey. That left a void for who will make it out of this region, and I’m hoping Duke is too offensively challenged to take down Marquette.
Creighton got to my Elite Eight by default, and I was tempted to ride the Utah State hype train all the way there. I am putting my faith in the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos to take down a Baylor team that is very beatable on defense.
It seems that everyone is willing to pick Drake, but I am with them. This section of the Midwest was so tough for me. Kent State seems dangerous, but I am choosing to trust Indiana to get to the Sweet 16 here despite the many cinderella options in front of the Hoosiers.
Iona over UConn is a pick of spite, and I won’t apologize for it. It is generally funny when UConn loses, and to lose to Rick Pitino is too perfect. The Sweet 16 move was some added spice because I like the slow, veteran VCU team to take down Saint Mary’s.
There’s a 100 percent chance I read too many things about how good and under seeded Texas A&M is, and I am legitimately scared that the Aggies falter to a Penn State team playing its best basketball. But I could not fully buy into Texas or Xavier, so it felt like a reasonable pick for an Elite Eight run.
Now, for my women’s tournament bracket:
I’ve went through my Big Ten thoughts already, but I am sticking by Indiana making the national championship, and Iowa getting to the Final Four. Both of these would be helped out if my other predictions — Tennessee to the Final Four and Texas to the Elite Eight — came true.
The Vols are a weird team that started slow, but have picked up steam in a big way as of late. This team is playing great basketball, and only has been stopped by South Carolina, so I think a deep run is absolutely in the cards.
Texas is similar to Tennessee, but it has never fully come together for the Longhorns after the sluggish start. This team is full of talent, and I think this is the most vulnerable Stanford team we have seen in awhile despite the seeding.
I think women’s basketball has the most parity it has had in years, and yet I still feel my bracket is pretty chalk heavy. That said, I do have two 12 seeds moving on in Florida Gulf Coast and Toledo. FGCU is a mid-major juggernaut that shoots the lights out from three, and its playing a Washington State team that went red hot in the Pac-12 Tournament, but history says it is hard to keep the momentum going.
For Toledo, this is partially with my heart, partially because I have seen the Rockets take down a good team earlier this year in Michigan. That type of win proves Toledo can shine on a big stage.
Middle Tennessee State is so good that beating Colorado barely feels like an upset. This team has an 18-point win over Louisville and a 16-point win over Memphis on the résumé, and I was real close to picking a Sweet 16 run for the Blue Raiders.
Finally, Creighton over Notre Dame, mostly out of circumstance. It was announced today that star point guard Olivia Miles will be out for the Irish, and that is a significant blow for a team so reliant on what she brings to the offense.
DISCLAIMER: You are not allowed to come back here and own me on how bad these picks are. OK, well, you are allowed to do that, but just don’t please! I am fragile!!