By Stephen Luckey ’16

West Region: In the West Region, Arizona is the number one seed with an astonishing 30-4 record. Star point guard T.J. McConnell is a great player and will help the Wildcats through the tournament, seeing that he has the tenacity to out-work his competitors, but at the same time dish the ball off frequently to his teammates for assists. The main challenge for the wildcats will to get past the underdogs of third-ranked Creighton. Either Creighton or Wisconsin will most likely go head to head with the hyped up Wildcats. As long as Arizona can stay focused, it is a pretty easy ride to the final four.

Who will win: Arizona

Who to look out for: Creighton

South Region: While looking at the South, there are quite a few teams that can make some noise. The team that is projected to dominate not only in the region, but the whole tournament, is Florida. The Gators have had a fantastic year and will most likely show us even more astonishing plays. But other teams in the South have something to prove and will give a fight to Florida. Syracuse is offensively unstoppable with the right dynamics and skills. Florida will have a tough time getting through the region, but as long as they keep an eye on Syracuse and Kansas, the Gators will earn their spot in the final four.
Who will win: Florida

Who to look out for: Syracuse

Midwest Region: As we cruise on over to the Midwest, it’s interesting to see Wichita State as the number-one seed for the region. Clearly after last year’s tournament, they are here to repeat the underdog winning-streak. Which makes sense seeing that they have an undefeated record. The big name schools will also show their presence as Michigan and Duke are looking to keep the nationally-known powerhouse image. Coach K and the Blue Devils, along with the all-mighty fight of Michigan’s Wolverines, will test Wichita State’s hopeful run.

Who will win: Wichita State

Who to look out for: Duke

East Region: Based on this season, the East is truly the best. Virginia had a near-flawless year while the air-flying guard Justin Anderson set the stage for the Cavaliers. With him at his prime, Virginia will drop a lot jaws at the tournament. But let’s not forget about the ultimate Villanova. Anything lower than second-seed would be an insult to the program. I see them going toe-to-toe with the Cavaliers in the Elite 8 as they are most definitely the two strongest teams in the East.

Who will win: Virginia

Who to look out for: Villanova

Overall prediction: When filling out my bracket, I ended with a championship matchup between Florida and Arizona. They have earned their stripes this winter and will produce an adrenaline-rushing game for us on April 7. But, there can only be one winner, and that winner is the hard-snapping Gators of the sweet state Florida. Arizona will do damage, no doubt, but Florida just has that unique edge over their opponents.