Its beggining to look a lot like Christmas...

Well, it may not be looking like Christmas, but it sure feels like it. It is the happiest time of the year. It is that time where everything, work, school, friends, and sadly, sometimes family, takes a back seat to college basketball. Its March Madness, the greatest time of year. Back on February 1, my good friend Indiea sent me a text that said, "Hey Jimmy, do you know what next month is?" Of course I knew. You can ask me any day of the year, how many days until March Madness starts and I will give you the days, hours, and seconds until the first game tips off. Ok, so that last part was a lie. But nevertheless, I love March!
So lets take a look at this years bracket. It took me a long time to fill out my bracket this year. College basketball has been so unpredictable and honestly, I have no idea who is going to come out on top. I can very easily see all four number one seeds advancing, just like in 2008, or I could see not a single one making it, just like in 2006. So ladies and gentlemen, here we go. I give you my picks for each region. I will tell you which team looks poised to upset, which first round game you will not want to miss, my possible dark horse to make a run late into the tournament and possibly sneak into the Final Four, and who will actually be playing in Houston. So here we go, lets dance!

EAST

Upset- Washington. Although they will easily be able to beat Georgia in the first round and no one needs to consider that game an upset, in round two, they will run into the red hot, North Carolina Tar Heels. UNC has won 14 of its last 16 games and both of those losses came to their arch rival Duke. This second round match-up will be played in Charlotte and will without a doubt be nearly all Tar Heel fans. But the Huskies have the momentum from their conference tournament. Unlike North Carolina who lost in the championship game by 18 points, Washington, led by the very talented Isaiah Thomas, won their conference tournament over the top seeded Arizona Wildcats on a Thomas buzzer beater. UNC starts two freshman in the backcourt. Two very talented freshman, but they will not match well with the experience and strength of the Huskies. U Dub will stun the Heels in North Carolina and move to the Sweet 16 for the second straight year.

Best First Round Game- George Mason vs. Villanova. I am looking forward to this match up. The Patriots shocked the world in 2006 making it all the way to the Final Four as an 11 seed. They will be playing a really really really talented Villanova team who has lost five straight games. But the Wildcats were knocked out in the first round of the Big East tournament and have had more than a week to rest and prepare for this tournament. Coach Jay Wright will have them ready to play. Although I think Nova will lose its sixth straight game and end their season, I expect this to be a close game from jump fall to final horn.

Team To Watch- Did you know that Xavier has made it to the sweet 16 three straight seasons? I didn't know that either until it came up on my ESPN ScoreCenter app for my phone. Look for the Musketeers to make it a third straight year. They have the A-10 player of the year Tu Holloway who averages 20 points a game. The biggest problem for Xavier will be their depth. If they want to make it to the Sweet 16 for a third year, they will have to knock off two Big East teams, Marquette and Syracuse. But I am here to tell you, they can and will do it.

Final Four- Kentucky. Winning in March is about one thing, getting hot at the right time. I would argue that these Wildcats may be the hottest team in the country right now. The think John Calipari's team has all the talent to make it to the Final Four, but the question is, do they have the maturity? I can see this team making a long run in the tournament, but I also would not be too shocked if they lost in the first round to Princeton. Somehow, someway, I see Johnny C getting his team to his third final four. He would join Rick Patino as the only other coach to take three different to the Final Four. Oh wait, his other two Final Fours were taken back by the NCAA, so never mind, he is looking for his first Final Four appearance.

WEST

Upset- Oakland. I think this may be the most cliche first round upset pick on everyone's brackets. I worry that Texas will be so sick of hearing that they are going to lose to Oakland that they will go out and run them into the ground. But Texas sure knows how to choke in March. This team has all the talent needed to make a Final Four run, but in a matter of three weeks has managed to slip from the number 2 team in the nation to a number 4 seed. Look for more slipping. Oakland has played West Virginia, Michigan State, Ohio State, Purdue, and beat Tennessee in Knoxville. They are no stranger to playing big teams. They lost only one game in the Summit League this year and will be full of confidence against struggling Longhorns.

Best First Round Game- Arizona vs. Memphis. This may also be the most heart breaking game for me. Somehow, the committee chose to match my two favorite college basketball teams in the first round. I have loved Arizona since I knew what basketball was. I still consider March 31, 1997, one of the greatest days of my life, the day Arizona won their only National Championship. I have been a fan of Memphis basketball for only two seasons. Why? Arizona alum and one of my personal heroes, Josh Pastner, is their head coach. Pastner was on that National Championship team and was an assistant coach under Lute Olsen after he finished playing. I have admired him since I was a little boy and even use to write him letters. Now, in only his second season as head coach and first appearance in the tournament, Pastner will face his former team. Arizona was the regular season Pac-10 champs and fell seconds short of winning their tournament. Memphis finished forth in Conference USA but won their tournament to receive an automatic bid. Arizona has a better overall team led by Player of the Year candidate Derrik Williams, but Memphis is young, talented and confident. They believe they can beat anyone. I think and hope Arizona will come out on top, but if they have to lose to anyone, I will be less mad that it is Memphis.

Team to Watch- San Diego State. They are a number 2 seed, but lets be honest, no one thinks they have a chance to go anywhere. San Diego State has never even won a single tournament game, not one, not even once. But just watch, the Aztecs know how to rebound and clean up the glass. They are led by Kawhi Leonard one of the most athletic players in the nation. They have a fairly favorable half of the region and I think they will make a run to the elite eight without too much difficulty. Sadly, in that game, they will run into Duke.

Final Four- Duke. The defending champions. Last year Duke was considered the worst of all the number 1 seeds, yet somehow, they won it all. This year history repeats itself. Duke once again is the lowest rated number 1 seed, but is probably playing in the easiest of the four brackets. Their biggest test will probably not come until the regional finals against San Diego State. There is possibility that they may also get back Kyrie Irving from injury. If he can make even a small contribution to this team, well then, game over. Duke is too experienced, too well coached, and too much, well, Duke, to not make it again to 16th Final Four.

SOUTHEAST

Upset- Richmond. The Spiders were able to win the A-10 tournament and steal a bid into the madness. I think they got a favorable draw with Vanderbilt in the first round. This is one of the games that I just feel. I do not know too much about Richmond. I have only seen them play for a few minutes, but sometimes, you just have to make a few picks simply because it feels right, this is one of them.

Best First Round Game - Georgetown vs. USC. I am going out on a limb here and assuming USC is going to beat VCU in the play-in game, but come one, we all know that will happen. This game will be interesting because Georgetown has not been playing good ball ever since Chris Wright injured his hand about two weeks ago. The Hoyas are a very talented team, but they live and die off of the contribution of their leader Wright. If he is able to play, they should be able to beat the Trojans. But USC has one of the most impressive big men that I have watched play all year, Nikola Vucevic. He will give the bigs of Georgetown problems down low.

Team to Watch- Purdue. The Boilermakers flirted at times with a number 1 seed, but had a few late season losses and dropped back to a 3. Purdue, to me, is better than every team in this bracket, save Kansas. I think their sweet 16 match up with Notre Dame will be a close one, but I do not think the Irish are as good as advertised. I simply have not seen too much that has impressed me about Notre Dame. I believe Purdue will give Kansas a fight in the regional final game, but will most likely fall short. But JaJuan Johnson could very easily take over that or any other game and will his team to victory. Look for Purdue to make a run late into the tournament.

Final Four- Kansas. Bill Self is too good of a coach to let what happened to his team last year repeat this season. The Jayhawks were the overall number 1 seed last season, but were knocked off in the second round. They look to me to be the most complete team in the nation. They have experienced guard play and have two amazing twin-brother-towers up front. The Morris twins are something special to watch and I believe those two will lead their team to a Final Four.

SOUTHWEST

Upset- Wofford. I know that by making this pick I am upsetting many of my friends, including my own father, who is a BYU graduate. But Wofford has a big man named Noah Dahlman who I believe will give the Cougars too many problems on the boards. BYU has struggled since the loss of Brandon Davies to get rebounds. Dahlman is a talented rebounder and post scorer. I sure hope that I am wrong about this pick. I hope BYU makes a deep run into the tournament. I would love for the Cougars to prove everyone wrong and show that they can win without Davies. But sadly, BYU needs more than just Jimmer, and in their last few games, I haven't seen enough from anyone but him. It is possible that Fredette out scores the entire Wofford team all by himself, but deep down, although it hurts me to say it, I think the Terriers pull off the upset.

Best First Round Game- St. Johns vs. Gonzaga. If you know anything about college basketball this year, you know that St. Johns has beaten some pretty good teams. The only problem is that they have beaten all those teams, with the exception of Villanova, in Madison Square Garden. Gonzaga got off to a slow start, but won the WCC tournament and once again is dancing. The Johnnys have not been to the tournament since 2002. They have nine seniors on their team, but not a single one of them has been to the tourney. Gonzaga has a well worn pair a dancing shoes and coach Mark Few knows what it takes to win in March. This should be a fun game to watch.

Team to Watch- Kansas State. The preseason number 3 ranked team Kansas St. Wildcats did not look like a very good team for the first half of the season, but ever since upsetting their arch-rivals, the Kansas Jayhawks, K-State has been one of the hottest teams in the county. I love their Senior point guard Jacob Pullen. For a while, it looked like the only way for them to win was for Pullen to have a big game. Although that still is true to an extent, the rest of the team has blossomed as of late. They also may be the most motivated team in the country because who would want to have to be in a locker room with their coach, Frank Martin, after losing a game.

Final Four- Florida. This region was for me the hardest to predict. I do not think Florida is the best team in this region, but I think the cards may just fall in to place for them and they will find themselves in the Final Four for the first time since they won back-to-back National Championships.

NATIONAL CHAMPION- Kansas Jayhawks. For the second straight year I am picking Kansas. I do not know why. I personally do not want them to win it all, but I do consider them the most complete team. They also will be playing with a chip on their shoulders not wanting to repeat the collapse they had last season in the tourney. I believe the Kansas Jayhawks will be cutting down the nets on April 4.