Opening the Crystal Ball of the NCAA Tourney

March madness is upon us once more. As every armchair prognosticator tries desperately to come up with picks for the office pool, my roommate Brooks Morrin and I are here to end all of the speculation and let you in on what the most exciting three weeks in sports will hold. Through a dissection of each region, we present our tournament selections.

Southeast

Without a doubt, this is the toughest region of the four. All of the top five seeds are incredibly talented and all of them have proven that they can win when they need to; the champions of five of the strongest conferences in the country are in this bracket and don't be shocked if any of them makes it all the way to the Meadowlands.

Don't listen to a word that The Boston Globe has to say--Adonal Foyle might be a good player, but he is not David Robinson (Grancio outplayed Foyle and I have a feeling the Admiral would whoop up on Harvard). Colgate doesn't stand a chance. At the top of the bracket, UConn makes it to a Sweet 16 matchup with under-rated UCLA.

For an upset in this region, look for Boston College to beat up on the Indiana Hoosiers. Indiana had an awful non-conference record and the Big 10 is over-rated once again. Georgia Tech, the perennial upset victim, actually has enough talent this season to overcome Bobby Cremins' bonehead coaching, and they should reach the Sweet 16.

Look for the inside power of Cincinnati and the all-around athleticism of UCLA to meet in the Elite Eight. The Bearcats will beat the defending champs and earn themselves a ticket to beautiful East Rutherford.

West

The weakest of the four regions should provide us with some of the best first- and second-round matchups.

Tubby Smith is one of the best tournament coaches in America. Look for him to make the Sweet 16 for the third straight year as Georgia will shock Purdue.

A second-round contest between Memphis and Syracuse will feature the two most overlooked big men in the country--Lorenzen Wright and John Wallace. If Memphis stays focused and disciplined, its talent should take that squad to the regional final.

George Washington's upset of UMass was no accident. Forward Kwame Evans and 5'3" Shante Rogers are solid players and Mike Jarvis' squad will beat Iowa and could even surprise Arizona in Tempe.

Kansas, the class of this region, has great depth and good floor spacing and Roy Williams is one of the best coaches around. Jacque Vaughn should lead the Jayhawks to the Final Four with ease.

East

UMass sucks, but so does the rest of the top half of this draw. I would like to call the Minutemen the most overrated team in America, but the Nittany Lions from Penn State clearly deserve that honor. Look for Marquette to surprise everyone and reach the regional final.

Every year, one of the magical 14 seeds sneaks into the second round. I'm struggling to find one this season, but the best bet is probably Northern Illinois. The Texas Tech Red Raiders played no quality non-conference opponents and a perfect record in Southwestern conference is no more spectacular then a fifth-place finish in the Big East.

Even if Texas Tech does survive, the experienced backcourt play of Jeff McInnis and Dante Calabria will put Dean Smith into the Sweet 16 once more.

Aside from Kentucky, George-town probably has more raw ability than any other team in the nation. Why is it, then, that I have such a hard time seeing them in the Final Four? If anyone will beat the Hoyas, it will be the New Mexico Lobos in the second round. A 27-4 overall record with their schedule is no minor accomplishment. Nonetheless, John Thompson's and his young team will still be playing in April.

Midwest

Don't be fooled by its loss to Mississippi State--Kentucky is awesome. The Bulldogs beat the 'Cats, but it took nearly flawless play on both ends of the court to do so. The Wildcats will make it to the regional finals with ease.

Iowa State is fresh off its first Big 8 tournament championship ever. The Cyclones will experience a bit of a letdown, and the superb play of freshman Shareef Abdur-Raheem will carry the Cal Golden Bears into the second week.

The bottom portion of this bracket is the toughest of any to predict. The Tulsa Golden Hurricane have the most tournament experience of any of these teams, and forward Shea Seals is a third team All-American. Don't be surprised if Tulsa beats an erratic Louisville team.

Villanova, the best of the crop of mediocre Philadelphia teams, is struggling. They lost early last year, and won't make it past the round of 32.

Wake Forest, led by Tim Duncan and three-sport star Rusty LaRue, will make it to the Elite Eight. And because of its sterling inside play, the Demon Deacons will be competitive with Kentucky. Nevertheless, the Wildcats will be the sole No. 1 seed in New Jersey.

For once, the preseason polls will be proved correct--Kansas and Kentucky will meet for the national championship. Both teams have the coaching and the depth to win six games and it could go either way.

If Kansas can slow Kentucky down and control the glass, then Roy Williams could come away with his first championship as a head coach. More likely, however, it will be Rick Pitino's Kentucky Wildcats cutting down the nets in April.