NCAA Tournament Game

Picking randomly has worked well for in the past. My bracket is done, I have Michigan State to beat Duke in the final.

Mine is done. I'm brilliant at this kind of thing until the games start. Then my overinflated opinion of myself bursts.

ESPN.com and sports.yahoo.com are usually the best for me, though practically every American sport website will be full of it!

I've thrown a complete curveball in my bracket, with Xavier and Texas A&M making their first ever Final 4s. I've got for Michigan State over Texas A&M in the Championship Game.

Of course I'll be completely wrong.

Just a couple of hints for anyone that has never done this before - 
From 2008 to 2015, 15 of the 32 #12 seeds beat the #5 and it is, by far, the most common "Upset". I say "Upset", but it really isn't, simply because the #12 seed is almost always a Champion from a smaller conference having a great season with loads of confidence (and it is again with Yale, Chattanooga, South Dakota State and AR Little Rock all having won their respective "Mid-Major" Conference Championships), up against a 3/4/5th place finisher from one of the big conferences. So it's always good to pick one of the 4 #12's as your pick.

A #16 has never beaten a #1.

A #14 over #3 has happened twice in the last 3 years, but hadn't happened for 16 years before that.

Oh and if you're looking out for players that are likely to be top draft picks. The ones to look for are...

Duke's Brandon Ingram - tipped to be #1 or #2, alongside LSU's Ben Simmons. He's rake thin (6'9 195lbs), but the Kevin Durant comparisons just will not go away. Smooth jump-shot, huge athleticism and a fantastic defender.

Simmons' LSU team were awful and didn't even make the Tourney, despite Simmons averaging 19pts 11rebs and 4ass per game. Simmons relies on pure athleticism and needs to work on his jumper, but the talent is there, no question about that. His leadership is also being questioned with LSU's poor season, especially losing his, likely, final college game 71-38 to Texas A&M, with Simmons only getting 13/8.

California's Jaylen Brown and Ivan Rabb - both 19yo Freshmen. Brown, with huge athleticism, great defence but not the best shot, is expected to go anywhere between 3 and 5, and Rabb, a long, skinny, double-double threat, in the 8-10 range.

Providence's Kris Dunn - the best "True" PG in the draft. He has the size (6'5) and the stats (16pts 5.5rebs 6.7ass, 2.5stls) to be a star in the NBA. He's a fantastic defender too and the comparisons to Gary Payton keep on coming. Expected to go at #4 or #5 - depending on where the "Mystery Man", 7ft 18yo Croatian Dragan Bender, goes. One thing about Dunn, he's a senior, so already 22. How much potential is, as always, the question.

Utah's Jakob Poetl - the only "True" Center in most Draftnik's top-10, expected to go around 6 or 7. He's Austrian and has only played ball for 5 years, but he improved massively in every department this year. Somewhat amazingly for a big guy, he improved his FT % by over 30% in one year (from 46% to 78%) which shows just how hard he works.

Oklahoma's Buddy Hield - one of the highest scorers in all of College ball this year at over 25ppg, he has been likened to James Harden, both in his amazing offence...and ATROCIOUS defence. Should be drafted in the 6-8 range. The reason he isn't higher? He's a Senior and at nearly 23 how much more ceiling does he have?

Kentucky's Jamal Murray and Skal Labissiere - Murray has been the top-scorer for Kentucky this year and is an absolute dead cert in the "New-NBA" of 3 and D (20ppg 42% 3pt). Labisierre has been labelled "The Dud", after being the 2nd highest ranked player out of high school (behind Simmons), yet he has fallen flat on his arse at College. Foul-prone and mental mistakes blight his game, but the potential is huge (one game he played just 8mins, got 4 fouls, yet also got 6pts, 7rebs and 4blks!) Murray is a cert for the top-10, Labissiere somewhere around 10, though most think he should stay in College for another year.

Marquette's Henry Ellenson - is he the new Kevin Love, or the next Big White Stiff? 6'10, 255lbs, great scorer and rebounder. The Draft's big question mark, as some Draftnik's have him as high as 8 and others as low as 19.

As for the one player you REALLY want to watch, but who won't be a high pick, is Michigan State's Denzel Valentine. He truly is the heart and soul of his team and is, likely, to be given the Wooden Award for College Basketballs best player this year (it's between him and Hield). 6'5 G, 19.4pts 7.6rebs, 7.6ass and the unquestioned leader of his team. He is, as you may have guessed, a Senior, already 23 and, with a perceived lack of athleticism, a non-Lottery pick in this year's draft, but if anyone can show the NBA Drafters they got it wrong (in true Paul Millsap, Carlos Boozer style), it's Valentine. If he has a big Tourney - and most of us seem to think he will looking at the predictions of the Spartans winning it all - he might just force his way into the Top-20.

Only one wrong pick on the first day for me. I had Arkansas Little-Rock and Wichita State (they were rated far too low according to all the experts, so that was an easy pick), but I didn't think Yale could take down Baylor. Even in the history of 12 over 5's that's a big one, as Yale have never won a Tourney game in their history and Baylor were a real dark horse to go far coming into the Tourney.

As for the likely Draft picks -
Jakob Poetl had a monster night that will enhance his stock no end (16pts 18rebs - 9 offensive - and 4ass).
Brandon Ingram just showed how good he really could be (20/9).
Skal Labissiere managed to stay on the court, scored 12pts and blocked 6 shots, while Jamal Murray just scored, as he has all season (19/7).
Kris Dunn had a quietly efficient 16/4/4, though Providence won on possibly the worst defensive play I have ever seen from USC,

Some game there. Notre Dame win by 1.

Certainly the best title game I've seen since Duke v Butler in 2010 (the best game I've ever watched on television, for what its worth).