A quick look at the brackets.

First off.... mad props to the Purdue Boilermakers for winning the Big Ten. I couldn't be happier. Now, to the brackets.

Snubs: San Diego State. Only San Diego State. St. Mary's was worse than all of the other at large teams this year. If you lose one player and it derails your whole team, I think that demonstrates that you aren't necessarily tournament quality. I would replace SDSU with Arizona, if you were wondering.

First round upset picks: Dayton over West Virginia, Maryland over California, Temple over Arizona State, Akron over Gonzaga, Minnesota over Texas.

Top 8 teams (worst chance to best): Memphis, Syracuse, Wake Forest, Pittsburgh, Washington, North Carolina, Michigan State, Duke.

That's right, I have Duke, at first glance, winning the championship. They have been embarrassed the past several seasons with early exits and aren't likely to let that happen again. They also seem to be the team to beat a very strong Pitt squad, as they operate with mid range jumpers, rather than working the ball inside, where the Panthers would destroy the Blue Devils. The other surprise to many would be a lightning quick and still fresh Washington in the Final Four. They played a weaker conference and were seeded far to low. They still have their legs under them, unlike future opponents in the Big Ten, ACC, and especially Connecticut from the Big East. Make your picks accordingly.