I’ve moved up in the world; slightly. Or at least become slightly less obscure than I have been for most of my life. Why? Because I’ve been invited to participate in ESPN’s Media Only Bracket Challenge. This esteemed honor proves that there are individuals other than my mother and my girlfriend who think I’m relevant.
Perhaps five whole people have heard of me, instead of four. Why am I telling you this? Because perhaps there will be some funny stories to share. We’ll see what famous media personalities show up and we’ll see how their brackets do.
Here’s what I picked:
SOUTH REGIONAL:
#1 Florida over #5 VCU and #2 Kansas over #3 Syracuse
I’ve moved up in the world; slightly. Or I’ve become slightly less obscure as most of my life as I’ve been invited to participate in ESPN’s bracket Media Challenge. Here’s what I’m submitting.
EAST REGIONAL:
#4 Michigan State over #1 Virginia and #2 Villanova over #3 Iowa State
Covering Michigan St basketball in the Big Ten Tournament, I witnessed a pretty dominant run. This impressive three game stretch, along with my Spartan lineage made me biased towards thinking Michigan St basketball is going to win the whole thing. Then when I got home from Indianapolis I realized, everyone else is picking them too.
MY MICHIGAN STATE OPENING ROUND PREVIEW
WEST REGIONAL:
#9 Oklahoma St. over #12 North Dakota State and #3 Creighton over #2 Wisconsin
This is the region that gets a little crazy with the Cowboys making some noise and it doesn’t involve Marcus Smart getting violent this time. This sets up perfectly for Bo Ryan to….sorry, I’ve learned to NEVER pick Ryan to finish lower than fourth in the league. And I don’t often pick against him in the Big Ten Tournament. However, I just can’t pick him to advance past the sweet 16
MIDWEST REGIONAL:
#4 Louisville over #1 Wichita State and #2 Michigan over #3 Duke
I also believe the NCAA intentionally made their bracket as hard as possible; on purpose. I feel they slighted the Wichita St Shockers because a.) they don’t truly believe they’re actually that good and b.) they don’t want another mid-major going back to the Final Four because it’s bad for ratings. I disagree with them on their first one. WSU is for real. It’s not their fault that their conference is a total joke. On the second point, well, yeah I see where they coming from, which is why I brought up how the Wheat Shockers are page views Siberia. But it doesn’t make it right.
For my Shockers piece that NO ONE read, but you really should!
FINAL FOUR:
#4 Michigan State over #1 Florida and #4 Louisville over #9 Oklahoma State
This isn’t “GO GREEN” homering, the Spartans are the SEXY PICK this year.
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP:
#4 Michigan State over #4 Louisville
Brackets, brackets, brackets, Have you ever heard my voice impersonation of Tom Izzo? Here’s the audio of the time I did it on the air.
Paul M. Banks owns The Sports Bank.net, an affiliate of Fox Sports. An MBA and Fulbright scholar, he’s also a frequent analyst on multiple news talk radio stations. The former NBC Chicago and Washington Times contributor has also been featured on the History Channel.