Editor's Note: I mentioned posting a Viewer's Guide here for Tuesday. There's been a change of plans. That info will be posted over at SB Nation each morning of the first weekend.
Sunday, not long after the bracket was announced I made some off-the-cuff, early picks over at SB Nation.
Now, 72 hours later, I've revisited things. After getting more information about the teams (including a key piece of new about a team close to my own heart), my bracket of today looks a bit different.
(Click the bracket to see larger):
After the jump, I'll go through each region, round by round, in a slightly quicker fashion than I have in years past.
First, let me recap my performance the past four years.
2006: 34-29 (.540)
2007: 46-17 (.730)
2008: 36-27 (.563)
2009: 40-23 (.635)
Considering I only got one Final Four team last year, those 40 correct picks were impressive. But, as you can see, I enjoy the predicting the field part of this more than the picking games. I don't let my bracket's performance ruin my enjoyment of these three weeks, and neither should you.
So, let's get to my picks.
Midwest
First Round
Kansas over Lehigh
Northern Iowa over UNLV
Michigan State over New Mexico State
Maryland over Houston
San Diego State over Tennessee
Georgetown over Ohio
Oklahoma State over Georgia Tech
Ohio State over UC Santa Barbara
Second Round
Kansas over Northern Iowa
Maryland over Michigan State
Georgetown over San Diego State
Ohio State over Oklahoma State
Regional Semifinals
Kansas over Maryland
Ohio State over Georgetown
Regional Final
Kansas over Ohio State: Best team trumps best player.
West
First Round
Syracuse over Vermont
Gonzaga over Florida State
Butler over UTEP
Murray State over Vanderbilt
Xavier over Minnesota
Pittsburgh over Oakland
BYU over Florida
Kansas State over North Texas
Second Round
Syracuse over Gonzaga
Butler over Murray State
Xavier over Pittsburgh
Kansas State over BYU
Regional Semifinals
Syracuse over Butler
Kansas State over Xavier
Regional Final
Syracuse over Kansas State: The Wildcats don't have the interior players to go up against the Orange, even if Arinze Onuaku is hurt.
East
First Round
Kentucky over ETSU
Texas over Wake Forest
Cornell over Temple
Wisconsin over Wofford
Marquette over Washington
New Mexico over Montana
Missouri over Clemson
West Virginia over Morgan State
Second Round
Kentucky over Texas
Cornell over Wisconsin
Marquette over New Mexico
West Virginia over Missouri
Regional Semifinals
Kentucky over Cornell
West Virginia over Marquette
Regional Final
Kentucky over West Virginia: The Wildcats will be tested, but have more true interior players than the Mountaineers, and John Wall, who's turned into a real leader for them.
South
First Round
Duke over Arkansas-Pine Bluff
Louisville over Cal
Texas A&M over Utah State
Siena over Purdue
Old Dominion over Notre Dame
Baylor over Sam Houston State
Richmond over St. Mary's
Villanova over Robert Morris
Second Round
Duke over Louisville
Texas A&M over Siena
Baylor over Old Dominion
Richmond over Villanova
Regional Semifinals
Texas A&M over Duke:
Baylor over Richmond:
Regional Final
Baylor over Texas A&M: Someone has to be reason, and I don't think it will be Duke. These two split during the regular season, with each winning at home.
Final Four
National Semifinals
Kansas over Syracuse: If Arinze Onuaku is healthy, the Orange have a chance. If he's not 100 percent, the Jayhawks will wear the Orange down.
Kentucky over Baylor: One of the greatest comeback stories in college sports history ends.
National Final
Kansas over Kentucky: The veterans will win out over the youngsters in what should be a great game.
I'll have open threads for each day of the Tournament, and I'll be tweeting during all of the action @BracketDobber.