March Madness bracket reset: New Final Four teams, but title picks still intact

Ryan Fagan

March Madness bracket reset: New Final Four teams, but title picks still intact image

The teams still standing in the NCAA Tournament feel more like survivors than conquerors after that crazy opening weekend of March Madness. 

With an opportunity to catch our collective breath entering the Sweet 16, let's take a fresh look at the bracket and try this "picking winners" thing one more time. For reference, here was my March Madness bracket before the tournament started. Yes, I lost Arizona and Michigan State as Final Four teams, but my championship matchup between Villanova and Gonzaga is still intact. 

SWEET 16 GAME PREVIEWS: 
Loyola (Ill.)-NevadaTexas A&M-Michigan
Kansas St-KentuckyFSU-Gonzaga 

Here are my updated March Madness bracket predictions entering the Sweet 16. 

March Madness bracket predictions

Sweet 16 picks

Kentucky over Kansas State
Loyola over Nevada
Gonzaga over Florida State
Texas A&M over Michigan
Villanova over West Virginia
Texas Tech over Purdue
Kansas over Clemson
Duke over Syracuse

Three thoughts

  1. I have no idea what to do with that Loyola-Chicago vs. Nevada game. I only know that, if the Ramblers get a lead, they need to put the Wolf Pack away. Do not let Eric Musselman's team even sniff a comeback opportunity.
  2. Maybe it's recency bias, but after watching Texas A&M dominate in the paint in person against Providence and UNC, it's hard to see Michigan — which, honestly, hasn't played well — beating the Aggies.
  3. In Syracuse's past eight NCAA Tournament games, it is 7-0 vs. non-ACC teams and 0-1 vs. ACC teams. So facing ACC foe Duke isn't great for Jim Boeheim's team.  

SWEET 16 GAME PREVIEWS:  
Clemson-KansasW. Virginia-Villanova
Syracuse-DukeTexas Tech-Purdue 

Elite Eight picks

Kentucky over Loyola
Gonzaga over Texas A&M
Villanova over Texas Tech
Duke over Kansas

Three thoughts:

  1. The way Kentucky has played through its first two NCAA Tournament games, don't be surprised if the Wildcats, with all those future NBA players, continue to roll this game, regardless whether they face Loyola or Nevada.
  2. I've seen enough of Duke this year to know the Blue Devils have flaws that can be exploited by the right team. So why am I picking the Blue Devils to reach the Final Four? The teams that can do that aren't in their path. Kansas has flaws, too, and I think Duke will do a better job exploiting them.
  3. Villanova's really, really good. 

MORE: Re-ranking the Sweet 16 teams

Final Four picks

Gonzaga over Kentucky
Villanova over Duke

Two thoughts:

  1. If I was the betting type, I would not put money against Kentucky right now. But I'm too thrifty to bet on sports, and I had Gonzaga in the title game before the tournament started, so I'm not changing now.
  2. Villanova's really, really good. 

National championship pick:
Villanova over Gonzaga

Final thought: Villanova's really, really good. And after the craziness of the tournament's opening weekend, I'm just glad that both of my picks to reach the title game have survived this far. But Villanova's really, really good. 

Ryan Fagan

Ryan Fagan Photo

Ryan Fagan, the national MLB writer for The Sporting News, has been a Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2016. He also dabbles in college hoops and other sports. And, yeah, he has way too many junk wax baseball cards.