Iím heading into deadline for the NFH, and itís March 19 ñ everyone from Kim Kardashian to President Obama is frantically filling in their NCAA basketball tournament brackets before the ìplay-inî games start. With coffee in hand this morning, I am also perusing the most wide open and balanced tournament I have seen in many years! The top four seeds are great teams: Gonzaga, Indiana, Louisville and Kansas, but most experts donít think more than two of them will reach the Final Four, and no one agrees on which two! My opinion is that the No. 2 seeds are even better teams. Miami won both the ACC league and tournament and is looking like the toughest team out there. You can make a strong case for Ohio State, Georgetown and Duke, but I believe there are going to be more upsets this year than in any March Madness tourney in a long time!By the time the NFH is published, we will know the Final Four, so letís see how your predictions matched up with mine. In the Midwest, I am going with a balanced Louisville Cardinals team ñ impressive coming from 16 points down to win the Big East Championship by dismantling the vaunted Syracuse zone defense. In the West, I have been so impressed all year with the athleticism of the New Mexico Lobos that I have to put them in my Final Four. In the south, it was a tougher pick, but I am going with the physical Georgetown Hoyas. Because my wifeís parents are both from Indiana, I must go with my second No. 1 seed, the tested, talented and very deep Indiana Hoosiers. (And because I love the movie! My predication is that Louisville and Indiana will meet in the championship game, and Indiana will be the 2013 national champions. (Just hoping I am not too embarrassed by the time this is published!) Good luck to all of you on your brackets!Sweet 16 updateItís March 26 ñ my deadline has passed for the NFH, and Iím still trying to catch my breath from this past wild weekend of March Madness. As you can see from my first predictions, I, like most ìbracketologists,î didnít see this many ìCinderellaî teams coming! I still canít believe that Florida Gulf Coast eliminated Georgetown. My upset pick to make the Final Four, the New Mexico Lobos, were upset by Harvard! (Did anyone out there predict that one?) And please donít tell me you picked LaSalle to get to the Sweet Sixteen!This was Harvardís first ever tournament victory! Crazy! Florida Gulf Coast is the first 15th seed to make it to the Sweet Sixteen! Wild! All three Florida teams are in the Sweet Sixteen ñ Miami, Florida and Florida Gulf Coast. Wow! (Florida GC beat Miami earlier in the season!) Wichita State knocked out No. 1 seed Gonzaga! Nuts!Jeff Bergen, a DePaul University (Chicago) professor, said the odds of picking a perfect bracket are 1 in 9.2 quintillion! At ESPN.com, 8.15 million ìbracket buildersî submitted their predictions, and only 1 percent has Florida Gulf Coast in the Sweet Sixteen. Only 1.3 percent has LaSalle. And there are NO perfect brackets left in the ESPN contest.I only have two of my original Final Four teams left, Louisville and Indiana, and both look strong. President Obama has all four of his Final Four teams still alive ñ Louisville, Ohio State, Florida and Indiana. Hereís hoping you all have better picks than mine! Weíll see what the weekend has in store!Editorís note: At press time, Indiana has permanently left the court ñ sorry, Steve!
