BUSTING BRACKETS

BY STEVE DUNN

Tournament darling (or Cinderella) Florida Gulf Coast went down last night to Florida after being the first 15th seed to make it to the Sweet Sixteen.  When they knocked off Georgetown, most brackets were busted big-time.  Georgetown was the first of my Final Four predictions to bite the dust.

Brackets be darned.  For a time I was hoping for an All Big Ten Final Four (just to silence Charles Bsrkley among other things) but Friday Indiana got busted by Syracuse and my second Final Four pick exited the tournament.  Michigan State's loss last night to Duke reduced that fleeting fancy even further but Michigan's upset of Kansas still makes an All Big Ten Final a possibility. I had just intended for Ohio State to triumph over Indiana instead of the Wolverines.

One of the clear stars of the tournament to date is Aaron Craft, that Findlay OH native (I am a Findlay OH native) who  defended and three-pointed his team to eleven state victories.  He is one of the reasons that the commentators continue to lean towards my prediction of Thad Matta's Buckeyes winning it all.

Today begins the Elite Eight and with my brackets busted, here are my revised prognostications.

Louisville over Duke

Ohio State over Wichita State

Florida over Michigan

Syracuse over Marquette

Ohio State over Louisville

Syracuse over Florida

BIG ONE - Ohio State over Syracuse

 

Interestingly, I am currently living in Shippensburg PA, the home of FGU's coach Andy Enfield Needless to say, most people were rooting for them in this location, myself included.  Most Buckeye fans have an aversion to Florida sports teams.