Editors Matt Watts and John Boothe teamed up with staff writer Greg Luca to bring you alligatorSports' consensus bracket in time for March Madness. Read below for early-round analysis. Refer to the PDF to the left for the full bracket and detailed explanations of the guys' late-round picks.
SOUTH
Second Round
No. 1 Kentucky beats No. 16 WKY: The talent gap is too big. Don’t even think about it.
No. 9 UConn beats No. 8 Iowa St: UConn’s athletes overwhelm Iowa State’s three-happy offense and do-everything center Royce White.
No. 5 Wichita St beats No. 12 VCU: VCU dials up the pressure, but Wichita’s experienced lineup handles it with ease.
No. 4 Indiana beats No. 13 New Mexico State: The Aggies won’t be able to slow Indiana’s sharpshooting attack.
No. 6 UNLV beats No. 11 Colorado: UNLV star forward Mike Moser has run hot and cold down the stretch, but Colorado has no one who can match up with him.
No. 3 Baylor beats No. 14 South Dakota St.: Jackrabbits’ leader Nate Wolters will put up a fight, but the Bears’ length is too overwhelming.
No. 10 Xavier beats No. 7 Notre Dame: March is when senior point guards shine, and Xavier’s Tu Holloway fits that mold to a tee.
No. 2 Duke beats No. 15 Lehigh: The size of the Plumlees is too much by itself, to say nothing of Duke’s dominant backcourt.
Third Round
No. 1 Kentucky beats No. 9 Connecticut: Connecticut relies on talent to win, but Kentucky has much, much more of it.
No. 4 Indiana beats No. 5 Wichita State: In a matchup of impressive bigs, Indiana freshman phenom Cody Zeller gets the best of Garrett Stutz.
No. 3 Baylor beats No. 6 UNLV: There isn’t a player in America who can match up with Baylor’s Perry Jones, who continues his run of stellar play from the Big 12 Tournament.
No. 2 Duke beats No. 10 Xavier: Duke’s Austin Rivers, Seth Curry and Andre Dawkins outshoot Tu Holloway and Mark Lyons when two of the game’s best backcourts clash.
WEST
Second Round
No. 1 Michigan State beats No. 16 LIU: No. 1 seeds are 108-0 all time. Michigan State won’t be the one to buck the trend.
No. 9 Saint Louis beats No. 8 Memphis: In a clash of polar opposite styles, grind-it-out Saint Louis grounds free-flowing Memphis.
No. 5 New Mexico beats No. 12 Long Beach St.: New Mexico has been able to limit opponent’s No. 1 weapons all year and will do the same to LBSU and the explosive Casper Ware.
No. 4 Louisville beats No. 13 Davidson: Louisville’s Peyton Siva and Russ Smith are too quick for Davidson’s pedestrian perimeter defenders.
No. 6 Murray State beats No. 11 Colorado State: CSU hasn’t played defense all season and has been particularly susceptible to the 3-ball, where Murray will thrive.
No. 3 Marquette beats No. 14 BYU: Both teams want to get out and run, but Marquette is better at it.
No. 7 Florida beats No. 10 Virginia: Virginia’s pack-line defense will force UF’s talented backcourt into jump shots, which they’ve had no problem taking and making all year.
No. 2 Missouri beats No. 15 Norfolk State: Mizzou boasts the nation’s best offense, one no 15-seed could ever keep up with.
Third Round
No. 1 Michigan State beats No. 9 Saint Louis: Michigan State’s overwhelming physicality pounds Saint Louis into submission.
No. 5 New Mexico beats No. 4 Louisville: Louisville’s Gorgui Dieng contains UNM star Drew Gordon, but the Cardinals don’t shoot or score well enough to make it count.
No. 3 Marquette beats No. 6 Murray State: Marquette’s dynamic duo of Jae Crowder and Darius Johnson-Odom outruns and outguns Murray State.
No. 2 Missouri beats No. 7 Florida: Florida’s inability to find an answer for Kim English proves to be the difference in this 3-point shootout.
EAST
Second Round
No. 1 Syracuse beats No. 16 UNC-Asheville: No Fab Melo, no problem … yet.
No. 8 Kansas State beats No. 9 Southern Miss: Kansas State’s aggressive, physical nature is too much for a Southern Miss team that stumbled down the stretch.
No. 5 Vanderbilt beats No. 12 Harvard: Vanderbilt is on a roll, and Harvard has no hope of physically or athletically matching up with Festus Ezeli inside.
No. 4 Wisconsin beats No. 13 Montana: Wisconsin plays at a snails pace, meaning every game will be close. But senior point guard Jordan Taylor won’t let the Badgers be upset.
No. 6 Cincy beats No. 10 Texas: With Alexis Wangmene, UT’s top post defender, injured, UC’s Yancy Gates will have a field day inside.
No. 3 Florida State beats No. 14 St. Bonaventure: Bona’s Andrew Nicholson is an NBA talent and a nice story, but FSU’s smothering defense will prove to be too good.
No. 10 West Virginia beats No. 7 Gonzaga: Gonzaga has to travel cross-country to play in Pittsburgh, WVU’s back yard. The home-court edge gives the Mountaineers a win.
No. 2 Ohio State beats No. 15 Loyola: No. 15 seeds have only won four times in 27 years. Loyola isn’t good enough to make it happen again.
Third Round
No. 1 Syracuse beats No. 8 Kansas State: With Fab Melo out of the picture, Syracuse switches to an all-out pressing defense that hounds Kansas State into turnovers.
No. 5 Vanderbilt beats No. 4 Wisconsin: Wisconsin has lived by the three, but against sharpshooters John Jenkins and Jeffrey Taylor they die by it.
No. 3 Florida State beats No. 6 Cincy: The Seminoles force the Bearcats into bad shot after bad shot and make just enough threes on the offensive end to survive.
No. 1 Ohio State beats No. 10 West Virginia: WVU stumbled badly down the stretch and will have no solution for OSU’s Jared Sullinger inside.
MIDWEST
Second Round
No. 1 UNC beats No. 16 Vermont: From preseason No. 1 to postseason No. 1 seed, UNC has too much talent to bow out this early.
No. 8 Creighton beats No. 9 Alabama: Alabama’s D is one of the nation’s stingiest, while Creighton is the NCAA’s best shooting team. Doug McDermott and the Jays move on.
No. 12 USF beats No. 5 Temple: Although the Bulls' resume features several poor losses, they enter the tournament with the ultimate trump card: momentum.
No. 4 Michigan beats No. 13 Ohio: Michigan’s Trey Burke, a dynamic freshman point guard, gets back on track after a poor showing in the Big 10 Tournament.
No. 11 NC State beats No. 6 SDSU: Despite the seeding, NC State is the more talented team playing its best basketball at the right time.
No. 3 Georgetown beats No. 14 Belmont: Georgetown’s Princeton offense and massive frontcourt will slow the pace and grind out a win.
No. 10 Purdue beats No. 7 St. Mary’s: Purdue’s Robbie Hummel is finally healthy and ready to play in the Big Dance. The senior sharpshooter won’t let St. Mary’s win.
No. 2 Kansas beats No. 15 Detroit: Detroit is one of the best 15 seeds in NCAA history, and Ray McCallum poses a legitimate threat. But KU’s size advantage is too great.
Third Round
No. 1 UNC beats No. 8 Creighton: UNC’s John Henson will be able to shut down Doug McDermott, and Creighton can’t guard Kendall Marshall on the perimeter.
No. 4 Michigan beats No. 12 USF: Michigan’s Tim Hardaway Jr. is a volume shooter who could make the Wolverines a tough out if he gets hot.
No. 11 NC State beats No. 3 Georgetown: In a matchup of similar rosters, NC State’s guys are longer, faster and playing better at the end of the year.
No. 2 Kansas beats No. 10 Purdue: Undersized Purdue won’t be able to match up inside with Thomas Robinson and Jeff Withey.
