Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ

Mar 19, 2021 By Rob Burchianti rburchianti@heraldstandard.Com 6 min read

A year without March Madness didn’t stop me from making a prediction on what would’ve happened last year.

I crowned Gonzaga the champion and winner of its elusive first national title had the NCAA menÄ¢¹½ÊÓƵ basketball tournament actually been played.

This year the Bulldogs are loaded, undefeated and have been ranked No. 1 all season long. So, of course, they have to be the pick in this column this year as well, right?

Uh, no.

I know the Gonzaga/Baylor bandwagon is way overloaded right now, but neither is going to be cutting down the nets at Lucas Oil Stadium on April 5.

LetÄ¢¹½ÊÓƵ take a quick look at each region …

EAST

The top four seeds are Michigan, Alabama, Texas and Florida State. The Wolverines sort of stumbled down the stretch, losing three of their last five, albeit to good teams, but this is a brutal region and I can’t see them beating four good teams in a row.

I actually like the No. 5-seed Colorado a lot, although it has a scary first game against a red-hot Georgetown team. The Buffaloes won six in a row, including twice over a very good USC team, before falling to Oregon State in the Pac-12 tournament, but they had already beaten the Beavers twice before. I see Colorado getting by the Hoyas and then also taking down the Seminoles and Michigan. On the other side, the Longhorns and Crimson Tide are headed for a showdown. I’ve watched Alabama a few times and was impressed. I’m riding the Tide into the Final Four.

SOUTH

Baylor, Ohio State, Arkansas and Purdue are the top seeds. The Bears have wins over Illinois (in December), Kansas, West Virginia and Texas on their glowing resume. But, they did have to take a couple weeks off in February due to COVID-19 and then lost two of their last six — and should have gone 3-3 had the Mountaineers been able to make a clutch free throw — after starting off 18-0. Baylor is beatable in this bracket. One team that is intriguing is Arkansas. The Razorbacks have flown under the radar most of the year. They hit a stretch in January where they lost four of five, but were 16-2 in all other games and had a nine-game winning streak snapped by LSU in the SEC tournament. I think they’re solid. So I’m going with Arkansas over Ohio State, which lost five of its last eight, and Baylor, and into the Final Four.

MIDWEST

The top four seeds are Illinois, Houston, WVU and Oklahoma State. So what about the Mountaineers? They’re a strong team and certainly battle tested, but I saw coach Bob Huggins’ squad drop enough close games to give me pause to push them through this region. The Fighting Illini seem like a clear-cut favored to me. A possible dark horse is San Diego State. No, the Mountain West isn’t very intimidating but still, the Aztecs are playing well, riding a 14-game winning streak. They can win three, but Illinois is coming out of this region.

WEST

The top seeds are Gonzaga, Iowa, Kansas and Virginia. The Zags are the clear-cut favorite here but I see a couple tests for them. If Virginia can get to the Sweet 16, the defending champion (2019) Cavaliers’ maddingly slow pace could cause the Bulldogs problems.

The other side will come down to the Jayhawks and Hawkeyes. Either is capable of defeating Gonzaga, but I see the Zags surviving a tougher-than-expected path to the Final Four.

FINAL FOUR

We’re left with Gonzaga vs. Alabama and Illinois vs. Arkansas, two SEC teams and no Big 12 team. The Bulldogs and Crimson Tide will stage a great battle with the Zags barely pulling out the win. The Fighting Illini will dispose of the Razorbacks by double digits.

So it’ll be Gonzaga and Illinois in the championship game. The difference is, as usual, the Zags’ West Coast Conference just doesn’t toughen them up enough. The Bulldogs did beat two top-10 teams back in 2020 when the season was just getting underway. Their closest game was a five-point win over No. 11 WVU in December. Compare that to Illinois which has played five top-10 teams just in their last seven games — and won them all — and you see my point.

I’m not convinced Gonzaga can even get to this point but if it does, the Fighting Illini will come out on top, 81-75.

OTHER OPINIONS

Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Sports Writer Jim Downey has Gonzaga over Michigan, Illinois over Baylor and Gonzaga over Illinois in the final.

Following is a sampling of area high school basketball coaches’ Final Four picks with their overall winner in all caps:

Rob Kezmarsky, Uniontown boys: GONZAGA, Alabama, Baylor, Oklahoma State.

Andy Hedrick, Connellsville boys: GONZAGA, Alabama, Ohio State, Illinois.

Steve McIntire, Waynesburg Central boys: Florida State, Iowa, Baylor, WEST VIRGINIA.

Chris Niemiec, California girls: GONZAGA, Alabama, Ohio State, West Virginia.

Don Porter, Geibel Catholic boys: GONZAGA, Alabama, Illinois, Ohio State.

Patty Columbia, Brownsville girls: GONZAGA, Michigan, Purdue, West Virginia.

Bill Greco, Beth-Center boys: Illinois, Alabama, Iowa, BAYLOR.

Shea Fleenor, Albert Gallatin boys: GONZAGA, Alabama, Illinois, Ohio State.

Jordan Watson, West Greene girls: Gonzaga, Alabama, BAYLOR, West Virginia.

Rick Hauger, Laurel Highlands boys: GONZAGA, Alabama, Baylor, Illinois.

Joe Salvino, Belle Vernon boys: GONZAGA, Alabama, Baylor, Illinois.

Chad Stevenson, Mapletown boys: Gonzaga, Michigan, BAYLOR, West Virginia.

Ian McCombs, Carmichaels boys: Gonzaga, Florida State, Arkansas, WEST VIRGINIA.