By JIMMY D / Julius Caesar and the madness of March | Jimmy's archive

Willy Shakespeare probably didn’t have college hoops in mind when his soothsayer cautioned ‘Beware the Ides of March’ in Julius Caesar.

But between an ancient crystal ball gazer’s predictions of doom, St. Patrick’s Day chugging of green suds and the start of the craziest contest of the year, mid-March can be a truly maddening time.

So with bracket sheets flying around your office and with toonies piling up on someone’s desk, you need help sorting fact from fiction, lager from ale, Missouri Tigers from Clemson Tigers and Robert Morris from Morgan State.

Trust Jimmy – he won’t stab you in the back like Caesar’s pal Brutus. Honest.

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Midwest

Jimmy likes Michigan State, although he didn’t care for the Big Ten this season. The Spartans, presuming they don’t choke against USC, have a clear path to the regional final against Rick Pitino’s Louisville Cardinals, who will trample Ohio State and Wake Forest along the way.

Want the upset of the second round? It’s defending-champion Kansas losing to West Virginia, although some feel the No. 13 Cleveland State Vikings will upset Wake Forest.

Jimmy’s final four: Louisville, Michigan State, West Virginia, Wake Forest

East

Pitt was No. 1 in the nation several times and they have another easy path to the Elite Eight. Their main challengers are from an overrated Florida State team and an Xavier squad that lost five of its final 12 games.

Duke is the No. 2 seed, but they have a knack for choking (especially for bettors as they are 1-8 ATS in their past nine tournament games) and Jimmy sees Villanova battling Pitt at the end. Duke will lose to No. 7 Texas in the second round.

Looking for the big upset call? Jimmy has Wisconsin at No. 12 beating Florida State and Xavier before losing to Pitt. The Badgers played a lot of strong teams this season.

Jimmy’s final four: Pitt, Wisconsin, Villanova, Texas

West

UConn suffered some injuries and lost its conference title, bit is still the best of the West. But expect Purdue, another Big Ten team, to squeeze into contention here by beating Washington, who will beat SEC champion Mississippi State.

Take heed that many observers believe the SEC champs are peaking at the right time and will win twice as a No. 13 seed. Jimmy does not embrace that theory.
Marquette could be in trouble against No. 11 Utah State in the first round, while Missouri and Memphis should cruise untouched to the Round of 16. No big upsets here.

Jimmy’s final four: UConn, Memphis, Missouri, Purdue

South

Jimmy has seen about a dozen mock brackets drawn up and many pick the top four seeds here to advance. Jimmy doesn’t like Gonzaga at No. 4 and thinks Syracuse will gag as the No. 3 seed.

The Orangemen had a dream run in the Big East playoffs, beating UConn is six OTs! But they have a history of falling when they should rise. Jimmy has Arizona State (the best team in the Pac 10) beating them and wouldn’t be completely surprised if they lost to SFA in the first round.

Jimmy’s final four: UNC, Illinois, Arizona State, Oklahoma

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Five (Not) Alive

Almost every year, a No. 5 goes down at the hands of a No. 12. In one year, it happened three times! Some feel Arizona will turn the trick against Utah in the Midwest, while Jimmy has Wisconsin doing the dirty deed against the Seminoles.
Jimmy has a list of several popular online bracket games where you can try your luck so that the office pool isn’t your only game in town.

Jimmy D

jpoole@herald.ca