Sports Editor likes Duke to repeat
East Regional: Ohio State over Syracuse
The Buckeyes are the most complete team in the nation and the favorite to win the national championship. They’ll have to earn their trip to the Final Four, though. The East is a brutal region and will be even more so if Clemson wins its play-in game tonight. Ohio State will have a heck of a time getting past Kentucky in the Sweet 16, but they will, facing Syracuse in the Elite Eight after the Orange upset 2-seed North Carolina. Jared Sullinger’s size and Jon Diebler’s shooting will break the Syracuse zone, sending the Buckeyes to Houston.
West Regional: Duke over San Diego State
Everything is set for upstart Mountain West champion San Diego State, which has never won an NCAA Tournament game, to make a run. Its first two games will be a cakewalk, and the second weekend shifts the Aztecs to Anaheim, a mere two hours from their campus. Things will get even better as surprise Bucknell, and not the Big East champion UConn Huskies, will be waiting in the Sweet 16. Despite a sterling 32-2 record, the Aztecs and coach Steve Fisher will not be taken seriously unless they can reach at least the Elite Eight. They’ll get there, but no further, as defending national champion Duke will punch its ticket back to the Final Four.
Southwest Regional: Notre Dame over Kansas
On paper, all signs point to the Jayhawks winning this region. Many think KU will win the whole thing, in fact. But Notre Dame has a special team this year. The Fighting Irish have six seniors, including star guard Ben Hansbrough, and are oozing with experience after going through the wars in the Big East. They’ll take advantage of playing their first two games in Notre Dame-obsessed Chicago and then take care of in-state rival Purdue in the Sweet 16, setting up a game with Kansas, which will cruise in its half of the bracket thanks to a Richmond upset of Louisville in the second round. Somehow, the Irish will find a way.
Southeast Regional: Michigan State over Kansas State
The Southeast is the most open of the four regions, and many expect something unexpected to happen in it. How about a regional final between two of the most enigmatic teams in the nation this season? Both the Spartans and Wildcats came into the year with Final Four and national championship aspirations, only to disappoint early before getting their acts together down the stretch. Now they find themselves in a region where the top two seeds, Pittsburgh and Florida, both have flaws. MSU will take out the Gators in the second round while K-State will upset Pitt in the Sweet 16, setting the stage for one of the two teams to make good on what was expected of them. In a toss-up, coaching is the deciding factor, and Tom Izzo’s is one of the game’s all-time greats at this time of year.
National Championship: Duke over Notre Dame
Notre Dame coach Mike Brey was an assistant under Mike Krzyzewski at Duke from 1987 until 1995, when Brey accepted his first head coaching job at Delaware. Between his time in Newark and South Bend, Brey has been to the Big Dance nine times but has never gotten past the Sweet 16. This senior-laden Irish team will carry him past Michigan State in the national semifinals and all the way to Monday night, within 40 minutes of a national title. There, Brey will meet his mentor and the Blue Devils, who will upset Ohio State in an overtime thriller. In a game that goes down to the wire, the teacher comes out on top, as Duke wins its second straight national title and cuts down the nets.