March Madness

Palm Coast Observer
Opinion

The first four days of the NCAA Tournament are, by far, my favorite sports days of the year. Don’t get me wrong, I love the Super Bowl, the MLB playoffs and the World Cup (and every other sporting event — even the Daytona 500).

But, even during all of those, nothing beats four straight days of intense college basketball, where tradition runs deep and upsets happen on the regular.

Some years, America’s top programs run the table and all four No. 1 seeds meet in the Final Four.

Other years, Cinderella teams keep the country glued to the story, like the Butler Bulldogs have done so frequently that this year, as a No. 6 seed, they are probably not considered a true underdog.

Or in 2006, when George Mason players traded out some Air Jordans for glass slippers and rocked them all the way to the Final Four, knocking off Michigan State, North Carolina and UConn on the way. The Patriots ended up losing to the eventual national champions, the Florida Gators.

No matter what the story is, though, the NCAA Tourney is has so many storylines, whether it’s a coach, a player, a team, a school, a fan.

This year, instead of doing an office bracket, I decided to simply pick my Final Four teams and the national champion. I also asked for the picks of Brian McMillan, managing editor of the The Observers in Palm Coast and Ormond Beach; Matt Mencarini, who covers sports for the Ormond Beach Observer; and Gavin Ewbank, a student at Flagler Palm Coast who contributes sports stories for us here in Palm Coast.

I did do a bracket on ESPN.com, and I will surely keep you all updated on how that’s going in Wednesday’s paper.

Did you do a bracket? Let me know your picks.

Tweet me @aobrien7 or shoot me an email to [email protected].

Below are our picks. (And since it’s already Saturday, hopefully our teams are still dancin’.) Happy March Madness!

THE EXPERTS' PICKS
Andrew O’Brien
Final Four: Louisville, Florida, Ohio State, Indiana
Champ: Florida 68, Louisville 63

Matt Mencarini
Final Four: Louisville, Gonzaga, Georgetown, Indiana
Champ: Louisville 84, Georgetown 74

Brian McMillan
Final Four: Louisville, Gonzaga, Kansas, Indiana
Champ: Louisville 80, Indiana 70

Gavin Ewbank
Final Four: Louisville, Georgetown, Miami, Wisconsin
Champ: Louisville 66, Miami 61