How to Win Your Pool

"We've said this before and we'll say it again: College basketball knowledge is inversely proportional to bracket-picking proficiency, the way academic reputation is inversely proportional to the attractiveness of a school's student bodies (sorry, Duke), the way collegiate scoring touch is inversely proportional to the manly fullness of one's 'stache (see Morrison, Adam and Jordan, Michael)."
- ESPN.com

Point 1: Debatable
Point 2: True
Point 3: I guess

In any case, there is some method to the madness.

"Expert Picks"

Jay Bilas has a bold Final Four prediction featuring North Carolina, Kansas, Memphis, and UCLA (please note that since the NCAA began seeding the tournament in 1979, four #1 seeds have never met in the Final Four). Kansas beats UCLA to win the National Championship. Remarkable.

Digger, too, had all four #1 seeds in the semifinals. Memphis beats UNC to win the national championship.

Hubert Davis has North Carolina, Kansas, Texas and UCLA in the final four, which is a little bit more creative with a #2 seed. Texas, the #2 is then outclassed by the dominant, unbeatable, #1 seed Kansas by biblical proportions. He did have USC playing Kansas in the Elite 8 - way to go out on a limb.

Bob Knight throws a curveball and a chair into the prediction process. He has #4 Pitt in a pool of #1 seeds and then beating UNC in the finals.

Dick Vitale, bracketologist extraordinaire, has the Tar Heels playing the Hoyas and the Longhorns playing the Bruins in the Final Four. UNC beats UCLA to take the 2008 title.

Other commentary...

1. A #16 seed has never beaten a #1 seed
   
2. #1 seeds are 92-0 in the 1st round
3. The lowest seeded team hasn't beat the top seeded team in 29 years
   
4. #1 seeds are 80-12 in the 2nd round
5. #1 seeds were 17-3 in last year's tournament
6. #1 seeds who get cakewalks into the Final Four because their school's athletic director was in the selection committee (UCLA) and #1 seeds who had several games gift wrapped for them because of bad officiating (UCLA) are overrated.
7. #2 seeds Duke and Tennessee are more overrated than some #1 seeds (UCLA)
   
8. Watch out for American University. They were good enough to win the Patriot League...
9. Clemson doesn't actually shoot 62.7% from the line
10. I'm certifiably insane. Virginia Tech doesn't belong in the big dance.
11. The Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils do.
    
12. UGA has a basketball team?
13. Teams that wear blue are better than teams that wear red.
14. #6 seeds have made the Final Four 6 times since 1979.
15. Toughest Regions:
1. Midwest
2. East
   
3. South
   
4. West
16. Erin Andrews?

I just wrote a whole blog and I didn't say shit.