5 Thoughts on the 2016 Men's NCAA Basketball Tournament

Gyms will start to fill up on Tuesday when the madness begins.

Instead of doing a NCAA men's tournament preview, since I've already picked two different winners in two previous blogs, I'm going to give you guys five predictions of things I think will happen in this years tournament. I will not pick a winner, but I will give you 4 or 5 or even 6 possibilities of who could win. I'm also not going to pick the player of the tournament or anything like that, I'm just going to give you five random things I think will happen in the coming weeks of games. On with the countdown.

At number 5, I don't see any ACC team making it to the final four. At first glance you might think, what about UNC or Duke or even Miami, but I think the ACC is very overrated this year. Their best team is UNC, but they've shown time and time again this year that they can choke at any time. Take their home loss against Duke earlier this year. They dominated that game, but they let Duke stick around and they got beat. UNC can't be trusted. Duke won't get out of the first weekend. If they win their first game, they will most likely play a much bigger and more experienced Baylor team that will crush them on the boards and throw around their guards like rag dolls. They will get rolled. And Miami, while they've had a great year, I just don't believe in their team. They'll get bounced quick.

My number 4 prediction, one of the 4 teams playing in the play in games for the 11 seed, be it Michigan, Tulsa, Vanderbilt or Wichita State, will get to the sweet sixteen. I have the most faith in Wichita State because they're experienced and they've gone deep in this tournament in years past. But, Vanderbilt and Michigan, if they win, could make some noise. Michigan has won some big games without their best player for most of the year, and if they're hitting their threes, they can beat almost anyone. Vandy has spent the majority of this year ranked and plays high level offense and, much like Michigan, if they're hitting shots, they will win. Tulsa is the only one of these teams I have no faith in. They don't belong in the tournament and if they beat Michigan, they will get crushed in their first round game. They lost to a very mediocre Memphis team twice this year, so that says everything I need to know about them.

My number 3 prediction, Kentucky doesn't make it out of round 2. They will win their first round game, but that would set up a showdown, most likely, with Indiana. I like Indiana in that game if it happens. Indiana has more experience and more depth and if they catch Kentucky on an off night, they will crush them. I really like Kentucky's point guard Ullis, but Yogi Ferrell is a much better and older and experienced version of him. Indiana's front court is better and could easily dominate Kentucky's young and very thin, in stature, front court. IU had better depth as well. I just don't see Kentucky beating them.

My number 2 prediction, this will be a wild and crazy and fun tournament to watch. I know that I've ragged on men's college basketball, and I still think it's borderline unwatchable, but the fact that this tournament is so wide open, while it may not be pleasing to watch, it will be interesting to see all the upsets that will happen and it will be exciting. I have no faith in a lot of the high seeds, especially Oregon as a number one, but, some lower seeded teams like Yale, Northern Iowa and Gonzaga can make some noise. I especially like Gonzaga as an 11 and I like them a lot in their first round game against Utah. Utah is good, but Gonzaga is bigger and deeper and has more tournament experience. If Northern Iowa can win their first round game, I believe they can make a run to the elite eight. And Yale, these Ivy League teams get in and they're always a tough out. Just ask our editor RD about his Princeton over UCLA pick a million years ago (ed note: Did you know that I picked #13 Princeton to beat #4 UCLA in 1996? I did.) . Or look at what Harvard did last year. Basically, this is a year where literally all 68 teams can win the whole thing if put in the right situation of get hot at the right time. Which will make this an exciting tournament.

Which brings me to my number one prediction, the Big 12 will make up 3/4 of the final four, but a Big 10 team will win. I fully believe that Kansas, Baylor, West Virginia and Oklahoma can get to the final four. KU has been lights out lately and they are the best team in all of men's college basketball. They should coast to the final four. I also believe in Oklahoma and Baylor a lot. They're both big, experienced and just flat out good. Baylor has a bunch of humongous guys in their front court that will punish smaller opponents. Oklahoma has one of, if not the, best players in Buddy Hield. That dude can put up 40 any given night and he will single handily win at least two games for the Sooners. I also like West Virginia's chances too. They play suffocating defense that frustrates teams into critical mistakes. They can do damage in the tournament. But, I believe that Michigan State has the best chance to come away with the title. They got screwed by not getting a one seed, but where they're seeded in their bracket, it's a cake walk for them. They have the best player, Denzel Valentine and they have experience and depth at all five positions. They can crush you inside and outside. They have it all. In a very weird season, they have been the one true consistent team, when at full strength.

Take these predictions as you will, but I fully believe this stuff will happen. Get ready for the tournament, fill out your brackets, and watch the craziness unfold.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. The head editor is wondering where Ty put Xavier, and why he did not say the Musketeers will win it all. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

The Chaos of the College Basketball Season will Extend Well into March

This season has even our ancestors confused

As I've done with the NBA, NFL and MLB seasons, I want to check up on my preseason preview for men's college basketball and see how I did and what I think will happen now that the regular is just about done.

First of all, this season of men's college basketball has been very, very ugly. There is no clear cut best team out there. The talent pool has been incredibly watered down by this new "one and done" culture. These kids don't go to college to learn how to play team basketball anymore, they go to increase their draft position. No one plays team basketball anymore. It's all one on one and let me show you my skills to prove that I can play at the next level. Adam Silver needs to focus more on changing the age limit rule for early entry in the draft and less on the "hack a whoever" problem. Men's college basketball is becoming a joke, and until they do something to remedy the "one and done", it will remain a big, big problem.

I really dislike college basketball at the moment.

With all that being said, I still watch because it is basketball and I love basketball. As I said before, there is no clear cut top five teams. Last year it was almost a foregone conclusion that Duke, Kentucky and Wisconsin would be three fourths of the final four. Michigan State making it was a surprise, but they are also a traditional powerhouse, so was it really that surprising? Nope. This year though, it's a total crapshoot. I bet gamblers hate how wide open it is this season. There is, at least, 10 teams that have a legitimate shot at making the final four and winning the title.

I'll start with the ACC. The ACC has the team that most consider the "best" team in North Carolina, but they just lost to an unranked Duke team at home. Sometimes UNC looks like world beaters, other days they look average. Duke has been wildly inconsistent this year. They were in the top ten, fell out of the rankings completely, then beat Virginia and UNC. They are a team that relies on streaky shooters and freshman and sophomores and their underclassmen are nowhere near as good as their underclassmen last year. Virginia has experience, but they play ugly offensive basketball. Notre Dame is okay, but they will lose an early round game in the tournament. Louisville gave themselves a bogus postseason ban, due to all their sex parties and their sex depraved head coach, but I don't think they would have made much noise in the tournament anyway. Miami may be the second best team in the ACC, but they are classic tournament chokers. everyone else is mediocre. UNC should be the cream of the crop, but I have no faith in them after what happened against Duke.

The Big East has two good teams and that's it. No disrespect to Georgetown, but they peaked early. The Big East is Villanova and Xavier. They played last night and number 5 Xavier knocked off number 1 Villanova. It was a good game, but the problem with these two teams, they always get seeded very high in the tournament and they always lose way earlier than they should. They both have experience, but like I said, that experience is used to getting knocked out of the tournament early. I'd love if they proved me and everyone else wrong and made a deep tournament run because I like both these teams, but I don't think that will happen.

The SEC has been very average this year. Kentucky was supposed to be great, signing another excellent class, but they have been one of, if no the, most inconsistent team in all of men's basketball. They have no go to scorer and their stud freshman have not lived up to the preseason hype. Texas A&M is ranked, but I couldn't tell you the name of one player on that team. LSU was supposed to be awesome since they signed Ben Simmons, the overall number one high school recruit, but they might not even make the NCAA tournament. Arkansas is mediocre, Ole Miss and Mississippi State both stink and so does the rest of the conference. Kentucky will still win the SEC, but they are not the same team that they were last year.

The Big Ten, my conference that I watch, has been very unpredictable. Michigan State is supposed to be the cream of the crop, but they've had to deal with multiple injuries and very inconsistent play. They are still really good, but not as good as I thought they would be. Iowa has come out of nowhere and put themselves into the top ten, but they have lost three straight and one of those losses was to a very bad Penn State team. Maryland, my preseason pick to win the title, has been as inconsistent as Michigan State. They started out on fire this season, climbing all the way up to the number 2 ranking, but they recently lost to a Minnesota team that was winless in Big Ten play. Michigan, my team, has been without Caris Levert for most of the season but, they've beaten the teams they are supposed to beat. But, when they played quality competition, they've been absolutely run out of the gym. Michigan State, Indiana, Iowa and Xavier all beat them by double figures and made it look easy. Indiana, the current leader of the conference, has looked good, but when they have to play on the road, they are not the same team. They get every call at home, but the road, where it's called fairly, they look average. Wisconsin has come on strong lately, but I have zero faith in them and their former coach, Bo Ryan, is a world class scumbag. Even with Indiana sitting atop the conference, Michigan State and Maryland are the two best teams in the Big Ten.

The Big 12 may be the best conference in college basketball this year. Oklahoma, Kansas, West Virginia, Texas and Baylor have spent the majority of the season in the top 25. Oklahoma and Kansas look really good. They are the two teams that may be the only "sure thing" in college basketball this year. The issue is that KU has a tendency to choke, and who knows with Oklahoma, especially since Buddy Hield has been in a mini slump. West Virginia plays suffocating defense, but very poor offense. Baylor seems to be good only when playing at home and Texas is still learning Shaka Smart's system.  KU has proven twice, beating Oklahoma at home and on the road, that they are still the best team in the Big 12.

The mid majors I mentioned in my preseason preview, Witchita State and Gonzaga have been major disappointments. Witchita State had everyone back from a team that almost made the final four last year, but they have been pretty mediocre this year. And Gonzaga has fallen off a cliff. I believe I had them in my preseason final four, but they have been pretty terrible this year. The mid majors are not going to crash the final four at all this year.

Even though it's been a rough year to watch, the major conferences will be well represented in the tournament and make the final four. Like I said, this season is wide open, but I will take a crack at the final four anyway. I guess, and I cannot stress how much of this is literally a guess, UNC, Michigan State, Kansas and Oklahoma will be in the final four and Oklahoma will win it all. Once again, total guess. So, there is my almost end of the regular season wrap up for men's college basketball. The one thing that will be fun, while it will still be a rough watch, at least the tournament will be exciting and all 68 teams that make it will have a shot at the title. Hell, maybe we will finally see a 16 seed beat a 1 seed.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man podcast. This college basketball season may provide another big upset, like the Princeton UCLA game that the head editor will not shut up about. It is your duty to follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.