March Madness Predictions From My Resident NCAA Hoops Expert…

I’m going to make this one short and sweet.  My good friend, Jeff Rinaldi, who has contributed to many roundtables (MLB, college basketball multiple times, NFL, NBA) on DannyMcLarty.com over the years, is back for more today.  So let’s get right to the questions…

Danny: Give us two teams that you think have the best chance of being this years Cinderella Story.

Jeff: As always the bracket is brutal again.  After over studying it like I always do, two teams stick out to me as potential Cinderellas at the price of two Big-10 teams.  I actually like New Mexico St. to knock out Indiana in the 1^st round and also like Ohio to sting Michigan as well as either or Temple or the winner of the 12/12 game in that region.  I think Ohio may get to the sweet 16.

Danny: Which #2 seed will be the first to lose?

Jeff: I definitely think Duke is the weakest #2 seed.  They will get by Lehigh but could struggle against Xavier or Notre Dame. Even if they get to the sweet 16 I think they lose to Baylor.   They  are going down early this year.

Danny: Jeff, since you are Kentucky graduate, of course you are going to pick UK (and it doesn’t hurt that they are loaded).  So, if you couldn’t pick Kentucky, who would you go with to cut down the nets this year?

Jeff: Of course I am picking my Kentucky Wildcats to win it all.  However, I think Mizzou is very dangerous and would pick them to cut the nets down if it wasn’t for the Cats.  Mizzou scares me and should scare everyone else in the field except Kentucky of course.

Danny: Man Jeff, we are on the same page there – I love Mizzou’s guard play and also think they are a dangerous team.  I’m hoping my Tarheels step up and take it all!

Thanks again Jeff!  I’m sure I’ll be getting a hold of you for your great insight down the line…

So, what do you think of Jeff’s predictions?  Who do you think will win it all this year?  Do you have any upset specials in mind?  Let us hear them in the comments section below.

Go Tarheels!!!