Picking the Final Four

   Loftis

It’s NCAA Tournament time again.

The Arkansas Razorbacks won’t be involved after one of the most puzzling and disappointing seasons I can recall in almost 50 years of keeping up with the Hogs.

Clearly, something was amiss behind the scenes in Eric Musselman’s program. But that’s a story for another day.

Of the teams that did get in, defending national champion UConn looks like the clear favorite to bring home the title again. But the Huskies didn’t get any favors from the selection committee when it comes to the other teams in the East Regional. Second- seeded Iowa State comes in off a blowout victory over a good Houston team in the championship game of the Big 12 Tournament. The No. 3 seed, Illinois, won the Big 10 tournament. And the fourth seed is SEC tournament champion Auburn.

Out West, North Carolina is the top seed. Arizona, a perennial upset victim in the early rounds of the tournament, is seeded second while Baylor is the third seed.

Purdue — yes, the same Purdue team that lost an exhibition game to Arkansas in late October, is the No. 1 seed in the Midwest, followed by Tennessee, Creighton and Kansas.

The Houston team that was trounced by Iowa State in the Big 12 final is the No. 1 seed in the South. Marquette, Kentucky and Duke round out the top four.

If I were going to pick a region that’s primed for a surprise winner, it’s the South.

Of course, upsets were common all season and I’m expecting more of the same in the tournament — to a point.

I’ll take James Madison over Wisconsin, Samford over Kansas, New Mexico State over Clemson and Drake over Washington State in the first round.

My Final Four? UConn, Baylor, Kentucky and Gonzaga. UConn and Kentucky play for the championship and UConn wins its second consecutive national title.

Just remember, if any of this plays out, you heard it here first. And if it doesn’t, well it was worth a shot.

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Scott Loftis is editor and publisher of the Carroll County News. His email address is SLoftis@CarrollCoNews.com.