March Madness 2011 Expert Picks: Del’s Tournament Selections

Is anyone really an expert when it comes to filling out an NCAA Tournament Bracket? The answer is no. However, that doesn’t mean we here at LBS can’t do our best to steer you in the right direction. Doc Brown and Del have decided to shake the dust off from the NFL season and bring you their March Madness 2011 Expert Picks. Here are Del’s selections. Check back tomorrow for Doc Brown’s bracket.

I took Pittsburgh knocking off Ohio State in the National Championship game. The pick that may surprise some people is putting Texas in the Final Four. The more popular choice would be Duke, but the Blue Devils showed a lot of weakness down the stretch despite winning the ACC Tournament. They showed how heavily they rely on Kyle Singler, and if he doesn’t return to form with his jumpshot Duke could run into trouble in a region that includes Texas, UConn and San Diego State. Texas, on the other hand, seems to be flying under the radar a bit because of their No. 4 seed. For quite some time, it looked like the Longhorns could grab the No. 1 overall seed. I wouldn’t be surprised if they feel like they got screwed by the selection committee and play with a chip on their shoulder.

The reason I chose Pitt to cut down the nets is the lack of power in Southeast region. No. 4 seed Wisconsin could very well lose to Belmont in the first round. No. 5 seed Kansas said has been inconsistent all season and will need to work big man Curtis Kelly — who tends to take games off — if they want to do some damage. Pitt should handle either team, and should do the same with BYU or Florida. A banged up Kentucky squad dominated the Gators at times in the SEC championship and BYU will be without its best interior presence.  If the Panthers play Kansas in the Final Four, they should be fairly fresh after coasting through an easy region and could exploit the Jawhawks, who tend to lean heavily on the inexperienced Josh Selby.

Sleeper Pick:  Notre Dame could do some serious damage in this tournament, yet not many analysts are talking about them.  It seems to be a foregone conclusion that Kansas will take the Southwest region, but the Fighting Irish have been tested all season long in the nation’s toughest conference and passed with flying colors, despite falling in the Big East Tournament.  Don’t sleep on Ben Hansbrough and the Irish.