I have a bone to pick with a couple of men’s college basketball teams. Namely, Florida State, Wake Forest, Clemson, California and especially you, West Virginia.

Still my brackets look pretty clean as we head to the sweet 16 this weekend.

I have 11 picks of 16 still alive and still have seven of the possible elite eight. It would be 8-for-8 if not for Dayton knocking off my Mountaineers for WV.

As much as I like Gonzaga (and in my heart I hope they win) North Carolina is still my pick to go all the way.

I’ve got Memphis beating Louisville in on semi, NC taking out Pittsburgh in the other. Yeah, I know: three No. 1s and a No. 2 – not terribly exciting. But that’s the way it’s going to go, mark my words.

I’m currently fourth in our 10-person office “pool.” Don’t worry – no money has changed hands.

Who are you picking to go all the way? Send me your thoughts.

Reach Gazette sports editor Michael Dashiell at: miked@sequimgazette.com.


My first round winners:

Favorites — Louisville, Kansas, Michigan State, Uconn, Texas A&M, Purdue, Washington, Marquette, Missouri, Memphis, Pittsburgh, Oklahoma State, Xavier, Villanova, Texas, Duke, North Carolina, LSU, Gonzaga, Arizona State, Syracuse, Oklahoma State

Upsets I did predict — Siena over Ohio State, Arizona over Utah, USC over Boston College, Texas A&M over BYU, Western Kentucky over Illinois

Oops:

Favorite I should have picked — UCLA over VCU (by one point!)

Upsets I should have predicted — Wisconsin over Florida State, Michigan over Clemson, Maryland over California, Dayton over West Virginia, Cleveland State over Wake Forest