The CGB Bracket Challenge!

I am participating in my first-ever college basketball March Madness tournament pick 'em bracket challenge thing! Woo! The California Golden Blogs do one of these every year, and I never get involved because I don't know anything about this stuff, but this year, I figured why not throw my uninformed hat in the ring? It doesn't cost any money, and maybe I'll learn something. For example, why is California in the "East" but Connecticut is in the "West"?

Below are my picks, and my reasons for picking. Enjoy!

First Round (taking place March 20):

• Louisville Cardinals vs. AL. St./Morehead St. - I choose Louisville Cardinals because I don't understand the AL St./Morehead St. thing (do they still not know which team is going to play?), and because my little sister played for a T-ball team called the Cardinals when she was little.
• Ohio St. Buckeyes vs. Siena Saints - I choose Siena Saints because my little "niece" is named Sienna, and because I don't really care about the Buckeyes.
  
• Utah Utes vs. Arizona Wildcats - I choose the Utes because I like saying it. Utes! Go Utes! Uterriffic!
• Wake Forest Demon Deacons vs. Cleveland St. Vikings - I choose the Vikings, mostly because the description on Yahoo says "Pillage, plunder, steal - that's what the Vikings do best." And I thought it was funny. Also, my friend's dad is a Deacon (a real one), and I don't think he would appreciate a team that associated Deacons with Demons. Even if the two words do *sort of* rhyme (...with a great deal of artistic license).
• West Virgina Mountaineers vs. Dayton Flyers - I choose the Mountaineers. The Flyers' description says they are "defensively lopsided" - that doesn't sound good. I'm picturing a bunch of guys hopping up and down the court with one leg shorter than the other...
• Kansas Jayhawks vs. N Dakota St. Bison - I choose the Kansas Jayhawks because their mascot is awesome. What a funny little bird!
  
• Boston Coll. Eagles vs. U$C Trojans - I choose Boston College! Even if U$C is good at basketball, I just can't root for the Trojans. Plus, Becka and Josh went to Boston College, so I root for them whenever I can.
• Michigan St. Spartans vs. Robert Morris Colonials - I choose the Spartans because the Spartans were my junior high school mascot. Also because "Robert Morris Colonials" is a really awkward name for a team.

Second Round (March 22):

• Louisville vs. Siena: I choose the Louisville Cardinals because of this line in the description: "To use a horse racing analogy, the Cardinals are brimming with defensive Seabiscuits." Nice!
• Utes vs. Vikings: I choose the Utes, because like I said, I want to yell "Utes! Utes! Utes!" at some point. Also because their description says that "Australian import and Mountain West Player of the Year, Luke Neville, has feasted on opponents like a Great White Shark does chum." And y'all know that Great White Sharks feast on chum hardcore!
• Mountaineers vs. Jayhawks: I choose the Jayhawks, because I still like that little bird they have as their mascot.
• Eagles vs. Spartans: I choose the Eagles, again, because I like rooting for Boston College. They're really the only team besides Cal that I hear about on a consistent basis, and are therefore the only other team I have any information about.

Semifinals (March 27):

• Louisville vs. Utah: I choose Louisville because 99% of users picked Louisville and those are intimidating stats. Sorry, Utes.
  
• Boston College vs. Kansas: I choose Boston College for loyalty's sake, even though only 6% of users pick it. Sorry, Jayhawk, you're cute, but you're no Eagle.

Finals (March 29):

• Boston College vs. Louisville: Why not? I'm going to choose Boston College. Their description says that "the wildly erratic Eagles have taken their fans on a metaphorical bungie jump," and I'm going to hope that they bungie jump to victory! Yeah, only 1% of users pick them, yeah, they may not make it to the end, but what the heck? I'm picking them! On the pure basis that they are the only school in the tournament that I know anything about! Go BC! Go Eagles! Go me!

So there you have it. I clearly know what I'm doing, and obviously have high hopes for my tournament picks. Think I'll win the Bracket Challenge?

I've decided only to write about my picks for the MidWest bracket/level/category, because it took me a while to write this up, and I just realized that there are still 4 more categories (West, East, South, Semis & Finals) to go. If you have any questions about my picks in those categories, just ask. I'll gladly explain myself. Just know that the answer you get will probably sound something like the justifications you just read. Think you can guess why I picked certain schools over others? Leave your guesses in the comments...

my full bracket. click to enlarge.