March Madness: Picking the Final Four teams

Midwest Region: #1 Purdue

This will surely be a controversial pick and a bit of an eyebrow-raiser after the Boilermakers got bounced by 16-seed Farleigh Dickinson in round one a season ago. But that should only serve as motivation as Purdue returned many players including reigning National Player of the Year Zach Edey.

Kansas is missing one of their best players and Gonzaga is not as strong as in years past. Creighton had one of the most impressive wins of the season, trouncing UConn. But I actually think they’re vulnerable as early as the first round against Akron.

The 2 seed, Tennessee has a strong resume and one of the best players in the country in Dalton Knecht. But I’m buying into the narrative on this one and taking the revenge arc with Purdue.

When Virginia became the first team to lose to a 16 seed, they bounced back the next season with a National Championship. I’m not saying the Boilermakers will go all the way, but I think they have a little extra motivation this year to prove that last year was a fluke,

They have the elite talent, resume, and experience. They just need to exorcize their demons and they should be able to do that with a big round one win.