HEH Fills Out NCAA Tournament Bracket! – Will A Texas Rival Make the Final Four?

Hook ‘Em Headlines wants to help you fill out your NCAA Tournament bracket!

Texas Longhorns Basketball fans have a leg up on the competition this year because, well, Texas is not in the NCAA Tournament. That means being able to think with your head and not your heart when filling out the office bracket trying to impress co-workers and friends.

In recent years, Texas has been stuck in the middle of the bracket where they are susceptible to a first round upset or loss. But, no self-respecting Longhorns fan wants to predict an early exit, so most of us advance the Horns to at least the Sweet 16. That’s good enough to stay a loyal fan, right?

Unfortunately, the Horns have not made it to the second weekend in nearly 10 years. Yes, the last time Texas made it to the Sweet 16 was in 2008 when the Horns beat Stanford and then lost to National Runner-up Memphis in the Elite 8 round in Houston. The worst part is Memphis had no business being in the tournament since their team was ineligible and they had to vacate the tournament wins.

Since then, Texas has busted many Longhorn fans’ brackets. Not this year, though. You can enter tournament pick ’em contests with a clear mind knowing Texas is not in the tournament… and neither is our top rival who you feel obligated to pick against.

NCAA Tournament – East Region

This bracket is absolutely loaded. When former SWC rival SMU is the #6 seed after winning the AAC regular season and tournament, you know this region is loaded.

The East also includes Big 12 rival Baylor, who is staring down a North Texas battle with SMU in the second round if both teams avoid the first round upset.

The East also features defending champion Villanova, who won last year’s NCAA Tournament in Houston. And don’t forget about Duke, who won the NCAA Tournament two years ago after winning the South Regional in Houston.

Plus, Florida, Virginia, and Wisconsin are in this bracket. It’s loaded. Here’s our prediction for the East, starting with the second round:

• #1 Villanova vs. #8 Wisconsin
• #12 UNC-Wilmington vs. #4 Florida
• Villanova vs. Florida
• Nova wins top half
• #6 SMU vs. #3 Baylor
• #10 Marquette vs. #2 Duke
• Duke vs. SMU
• Duke wins bottom half
• Nova beats Duke to win East Regional

NCAA Tournament – West Region

Will Gonzaga make it out of the West Regional to finally make the Final Four? They came close two years ago in Houston when they lost to Duke in the South Regional Final.

The West also features Big 12 rival West Virginia, who knocked off Texas three times during the season. WVU is such an unknown, though, in the NCAA Tournament because some teams do well and others do terribly against their style of basketball.

You could also call this bracket the “sense of humor” regional because of all the smart teams packed into the top half of the bracket and #3 Florida State playing #14 Florida Gulf Coast in Orlando.

Finally, Texas head coach Shaka Smart’s old team, VCU, is a familiar double-digit seed lurking at the bottom of the bracket. Here’s how we see things shaking out from the second round on:

• #1 Gonzaga vs. #9 Vanderbilt
• #4 West Virginia vs. #5 Notre Dame
• Gonzaga vs. Notre Dame
• Notre Dame wins top half
• #11 Xavier vs. #3 FSU
• #10 VCU vs. #2 Arizona
• Xavier vs. Arizona
• Arizona wins bottom half
• Zona beats ND to win West Regional

NCAA Tournament – Midwest Region

Texas’ chief basketball rival, Kansas, is holding the top spot in the Midwest region. There are two other Big 12 teams in this bracket – Iowa State and Oklahoma State.

There is a strong possibility that KU and Iowa State will meet in the Sweet 16 round after they missed each other in the Big 12 tournament due to Kansas’ early exit.

This bracket also features red-hot Michigan, who beat the Longhorns earlier in the year during the non-conference. This could be a very intriguing bracket if Kansas continues to struggle like they did against TCU in the Big 12 tournament. Here’s how we see it shaking out:

• #1 Kansas vs. #8 Miami
• #5 Iowa State vs. #4 Purdue
• Kansas vs. Purdue
• Kansas wins top half
• #6 Creighton vs. #3 Oregon
• #7 Michigan vs. #2 Louisville
• Oregon vs. Louisville
• Oregon wins bottom half
• Kansas beats Oregon to win Midwest Regional

NCAA Tournament – South Region

The top three seeds in the South sounds like one of those major non-conference tournaments early in the year – North Carolina, Kentucky, and UCLA. Good luck to everyone else in the bracket.

We will put UCLA on upset early, though, against a red-hot Kent State team that beat Texas in Austin during the regular season.

Plus, Kansas State was one play away from making the Big 12 tournament finals. K-State still has to navigate the First Four to even make it into the Round of 64, though.

Finally, there is Butler, who beat Texas two years ago in the first round of the tournament. That sealed the fate of Rick Barnes after another early exit.

Here’s how we see things playing out in the South:

• #1 North Carolina vs. #9 Seton Hall
• #4 Butler vs. #12 Middle Tenn. State
• UNC vs. Butler
• UNC wins top half
• #11 K-State vs. #3 UCLA
• #10 Wichita State vs. #2 Kentucky
• UCLA vs. Kentucky
• Big Blue wins bottom half
• Kentucky beats UNC to win South Regional

Final Four – Destination Arizona

Our Final Four picks are Villanova, Arizona, Kansas, and Kentucky. Yes, heavy on the Wildcats, please.

Will Arizona be able to win in their home state, though? It will be a tough task against defending champions Villanova. And then on the right side of the bracket are Kansas and Kentucky in a good old-fashioned Texas shootout. Who will prevail?

• #1 Villanova vs. #2 Arizona
• #1 Kansas vs. #2 Kentucky
• Nova beats Arizona
• Kentucky beats Kansas
• Kentucky beats Villanova 69-63 to win the National Title

That reminds us that we believe Texas Basketball will be back in the mix next year with freshman leadership from Matt Coleman.

Next: Why UT Basketball Will Be National Title Contender In 2 Years

And then two years from now, we believe Texas and Shaka Smart will be ready to compete for a National Title for the first time since the days of T.J. Ford. And then we can start thinking with our hearts again when filling out the NCAA Tournament bracket.