Kentucky's the March Madness favorite

Aa., from the Big East, who will go up against Patriot League Champion Lafayette. No. 3 Cincinnati has one big thing going for them: they beat Duke. They will be going head-to-head with George Mason.

The wild card in the East might be Charleston, who will give Duke a run for their money as long as they get past No. 9 Tulsa.

COl\lMENTARY NICK LUCHKO

It's that time of the year again, BABY!

The NCAA National Tournament--otherwise known as "March Madness"-is in full swing, with a vast amount of games that has basketball freaks filling out their pools and emptying their wallets.

1lris year's tournament should be one of the best in a long time. The reason for this is because, other than heavily favored Duke, it's anyone's game.

In the East, the No. 1 seed Blue Devils take their 32-1 record up against lowly Aorida A&M, who finished with a 12-18 record. 1lris team will have no shot at winning this game and if they do, well, I will never watch another basketball game in my life.

Other than Duke, the other contenders in the East should be the No. 2 seed, Miami,

Look for the two local teams-No. 6 Temple and No. 13 Delaware-to have good shots at making the second round. However, this is as far as these two teams will go.

The outlook looks good for Duke, as long as they can avoid a second defeat at the hands of Cincinnati.

In the South, No. I Auburn will test its credibility against No. 16 Winthrop, making its first NCAA tournament appearance. Another contender to take the South from Auburn is No. 2 Maryland, which will face last year's Cinderella story, Valparaiso. No. 3 St. John's will try their best to outplay the run-and-gun style of No. 14 Samford.

The wild card team in this bracket might be No. 11 George Washington, which finished the season winning 16 of its last 20 games.

However, in my view, I see Maryland coming out winning a close game against Auburn in the regional final.

The Wild, Wild West will be very competitive. No. 1 Connecticut was the Big East Champion and will take on Texas-San Antonio.

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Semi-Finals

Final Four finalist and No. 2 seed Stanford will once again take a shot at making the big time.

North Carolina might have gotten a high seed at 3, but this will not be the Tar Heel team from years past.

Pennsylvania returns to the tournament after a three year absence. They take on No. 6 Aorida and might pull off the upset. Another team that could make some noise is No. IO Gonzaga, which will take on Minnesota.

Although there could be plenty of upsets, I see the Huskies coming out of the West.

In the Midwest, Big Ten Champion Michigan State will try to change the critics' minds and go to the Final Four.

No. 2 Utah will take on No. 15 Arkansas State. Utah wants to get back to the Championship game and they have a good shot.

No. 3 and defending National Champion Kentucky will meet New Mexico State in a game that should be a blowout for the Wildcats. They are coming off winning the SEC Championship and have the most depth in the tournament.

Kansas got dealt a No.6 seed and might set up a dream second-round match between itself and Kentucky.

Villanova was rewarded with a No. 8 seed and will take on Mississippi.

Rhode Island is a team that no one thought would be in, but is. They won the A-10 and

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have a superstar in Lamar Odom. They are on a roll.

Although Michigan State will be the favorite, I have to go with Kentucky, which is the hottest team other then Duke.

So the Final Four is set: Duke vs. Kentucky and Maryland vs. Connecticut.

I think that both games will be good. Connecticut bas just too much for Maryland and will face Kentucky. That's right, all you riders out there, the Wildcats will once again bring the end to Duke's season.

The reason I feel this way is because Kentucky has been to the big game. 1lris Duke team has not. Kentucky has the mental advantage over the Blue Devils from last year.

Even though the Wildcats lost to Duke in the beginning of the year, this is the time of the year it matters and anything can happen. Kentucky will win.

So the championship is set for March 29 at St. Petersburg. Kentucky vs. Connecticut. I'm going to go with the Champs. The Wildcats will outrun and outplay the youthful Huskies.

Look for a close score but Kentucky will prevail once again and take the crown.

NickLuchkois a sophomoremajoringin English/ communication.Heis a staffwriterforLoquitur. If youtakehispicksseriouslyandlose,he'snot givinganyrefunds.