EXCUSE me if this column makes even less sense than usual. Rock, chalk, baby!
Kansas wins it allThanks to a long flight delay at LAX (they wouldn't let me sleep in the cockpit), it took 15 hours to get back from Las Vegas yesterday. So I wrote this with toothpicks propping my eyelids open.
Yep, after watching so many basketball games, the old eyeballs are bouncing up and down -- or maybe they're spinning around like cherries on a slot machine -- after seven days in Sin City.
With all due respect for the NIT, it's time for Fitz's Fearless Forecast for the Big Dance of 64 teams, even the undeserving ones like Southern Cal, Virginia, Texas and UMass.
Grab your pencils and a bracket sheet. As always, do not bet your favorite uncle, car or even a six-pack on these picks. They are FOR AMUSEMENT ONLY.
WEST: Kentucky loses to Montana. Ho-ho-ho. Bet that got your attention. OK, the Wildcats roll big. Iowa clobbers Virginia and its NCAA selection committee athletic director Terry Holland. Valparaiso upsets Boston College, but St. Joseph's beats Pacific big.
Oklahoma upsets Stanford, while Wake Forest struggles to beat St. Mary's. Georgetown outmuscles NC Charlotte and Utah easily sinks Navy.
In the second round, it's Kentucky over Iowa in a close one, St. Joseph's beats Valparaiso, Wake Forest downs Oklahoma and Utah edges Georgetown.
Then the regional semifinals will have Kentucky rolling over St. Joseph's and Wake Forest pounding Utah for the second time this season.
But it's reborn Wake Forest beating Kentucky to advance to the Final Four from the West!
MIDWEST: Minnesota hammers Southwest Texas State and Temple edges Mississippi. Tulsa knocks off Boston University and Clemson beats Miami of Ohio.
Iowa State barely gets past Illinois State and Cincinnati routs Butler. Xavier rolls over Vanderbilt and UCLA pounds Charleston Southern.
In round two, Minnesota beats Temple, Tulsa edges Clemson, Iowa State upsets Cincinnati and UCLA beats Xavier.
The regional semis have Minnesota downing Tulsa in a close one and UCLA barely getting past Iowa State.
But it's Minnesota over UCLA to get to the Final Four!
EAST: North Carolina routs Fairfield and Indiana edges Colorado. Cal beats Princeton and Villanova gets past Long Island.
Louisville beats UMass and New Mexico rolls over Old Dominion. Wisconsin beats Texas and South Carolina bops Coppin State.
In the second round, it's Indiana in a shocker over North Carolina and Cal beats Villanova. New Mexico edges Louisville and South Carolina beats Wisconsin.
In the regional semifinals, it's Indiana over Cal and South Carolina edges New Mexico.
South Carolina then routs Indiana to get to the Final Four!
SOUTHEAST: Kansas destroys Jackson State and Purdue edges Rhode Island. Maryland squeaks past College of Charleston and Arizona routs South Alabama.
Illinois clobbers Southern Cal and Georgia gets past Tennessee-Chattanooga. Marquette beats Providence and Duke pounds Murray State.
In the second round, it's Kansas over Purdue and Maryland edges Arizona. Georgia beats Illinois, but Marquette upsets Duke.
The regional finals have Kansas clobbering Maryland and Marquette beats Georgia.
Marquette keeps it close for a while, but the Jayhawks are off to the Final Four!
FINAL FOUR: Wake Forest beats Minnesota in a close one and Kansas routs South Carolina.
After watching Kansas win the Maui Invitational, I predicted the Jayhawks wouldn't lose a game all season. I was off by one.
Kansas is national champion.