Writer's Predictions: Champ, Final Four & Surprises

Need help picking your Final Four? CHN writers give their National Champion & Final predictions and we try and come up with some semblance of a consensus.

 

Note how the #1 seeds dominate our predictions. For all the talk about parity, our Final Fours are all dominated by #1 seeds.. the lone exception is Duke, who is only in two of our Final Four's. Oddly, Syracuse is almost a consensus Final Four team.. but no one has them going to the finals. Everyone but Siegel & Hofstad thinks the Midwest is the best region, and UTEP & Siena seem to be the trendy cinderalla teams. See how these picks compare to CHN's Official Prediction.

 

 

Writer	Jeff Borzello March Madness Blog	Brendan Bowers MAC	Jason Brubkaer SEC
Champ	Kansas	Ohio St	Kentucky
Finalist	Kentucky	Kentucky	Kansas
Final 4	Baylor	Villanova	Villanova
Final 4	Syracuse	Syracuse	Syracuse
Toughest Region	Midwest	Midwest	Midwest
Elite 8 Surprise	Baylor	Notre Dame	Georgetown
Cinderella	UTEP	UTEP	Minnesota
Best 1st Round Game	OK St / Ga Tech	G'Town/Ohio	OK St/ Ga Tech
Bust-Out	Purdue	Purdue	Vanderbilt

 

Writer	Blake Hofstad Previews	Raphielle Johnson Asst. Editor	Matthew Ryter Rankings
Champ	Kansas	Kansas	Kansas
Finalist	West Virginia	West Virginia	West Virginia
Final 4	Duke	Baylor	Villanova
Final 4	Syracuse	Syracuse	Syracuse
Toughest Region	East	Midwest	Midwest
Elite 8 Surprise	Temple	Louisville	Louisville
Cinderella	UTEP	Siena	Old Dominion
Best 1st Round Game	OK St/ Ga Tech	Temple/Cornell	Butler/UTEP
Bust-Out	Vanderbilt	Duke	Temple

 

Writer	Shawn Siegel Editor	Jon Teitel Interviews	John P. Wise One Great Season
Champ	Kansas	Kansas	Kansas
Finalist	Kentucky	West Virginia	Marquette
Final 4	Villanova	Pittsburgh	Baylor
Final 4	Syracuse	Duke	Syracuse
Toughest Region	East	Midwest	Midwest
Elite 8 Surprise	New Mexico	Notre Dame	Marquette
Cinderella	UTEP	Siena	Wofford
Best 1st Round Game	Butler/UTEP	Temple/Cornell	Temple/Cornell
Bust-Out	Pittsburgh	Purdue	Duke

 

Writer Consensus

Champion: Kansas (7 out of 9)

Runner Up: West Virginia (4 out of 9)

 

Final Four

East: Kentucky

Midwest: Kansas

West: Syracuse

South: Villanova