NCAA Tournament Final 4 Picks – Can Pittsburgh, Ohio State break through

While the Ohio State Buckeyes and Pittsburgh Panthers have been two of the best NCAA basketball programs in the past five-plus and the Final 4 picks of many fans, each has seen their share of disappointment.

Ohio State made a title game when they had Greg Oden and Mike Conley, two top NBA draft picks, but they’ve also fallen short of expectations a few times in the Big Dance.

Pittsburgh has underachieved in relation to their seeding quite a few times and doesn’t have many outsiders and betting fans feeling too confident this year, or at least didn’t until their bracket draw was revealed.

Now, Ohio State is the favorite to win it all and Pittsburgh is getting some love as well for making it to its first Final Four under coach Jamie Dixon.

Despite these feelings, many fans are on the fence about who to pick for the Final 4 this year.

Southeast Region pick:

In the region where Pittsburgh resides, there don’t seem to be a ton of choices that inspire confidence considering that many of the higher seeds still have a lot to prove.
Florida is the number two seed and they’re coming off of an SEC Title but they haven’t gotten much attention throughout the course of the year.

The Gators are athletic and they can hit the boards with the best of them, but they played in a weak SEC Conference whose West champion Alabama didn’t even make it to the Big Dance despite a 12-4 conference record.

Wisconsin, the four-seed, is coming off a loss in which it scored 33 points, and BYU lost its second-best player and top inside presence in Brandon Davies.

That leaves Kansas State, the five-seed, as the top alternative in many peoples’ eyes.

The Wildcats have the best guard play in the region and that makes them a smart upset pick here.

Final 4 pick: Kansas State

East Region pick:

The Buckeyes of Ohio State are the clear-cut favorite here with #3 seed Syracuse and #7 seed Washington and #2 seed North Carolina among the other favorites.
North Carolina has been a dominant team at times in the second half of the season but having to deal with a red-hot Washington team and a balanced Syracuse team will prove to be too much to handle.

OSU has the easiest path and the most talent along with a good placement location-wise. Go with the Buckeyes here.

Final 4 pick: Ohio State.

Southwest and West Region picks:

In the Southwest, the Kansas Jayhawks look like the surest bet to make it to Houston for the Final Four. The Jayhawks are balanced and versatile with quality players up front and in the backcourt. Notre Dame is not athletic enough to make it through the region and have enough left to challenge Kansas, and it’s redundant to say but Purdue just doesn’t seem like a complete team having missed Robbie Hummel again all year.

In the West, Duke and San Diego State are the two clear-cut favorites. With news of PG Kyrie Irving’s likely return, the Blue Devils get the edge here.

Final 4 picks: Kansas and Duke