Together, we can bring home $1 billion this March

This week is arguably the best week in the year to be a sports fan – especially if you’re like me and are a complete and utter basketball geek.

The NCAA Tournament begins tomorrow (I don’t care about the play-in games, so I don’t count those), and with it will come some of the wildest and craziest athletic action of the 2014 calendar year.

In the next four days, we will see buzzer beaters, unpredictable upsets and stars formed in the most unlikely places. We’ll learn all about universities we never knew existed, and surely a few teams in the field will have random, obscure mascots that will be the talk of the office during every lunch or water break.

We’ll compete with our co-workers in office pools, and hey, we all have a shot to win $1 billion if our bracket proves to be perfect. Of course, the odds of that happening are 1 in 9.2 quintillion, but to quote the great movie character Lloyd Christmas, “So you’re telling me there’s a chance?”

Simply put, there just is nothing like the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament – one of the most fun times of the year in the world of sports.

But 2014’s version of March Madness will probably be even better than normal because of the sheer unpredictability surrounding the bracket. There are just no great teams out there. When I look at the bracket, I can pinpoint 20-25 teams that I realistically think can make the Final Four. From that bundle, I think 12-15 teams have a legitimate chance to cut down the nets and win the national championship.

A single elimination tournament with that much unpredictability is bound to be madness.

As stated above, I have no clue how this thing will go down, but I am very interested in winning $1 billion, so I am going to share my contenders, pretenders and sleepers with my readers in hopes that you will pay it forward if you score the perfect bracket and become the world’s next billionaire.

Of course, given my track record of picking games, maybe the trick will be to pick the exact opposite of how I do. But that’s another story for another day.

The Gisclair Guide to getting a perfect bracket and winning $1 Billion cash

THE CONTENDERS

(Teams I think are most likely to make NCAA runs)

1. Florida – In a world without a great team, Florida looks like the surest bet of the bunch. The Gators rolled through the SEC undefeated, and are the No. 1 team in the country. But the SEC is a bit down this week, so why should we put stock into the Gators? Two words: defense and experience. Florida is one of the stingiest teams in college basketball. In their first two SEC Tournament games, the Gators allowed just 98 combined points. Defense wins championships, right? That makes Florida dangerous. On the flip-side, the Gators just have a plethora of quality wins, both in and out of SEC play. They are easily my No. 1 team. But they are not a great team, so they are not a sure bet – they just are the best of the bunch.

2. Louisville – Everyone is sleeping on the defending national champions, but I’m not fully sure why. The Cardinals won 12 of their past 13 games to close out the regular season, a stretch that included wins against Cincinnati, SMU and UConn (twice). Louisville also has an elite coach in Rick Pitino, and they possess experience. They’ve been here before. Don’t sleep on the Cardinals. It’s tough to repeat, but these guys are playing well.

3. Duke – It hurts my heart to say this, but Duke is a contender to win it all. Basketball is a game where great talent usually trumps all. So with that said, Duke has an advantage over the field, because they possess Jabari Parker – the best player in college basketball. Like Louisville, the Blue Devils also have an elite brain on their bench with Coach K, so pencil the Devils in as a contender to take it all.

THE PRETENDERS

(Teams seeded high to avoid in the NCAA Tournament)

1. Syracuse – The Orange were the No. 1 team in the country for a lot of the college basketball season. But they survived on bells and whistles for a lot of their run, and they’ve since been exposed. Syracuse lost five of their final seven games of the season, including dreadful home losses to Boston College and Georgia Tech. The Orange had a shot to make things right in the ACC Tournament, but lost their first game to NC State. That’s not a good look for a team hoping to now win six in a row to take it all. Maybe I’m wrong, but the Cuse don’t do it for me.

2. North Carolina – Gah, again, this pains me to say. But I don’t see any way that the Tar Heels make a significant push in March Madness. They are just too inconsistent. North Carolina has the following resume in the 2013-14 season: They’ve beaten Louisville, Michigan State, Kentucky and Duke; they’ve lost to Belmont, UAB, Wake Forest and Miami. The Heels are good sometimes, but they are pretty bad, too. Combine that inconsistency with a 62.5 percent team mark at the foul line and I’m looking at a team that wins one game, then goes home this March.

3. Wichita State – The Shockers are the talk of the tournament, as they are a perfect 34-0 heading into the dance. But Wichita State hasn’t played anyone with a pulse all season – they are the product of their inept schedule. The Shockers remind me of last year’s Gonzaga team, which was a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. How did the Zags do? They lost in the Round of 32 – again, because they were untested. I expect the same for the Shockers this year. It’s just too darned hard to carry that undefeated bulls-eye around with you in a single-elimination tournament.

THE SLEEPERS

(Teams that can make a run)

1. Oklahoma State – These guys are a sleeper to reach the Final Four. They have all of the talent to make a run. They just need to come together and play sound basketball. That’s a big if for a largely inconsistent team, but hey, all it takes is a few games to build momentum.

2. Kentucky – I know the Wildcats are down this year, but they are as talented as ever. They aren’t a team that anyone will line up to play in a one-game season. They can beat anyone on a given day. If they beat Kansas State, the Cats will crush Wichita State in the Round of 32. Book it. Write it down in red ink – the Cats are going to the Sweet 16.

3. Stephen F. Austin – The Lumberjacks haven’t lost since Nov. 23. They rolled through the Southland Conference handily. Any team with a 30-2 record is worth paying attention to, regardless of their conference. To advance, they have to beat VCU, which will be tough, but stranger things have happened in the NCAAs.

4. Baylor – The Bears seemed poised to miss the NCAA Tournament after losing eight-of-10 games in the early portions of the Big 12 schedule. But Baylor has fired back with a vengeance, winning 10 of their next 11 games after the losing skid. The Bears have fire power and elite athleticism. They are a tough out.

5. Harvard – The Crimson are a nightmare for opponents every March. Look out. That’s all I’ll say.