Loyola.  Obviously.  I’m not sure how all you idiots missed it.  Toughest region in the field?  Ha!  Virginia, Kentucky, Cincinnati, Tennessee,  Arizona?  All garbage.  LOYOLA dude!  Watch some game tape…

Let’s just start with the ugly truth.   Thursday was a brutal night of picks. And the crazy thing is, even after watching the games unfold, if I had to pick the same two games with the same lines, I’d pick the same teams.  I probably wouldn’t use the sentence, “Gonzaga ain’t losing to Florida State” but I’d still lay five with the Wildcats (of Kentucky) and the Zags.

Fortunately, Villanova won and covered to salvage my Sweet Sixteen picks and avoid a Cersei Lannister naked shame walk through the town (“Shame!”  “Shame!”).  So let’s holster the pitchforks and torches for one more day and see if we can grab a pair of Elite Eight W’s.

ELITE EIGHT PICKS:

Texas Tech Red Raiders vs. Villanova Wildcats -6

I’m sticking with the one big-time team who has yet to disappoint in March. Kansas and Duke are still alive, but the Dukies were pushed by the Orange, and Kansas is giving away backdoor covers with such precision it almost makes one wonder if they hate Vegas (joking! The do not give a rip roaring crap about Vegas)

But Villanova keeps winning and covering, the only favorite to deliver a 3-0 ATS NCAA Tournament performance this year.

Texas Tech was very impressive against Purdue and have absolutely earned their way to the brink of the Final Four.  But Jay Wright’s squad has so much offensive discipline and poise, the potential National Player of the Year orchestrating the show in Jalen Brunson, and so much veteran savvy.  They are the best team in the country and have played like it for the better part of a month since getting fully healthy.

I’ll swallow the six and take the Cats to pull away in the last five minutes and cover.

MY PICK:  VILLANOVA WILDCATS -6

Duke Blue Devils -3.5 vs. Kansas Jayhawks

One could argue this is the first and only true ELITE game of the NCAA Tournament thus far.  Upsets are fun, but they deprive us of the marquee blue blood, true elite, dynamite matchups.  So enjoy this game!  I don’t have a strong feeling either way, but with only two games it feels lazy to just pick one.

So, I’ll lean Kansas with the points.  They have enough scorers on the perimeter to handle the zone, and they have enough size and strength inside to frustrate some of the Duke freshman.  Kansas has more upperclassman and has been oddly underrated all season.

The Big Twelve is hands-down the best league in the country this year and Kansas won it by two games.

Duke is the more talented team, and if THEY were getting three points, I’d flip my pick.  But in a game this close and that could so easily go either way depending upon who hits their outside shots, I’ll take the points with the underdog.

MY PICK:  KANSAS JAYHAWKS +3.5