Bracket Time (+Things Engineers Like Special)

I know it's Monday (the best day of the week) and you're expecting a "Things Engineers Like" post but I have seemed to gone through all the things engineers like... But wait there's more!

Did you know IU (Indiana University) does not have a School of Engineering? Sad. Got to love President Mitch Daniels' (Former governor of Indiana) appearance! My question is: Are these really engineering students? How did they have the time to do this? But the shoes that they are wearing with their outfits seem to warrant the assumption that they are truly engineers.

On to the main topic of the day: Brackets! (Not that hideous word that ESPN likes to use) Don't not continue to read if you don't want expert analysis to influence your decision on the bracket.

This year's NCAA men's basketball tournament means less to me (and the rest of the world) than previous years because of a certain postseason ban. But this year's bracket is definitely more interesting than previous years solely based on the skill and talent of the teams. If you have paid any attention to the regular season, you know that there hasn't been a single (or even a few) dominant college basketball team. While every year there are bound to be upsets, this year will probably be more than usual. But they may not be as big of surprises since the field doesn't range too much in skill.

There is no doubt that this year's bracket will be more difficult to predict because of the nature of the teams. It's a tradition of mine, like many other fans and non-fans of college basketball, to fill out incorrect brackets. It seems like everyone else that fills one bracket likes to be incorrect too; maybe I should just be different and complete it perfectly.

I will not say if I'm going with tradition or not but here is my one-and-only bracket for this year:

This year might be the year a #16 seed finally beats a #1 seed; Western Kentucky will likely have the best chance to do just that in my opinion against Kansas. A bandwagon has seemed to be made for the New Mexico Lobos and I have liked them to go far for a while now; this worries me since the pressure and expectations may get to them. Will Duke lose in the first round for the second straight year as the #2 seed in the overall #1's quarter of the bracket? Will the Big East prove that they are a stronger conference than the Big Ten in their final year? While Purdue has a School of Engineer, IU is in the tournament; Purdue wins there. 

And for those who do a NIT bracket, it's pretty simple: The Providence College Friars are winning it all. Watch out for them in the NCAA tournament next year with the UConn Huskies!