It is said you should go with your gut when it comes to key decisions. The more you mull, the more you tinker, the more likely you are to talk yourself into other options that might not be as ideal. It goes for all the important choices you make in life: houses, cars, jobs -- and yes, NCAA tournament brackets.
Ever since I was a kid, I would fill out a blank bracket by hand -- first in the pullout section of the newspaper, then later printed off ESPN.com -- as it was being announced and then make my picks during the break between each region. And a couple of decades later, it's my belief that's still the best way to do it.
I've watched all the teams and crunched all the numbers over the course of the past four months, so who needs another three or four days?
So that's what we're doing here. It's a true instant bracket, filled out as the field was being announced. No second-guessing allowed!
First Four (Dayton)
MIDWEST REGION
No. 11 Mississippi State 68, No. 11 Pittsburgh 64
WEST REGION
No. 11 Arizona State 73, No. 11 Nevada 69
SOUTH REGION
No. 16 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 75, No. 16 SE Missouri State 68
EAST REGION
No. 16 Fairleigh Dickinson 76, No. 16 Texas Southern 67
Brackets are open! Head to Tournament Challenge and fill out your bracket now!
Midwest Region (Kansas City)
FIRST-ROUND PICKS
No. 1 Houston 80, No. 16 Northern Kentucky 54
No. 8 Iowa 85, No. 9 Auburn 82
No. 5 Miami 81, No. 12 Drake 79
No. 13 Kent State 72, No. 4 Indiana 71
No. 6 Iowa State 58, No. 11 Mississippi State 53
No. 3 Xavier 86, No. 14 Kennesaw State 68
No. 10 Penn State 69, No. 7 Texas A&M 67
No. 2 Texas 79, No. 15 Colgate 71
SECOND-ROUND PICKS
No. 1 Houston 77, No. 8 Iowa 66
No. 5 Miami 75, No. 13 Kent State 70
No. 3 Xavier 72, No. 6 Iowa State 60
No. 2 Texas 76, No. 10 Penn State 69
SWEET 16 PICKS
No. 1 Houston 72, No. 5 Miami 66
No. 2 Texas 74, No. 3 Xavier 71
ELITE 8 PICK
No. 1 Houston 67, No. 2 Texas 65
MIDWEST ANALYSIS: The first thing that jumps out about the Midwest Region is it's Houston at the top, not Kansas. The Jayhawks playing in Kansas City for the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight would have been a huge advantage for Bill Self's club, but they were shipped out West. Assuming Marcus Sasser is healthy for the tournament, Houston will be the heavy favorite to come out of this region. But there are some intriguing plotlines to follow. Kent State is a dangerous 13-seed. The Golden Flashes have high-level guards in Sincere Carry and Malique Jacobs, and they won't back down from Indiana. They need to slow down Trayce Jackson-Davis, though. Iowa State vs. Mississippi State will be a slog, but Texas A&M vs. Penn State is a battle between two of the hottest teams in the country. Jalen Pickett vs. Wade Taylor IV? Sign me up. I think this region will be fairly chalky after the first round. Miami has the guards to win two games, while Xavier vs. Texas should be one of the best Sweet 16 teams in the tournament. This is Houston's region to lose, though. The Cougars are physical, well coached, capable of forcing their style on any opponent -- and they have more talent than recent seasons.
West Region (Las Vegas)
FIRST-ROUND PICKS
No. 1 Kansas 90, No. 16 Howard 61
No. 8 Arkansas 70, No. 9 Illinois 63
No. 12 VCU 66, No. 5 Saint Mary's 65
No. 4 UConn 82, No. 13 Iona 77
No. 6 TCU 79, No. 11 Arizona State 65
No. 3 Gonzaga 88, No. 14 Grand Canyon 70
No. 7 Northwestern 69, No. 10 Boise State 66
No. 2 UCLA 82, No. 15 UNC Asheville 58
SECOND-ROUND PICKS
No. 1 Kansas 74, No. 8 Arkansas 67
No. 4 UConn 72, No. 12 VCU 61
No. 6 TCU 78, No. 3 Gonzaga 77
No. 2 UCLA 73, No. 7 Northwestern 60
SWEET 16 PICKS
No. 4 UConn 70, No. 1 Kansas 69
No. 2 UCLA 73, No. 6 TCU 62
ELITE 8 PICK
No. 4 UConn 66, No. 2 UCLA 64
WEST ANALYSIS: This region is a gauntlet. Kansas, UCLA, Gonzaga and UConn are all Final Four good. TCU and Arkansas are talented enough to win multiple games. And then there are even battle-tested double-digit seeds like Atlantic 10 champion VCU and Rick Pitino-coached Iona. In the first round, my biggest upset in this region is VCU over Saint Mary's. It's going to be a grind-it-out affair as both teams are elite defensively and comfortable in the half court, but VCU will find ways to slow down the Gaels' guards. Iona will give UConn a run, but the Huskies have too many weapons. In the second round, I'm going with TCU over Gonzaga as an upset. If the Horned Frogs can cause problems for Gonzaga's guards and get out in transition, the Horned Frogs can win this one. And then I'm going with a surprise to get out of this region and get to the Final Four. UConn looked like the best team in the country for two months, then looked like something close to that for the final couple weeks of the regular season. Kansas has shown some warts lately, while UCLA has injury problems going into the NCAA tournament without Jaylen Clark and possibly Adem Bona. UConn is going on a run ... if Pitino doesn't take them down in the first round.
South Region (Louisville)
FIRST-ROUND PICKS
No. 1 Alabama 101, No. 16 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 67
No. 9 West Virginia 70, No. 8 Maryland 68
No. 5 San Diego State 66, No. 12 Charleston 61
No. 13 Furman 62, No. 4 Virginia 59
No. 6 Creighton 75, No. 11 NC State 66
No. 3 Baylor 80, No. 14 UC Santa Barbara 71
No. 7 Missouri 69, No. 10 Utah State 65
No. 2 Arizona 85, No. 15 Princeton 70
SECOND-ROUND PICKS
No. 1 Alabama 75, No. 9 West Virginia 64
No. 13 Furman 63, No. 5 San Diego State 60
No. 6 Creighton 70, No. 3 Baylor 68
No. 2 Arizona 77, No. 7 Missouri 65
SWEET 16 PICKS
No. 1 Alabama 83, No. 13 Furman 66
No. 2 Arizona 79, No. 6 Creighton 71
ELITE 8 PICK
No. 1 Alabama 91, No. 2 Arizona 87
SOUTH ANALYSIS: This region has multiple teams at the top that looked like legitimate national championship contenders at one point or another this season. But Alabama is the overall 1-seed for a reason, and the Crimson Tide should be happy with their draw here. Perhaps the most intrigue comes in the Orlando, Florida, pod featuring San Diego State vs. Charleston and Virginia vs. Furman. Both the Cougars and Paladins will be popular upset picks, but the contrast in styles will be fascinating -- can Charleston speed the game up against the half-court-focused Aztecs? My pick is Furman going to the Sweet 16. Bob Richey's team won the regular season and conference tournament titles in the Southern Conference and has two bona fide stars in Mike Bothwell and Jalen Slawson. The bottom half of the bracket should feature a terrific Round of 32 game between Creighton and Baylor, with Creighton's elite defense going against Baylor's highly ranked offense. Can the Bears stop Ryan Kalkbrenner around the rim? Arizona will be the favorite to get to the Elite Eight. With the Final Four on the line, I'm going with Brandon Miller and the Crimson Tide -- Tommy Lloyd's team just won't have an answer for him on the wing. It might be the most entertaining game of the tournament, though.
East Region (New York)
FIRST-ROUND PICKS
No. 1 Purdue 82, No. 16 Fairleigh Dickinson 55
No. 8 Memphis 77, No. 9 FAU 73
No. 5 Duke 70, No. 12 Oral Roberts 66
No. 4 Tennessee 67, No. 13 Louisiana 60
No. 6 Kentucky 75, No. 11 Providence 69
No. 3 Kansas State 77, No. 14 Montana State 57
No. 7 Michigan State 71, No. 10 USC 64
No. 2 Marquette 81, No. 15 Vermont 71
SECOND-ROUND PICKS
No. 8 Memphis 73, No. 1 Purdue 72
No. 5 Duke 66, No. 4 Tennessee 63
No. 6 Kentucky 68, No. 3 Kansas State 66
No. 2 Marquette 75, No. 7 Michigan State 61
SWEET 16 PICKS
No. 5 Duke 73, No. 8 Memphis 67
No. 2 Marquette 72, No. 6 Kentucky 64
ELITE 8 PICK
No. 2 Marquette 69, No. 5 Duke 65
EAST ANALYSIS: This region features a slew of conference tournament champions, with Purdue, Memphis, Duke and Marquette all entering the NCAA tournament on a winning streak. Let's get right to the big prediction in this region: I'm going with Memphis over Purdue in the second round. We've seen the Boilermakers really struggle with opponents pressuring them late in games, and Memphis will cause plenty of issues for Purdue's guards in that area. Kendric Davis will step up and make big shots late. Is Duke as good as it showed over the past few weeks? The region could open up for the Blue Devils -- if they can get past superstar guard Max Abmas and Oral Roberts. In the bottom half of the bracket, there's the potential for a Bryce Hopkins revenge game in the first round as Providence takes on Kentucky, but we're going with the Wildcats beating a different set of Wildcats in the second round. My pick in this region? Marquette, which just rolled past Xavier in the Big East title game and seems to be playing with a different edge right now. If the Golden Eagles defend like they did this past weekend, they're heading to Houston.
Final Four (Houston)
FINAL 4
No. 1 (Midwest) Houston 70, No. 4 (West) UConn 65
No. 1 (South) Alabama 81, No. 2 (East) Marquette 73
ANALYSIS: Houston and Alabama have been the most consistently impressive teams since the start of the season, and I think they'll have a rematch in the title game. UConn's run to the Final Four will end against the hometown team in Houston, with the Cougars capable of beating the Huskies on the offensive glass and slowing down Jordan Hawkins at the other end. Meanwhile, Alabama has too much length and high-end skills on the court for Marquette on the other side of the bracket. Shaka Smart has done an admirable job guiding the Golden Eagles to a sweep of the Big East regular season and conference tournament titles, but the Crimson Tide have veteran shot-makers in the backcourt, size at the rim -- and an elite defense. That will be enough to get to the title game.
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
No. 1 Alabama 73, No.1 Houston 71
ANALYSIS: A rematch of the Dec. 10 showdown that saw Alabama go into Houston and knock off the Cougars 71-65. Nearly four months later, I'm predicting the same outcome. The Crimson Tide will match Houston's physicality with their own combination of incredible length and size. There are plenty of interesting individual matchups: A backcourt battle featuring Jamal Shead and Marcus Sasser vs. Jahvon Quinerly and Mark Sears; lottery pick wings in Jarace Walker and Brandon Miller; and Charles Bediako hoping to keep Houston off the offensive glass. This one will come down to tempo. Alabama ranks fourth nationally in pace, Houston slots in at No. 343. Can the Crimson Tide speed this one up? I think they do, and I think they win.