By its nature, Bracketology is a long, painstaking process grounded in the details, some quite minute. Each one thought about once, twice, perhaps 10 times before I can be satisfied the formula has been followed. But that's putting the bracket together. Picking the winners is essentially taking the bracket apart. That kind of work needs to be done quickly. The analysis of an entire season of college basketball has already been done, so deciding the winner of all 67 games is all about first instincts. Go with your gut.
From the days of making my own brackets on my parents' living room floor with a pencil, a ruler and construction paper, to today plugging in my winners on ESPN, it has always been about making a quick decision and sticking to it. So that is what I have done here. These are my picks for the entire tournament, from the First Four to the championship game -- and I made them as soon as the bracket was announced. No long looks. No extra analysis. I dove right in and didn't look back to construct my true Instant Bracket.
First Four
ALBANY 1 REGION
No. 16 Sacred Heart 68, No. 16 Presbyterian 61
ALBANY 2 REGION
No. 16 UT Martin 52, No. 16 Holy Cross 50
PORTLAND 3 REGION
No. 12 Vanderbilt 54, No. 12 Columbia 46
No. 11 Arizona 58, No. 11 Auburn 54
Albany 1
FIRST ROUND PICKS
No. 1 South Carolina 102, No. 16 Sacred Heart 51
No. 8 North Carolina 64, No. 9 Michigan State 68
No. 5 Oklahoma 82, No. 12 Florida Gulf Coast 80
No. 4 Indiana 67, No. 13 Fairfield 58
No. 6 Nebraska 72, No. 11 Texas A&M 68
No. 3 Oregon State 77, No. 14 Eastern Washington 52
No. 7 Ole Miss 68, No. 10 Marquette 44
No. 2 Notre Dame 89, No. 15 Kent State 60
SECOND ROUND PICKS
No. 1 South Carolina 89, No. 9 Michigan State 62
No. 5 Oklahoma 88, No. No. 4 Indiana 84
No. 3 Oregon State 68, No. 6 Nebraska 61
No. 7 Ole Miss 57, No. 2 Notre Dame 55
SWEET 16 PICKS
No. 1 South Carolina 94, No. 5 Oklahoma 68
No. 7 Ole Miss 65, No. 3 Oregon State 64
ELITE EIGHT PICK
No. 1 South Carolina 79, No. 7 Ole Miss 62
REGION ANALYSIS: South Carolina is the team to beat in this entire tournament and also has the easiest path of any No. 1 seed. The Gamecocks earned it as the lone unbeaten in Division I college basketball. Don't expect much resistance for South Carolina until the Final Four. SEC compatriot Ole Miss might be the seed outside the top four to make a run. The Rebels have length, experience and a physical defense.
Albany 2
FIRST ROUND PICKS
No. 1 Iowa 112, No. 16 UT Martin 68
No. 8 Princeton 74, No. 9 West Virginia 71
No. 12 Drake 69, No. 5 Colorado 65
No. 4 Kansas State 62, No. 13 Portland 50
No. 6 Louisville 65, No. 11 Middle Tennessee 60
No. 3 LSU 91, No. 14 Rice 52
No. 10 UNLV 74, No. 7 Creighton 72
No. 2 UCLA 67, No. 15 California Baptist 59
SECOND ROUND PICKS
No. 1 Iowa 84, No. 9 Princeton 77
No. 4 Kansas State 72, No. 12 Drake 69
No. 3 LSU 84, No. 6 Louisville 72
No. 2 UCLA 69, No. 10 UNLV 52
SWEET 16 PICKS
No. 1 Iowa 92, No. 4 Kansas State 80
No. 2 UCLA 74, No. 3 LSU 73
ELITE EIGHT PICK
No. 2 UCLA 80, No. 1 Iowa 78
REGION ANALYSIS: Iowa has potential matchups with teams it can put up points against. Caitlin Clark should not disappoint during the Hawkeyes' run. An LSU-UCLA meeting in the regional semifinals could wear down both teams and give Iowa an opening to make the Final Four again. However, for a long stretch earlier in the season, the Bruins were the country's second-best team. They can be a Final Four team if they find that level again. With Lauren Betts, the Bruins present the kind of size that often gives Iowa trouble. And UCLA guards Kiki Rice and Charisma Osborne are outstanding defenders who will make Clark's life difficult. This region also sports two of the best mid-majors in the field: UNLV and Middle Tennessee. The Lady Rebels are probably underseeded at No. 10 and could beat a lower seed to advance out of the first round.
Portland 3
FIRST ROUND PICKS
No. 1 USC 80, No. 16 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 50
No. 8 Kansas 73, No. 9 Michigan 68
No. 5 Baylor 69, No. 12 Vanderbilt 57
No. 4 Virginia Tech 72, No. 13 Marshall 68
No. 11 Arizona 62, No. 6 Syracuse 61
No. 3 UConn 72, No. 14 Jackson State 41
No. 7 Duke 66, No. 10 Richmond 48
No. 2 Ohio State 88, No. 15 Maine 51
SECOND ROUND PICKS
No. 1 USC 71, No. 8 Kansas 57
No. 5 Baylor 81, No. 4 Virginia Tech 67
No. 3 UConn 78, No. 11 Arizona 52
No. 2 Ohio State 68, No. 7 Duke 61
SWEET 16 PICKS
No. 1 USC 72, No. 5 Baylor 65
No. 3 UConn 80, No. 2 Ohio State 69
ELITE EIGHT PICK
No. 3 UConn 78, No. 1 USC 74
REGION ANALYSIS: The early storyline to follow in this region is the availability of Virginia Tech's Elizabeth Kitley. Based on how the Hokies played in the ACC tournament without her, with a lopsided loss to Notre Dame, don't pick them to go far if Kitley can't play. Marshall could be a first-round upset pick. I think Virginia Tech will just escape there, but it won't survive Round 2 against Baylor. Arizona just snuck into the field in the First Four, but the Wildcats could win two games with the way they were playing down the stretch. Celeste Taylor played at Duke last year. This year she's at Ohio State. The Blue Devils and Buckeyes are on a path to meet in the second round. If UConn gains revenge for last year's Sweet 16 loss to Ohio State, a USC-UConn regional final would pit JuJu Watkins and Paige Bueckers on the same court. Whichever player performs best in that game will get her team to the Final Four.
Portland 4
FIRST ROUND PICKS
No. 1 Texas 78, No. 16 Drexel 42
No. 9 Florida State 72, No. 8 Alabama 70
No. 5 Utah 68, No. 12 South Dakota State 52
No. 4 Gonzaga 74, No. 13 UC Irvine 55
No. 6 Tennessee 68, No. 11 Green Bay 52
No. 3 NC State 84, No. 14 Chattanooga 52
No. 7 Iowa State 64, No. 10 Maryland 58
No. 2 Stanford 92, No. 15 Norfolk State 51
SECOND ROUND PICKS
No. 1 Texas 78, No. 9 Florida State 67
No. 4 Gonzaga 80, No. 5 Utah 76
No. 6 Tennessee 71, No. 3 NC State 70
No. 2 Stanford 88, No. 7 Iowa State 75
SWEET 16 PICKS
No. 1 Texas 65, No. 4 Gonzaga 58
No. 2 Stanford 84, No. 6 Tennessee 76
ELITE EIGHT PICK
No. 2 Stanford 69, No. 1 Texas 68
REGION ANALYSIS: Look for Stanford to score plenty against Norfolk State and then Iowa State. After a tough finish to the regular season and Pac-12 tournament for the Cardinal, these matchups should help them get their footing. Texas was rewarded with the final No. 1 seed and it would be most appropriate if the Longhorns met Stanford for the right to go to the Final Four. Gonzaga was given the right to host despite losing in the WCC title game and should take advantage. The Zags beat Stanford earlier in the season and are good enough to beat another Pac-12 opponent in Utah. Tennessee is the most intriguing team in this region. No one played South Carolina better than the Lady Vols, and this could be a national showcase for Rickea Jackson, a probable top-5 WNBA pick next month. If Stanford does get tripped up, Tennessee, with a big game from Jackson, is the team to do it.
Final Four (Cleveland)
FINAL FOUR
No. 1 (Albany 1) South Carolina 80, No. 2 (Portland 4) Stanford 70
No. 2 (Albany 2) UCLA 79, No. 3 (Portland 3) UConn 77
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
No. 1 South Carolina 82, No. 2 UCLA 72
ANALYSIS: South Carolina vs. Stanford would pit the two schools who met in the 2021 national semifinal game -- the Cardinal won that by one. UConn vs. UCLA would be a rematch of a game played in November in the Cayman Islands. The Bruins won that game by 11 and controlled it throughout. Go with UCLA to win a second time, but the Gamecocks will be too deep for Stanford. Cameron Brink still has a tendency to get into foul trouble. If that happens here, Stanford will have trouble staying in the game. Hannah Jump's 3-point shooting would be desperately needed by Stanford, and she may have trouble shaking loose of the likes of Raven Johnson, Te-Hina Paopao and Bree Hall.
UConn will be playing this NCAA tournament with almost no bench. The Huskies, as good as Paige Bueckers and Aaliyah Edwards are, will eventually run out of gas. Just as Rice and Osborne will challenge Clark in the regionals, they can do that same thing to Bueckers. She did score 31 points in the earlier meeting, but was only 9-for-23 from the field, and UConn had no one else to turn to. Betts bothered Edwards enough to hold her to a season-low five points.