2021 March Madness: Schuyler Callihan's Bracket

The NCAA Tournament is here. Boy, does that feel good to say after the pandemic ripped last year's away from all of us. Not only should it be a fun tournament but it could be one that Mountaineer fans remember for quite some time.

Thanks to a strong resume, West Virginia was rewarded with a No. 3 seed and when you look at the bracket, one can make the argument that the Mountaineers could make a deep run.

Although I do believe WVU could make the Final Four, I have them falling just short of that by losing to Illinois in the Elite Eight. All of my picks can be seen below.

Now although this is my prediction, my game-to-game score predictions for WVU may vary throughout the tournament depending on my gut feeling from the previous game.

In terms of an overall prediction, I don't think Morehead State will give WVU much of a scare but it won't be a breeze. The Eagles will hang around for a while but I don't believe the game will ever be in doubt. I've got the Mountaineers squaring up with old Big East rival Syracuse in the round of 32 after they upset the six seed, San Diego State. Buddy Boeheim is an incredible shooter but he won't be able to outscore the Mountaineers by himself. The one thing that kills a zone defense is a team that can hit jump shots. Guess what West Virginia does well?

My biggest upset of the Midwest Region is No. 10 Rutgers edging out No. 2 Houston. Although bold, I'm not sold on Houston whatsoever. I mean, how do you receive a two seed with losses to East Carolina and Tulsa? The Scarlet Knights played a brutal league schedule in the Big Ten much like WVU did in the Big 12. This has all the makings of an ugly game but no one knows how to win uglier than West Virginia. Once again, I think the depth in the backcourt for the Mountaineers will prevail advancing them to the Elite Eight.

Unfortunately, that's where I see the road ending for WVU. Illinois is an extremely talented team and is more conditioned to reach the Final Four than the Mountaineers. They have more experience and have arguably the best player in the country not named Cade Cunningham - Ayo Dosunmu.

Sweet 16 teams: Gonzaga, Creighton, USC, Iowa, LSU, Florida State, Texas, Alabama, Baylor, Purdue, Texas Tech, Ohio State, Illinois, Oklahoma State, West Virginia, Rutgers.

Elite 8 teams: Gonzaga, Iowa, Florida State, Texas, Baylor, Ohio State, Illinois, West Virginia.

Final Four teams: Gonzaga, Texas, Illinois, Baylor.

National Championship: Gonzaga vs Illinois

National Champion: Illinois

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