Happy Birthday, PackSmack
Posted March 12, 2006, 8:44 PM ET

Today marks the one-year anniversary of "PackSmack". The first journal that I posted involved picking the Final Four teams in 2005. Last year I correctly picked three of the four teams.

So, it is time to celebrate the one-year existence of "PackSmack", and give you the teams that will make it to the Final Four in Indy.

It needs to be noted that these selections will probably be toast by the weekend...but who really cares? Everybody knows that the cute blonde that sorts the mail will win the office pool, and she believes that Herb Sendek is a cooking ingredient.

But that's the beauty of March Madness...nobody really knows what is going to happen in the next few weeks. Before we break down the brackets, the NCAA Basketball Committee has decided that Duke, Memphis, Villanova and UConn are the number one seeds. I actually believe that the suits got those picks right.

I disagree with the #2 seeds. How in the world is Tennessee a #2 seed? The Vols are a good story, but they fell apart down the stretch and they even lost early to South Carolina in the SEC Tourney. I'm not sold on Ohio State as a #2 seed, either. But the beauty of the tourney is that talk is cheap and we play it off on the court....so let's get to the picks:

In the Atlanta Region, Duke is the top seed. The other top teams in the region include Texas, Iowa and LSU. Even though Duke has flaws, I like their chances in this bracket. There is the potential of another Duke-Texas matchup in the Regional Finals...but Duke won the first time by 31 points. On a side note, it should be noted that NC State hasn't won a game since February 18th and fell all the way to a 10th seed....oh well, back to the pick: Duke makes it to Indy.

The Oakland Regional is wide-open. Memphis is the top seed followed by UCLA, Gonzaga and Kansas. I have seen Memphis play a few times and they are very athletic, but I don't trust teams from CUSA and I don't trust John Calapari. So with that said, I'm going with a team that is on a roll and has a great backcourt...they also have great tradition and history. I'm picking UCLA to emerge from Oakland and make it back to Indy...a city that hosted the Bruins in the Final Four back in the days when Larry Brown coached the boys from Westwood.

In the Washington D.C. Regional, the UConn Huskies from the Big East are the team to beat. Also in this region are Tennessee, North Carolina and Illinois. There is no doubt that UConn has the most imposing talent of any team in the tournament, but they fall asleep at the wheel some times and that is a concern. When UConn is focused they are the best team...will Jim Calhoun be able to keep his guys in check? I think so....but it won't be easy. I suspect Illinois and UNC will be in their path to Indy.....but I'm going with UConn.

The final regional is in Minneapolis. Villanova is the top seed followed up by Ohio State, Florida and Boston College. The Wildcats, like UConn, fell prey to Syracuse in the Big East Tournament. The Cats have a great backcourt, but no size. I love teams with great guard play to make a deep run in the Big Dance. Villanova will be a factor, but I think they're going to come up short...no pun intended. I'm not sold on the Buckeyes (maybe next year) and the Gators don't impress me...so let's go with a group of tough guys...Boston College. The Eagles have experience and size..and they also have terrific guards, too.

So there you have it...Duke, UCLA, UConn and Boston College are my picks for Indy. So if you're filling out your brackets, just ask the cute blonde in the mailroom...Enjoy the Madness.