With the March Madness Tournament finally coming to an end, the Sports section at The Daily Princetonian decided to look back at their predictions ahead of the tournament and see how they fared. In this special edition of Staff Picks, our Sports editors provide their brackets and reviews of their predictions.
Men’s (1060) and Women’s (960) Brackets – Alex Beverton-Smith, Head Sports Editor
It wasn’t a good year for me. My main highlight was getting the winner correct for the second year running, and that was about it. Particularly stinging was my Southern region, with absolutely nothing correct from the Round of 32 onwards. In a year where there were so few upsets, I predicted upsets the whole way and certainly paid for it.
I also had a lot of faith in Alabama and was thrilled with their record-breaking game against BYU in the Sweet Sixteen; unfortunately, however, Duke proved too much for them. My pick sending them out in the Sweet Sixteen also proved wrong. Houston proved to be formidable, as well, and I loved the way they played throughout the tournament. If I watched them more in the season, I probably would have had them in the championship regardless.
My Achilles’ heel this year was UConn. In an (admittedly) rushed bracket, the mighty Huskies proved to be my downfall with my huge upset prediction — for them to go out in the Sweet Sixteen to Iowa State — failing on many accounts. There were a couple of positives for me this year: I had a 50 percent record in the Final Four and a decent first-round rate, but not much beyond that. I’m definitely excited for the comeback next year.
Women’s (1200) Bracket – Doug Schwartz, Associate Sports Editor
I aced the finals matchup for my bracket, but ultimately went with South Carolina over UConn. Betting against Paige Bueckers and Geno Auriemma was definitely a mistake, but South Carolina’s dominance the past couple of years was enough to bait me into picking the Gamecocks.
Outside of that, I was really looking forward to seeing JuJu Watkins make a deep run, but after she tore her ACL, my bracket got a bit messed up. Overall, my women’s bracket was more accurate than my men’s bracket, but neither was that great.
Women’s (1670) Bracket – Lily Pampolina, Associate Sports Editor
From the get-go, I was bleeding blue and white for the Huskies, picking UConn to go all the way for the women’s tournament. I was so excited to see Kaitlyn Chen ’24 show the rest of the nation what we Princeton fans have known for years: She’s an electric playmaker with an incredible on-court vision.
In general, my women’s bracket was pretty successful — correctly predicting three of the Final Four teams, as well as the championship matchup and winner. Predicting very few upsets paid off in most regards, but when I chose Harvard over Michigan State, I was hoping to see an Ivy League make a strong run in the tournament.
Women’s (1070) Bracket – Matthew Yi, Assistant Sports Editor
This year, I rode with the juggernaut: South Carolina. Fresh off a dominant SEC championship and led by the legendary Dawn Staley, picking the Gamecocks to win it all felt like the safest and smartest choice on the board.
The only team I truly saw as a threat was UConn. But I believed JuJu Watkins and USC would stand in their way of title number 12. Unfortunately, Watkins’ heartbreaking ACL injury changed everything — USC just didn’t look the same after that.
I mostly played it safe, sticking with chalk across the board, though I did take a flyer on a George Mason team I liked. That didn’t exactly pan out. On the brighter side, I nailed both of the 10-over-7 upsets, which helped balance things out.
I got a little bold with Michigan, pushing them all the way to the Final Four, which I soon saw was a bad decision. I also picked Texas to fall to Ohio State, but the Longhorns had other plans and kept rolling.
In the end, I hit on three of the Final Four teams — not bad at all. And while I doubted UConn in the final, I should’ve known better. Future first-round pick Paige Bueckers was locked in, and the Tigers’ very own Kaitlyn Chen ’24 played like a star.
It may not have been the perfect bracket, but the Final Four was electric. It was a thrilling way to close out the season.
Men’s (1400) Bracket – Joe Uglialoro, Assistant Sports Editor
I knew this year would be chalky, but I just couldn’t bring myself to pick all four one seeds in the final four. Once I decided I needed a lower seed, I had to knock off one top seed. Houston was the only one I saw as even slightly vulnerable, so I took Clemson over them in the Sweet 16. In the end, I was right on most of the chalk and my Florida championship choice, but I sure wish I had my Houston pick back.
Men’s (840) Bracket – Bryant Figueroa, Assistant Sports Editor
I thought Clemson was going to go far because of really strong performances that showed heart this season, like their win against Duke. I also think Duke is pretty self-explanatory, given they were a big favorite with their NBA draft-caliber roster. I also thought St. John’s would go far with the Big East player of the year.
Honestly, I was not ready for so much madness. It was the first time I ever made a bracket, but it was fun and got me more interested in following college basketball overall.
Alex Beverton-Smith is a head Sports editor for the ‘Prince.’
Doug Schwartz is an associate Sports editor for the ‘Prince.’
Lily Pampolina is an associate Sports editor and a staff Audience creator for the ‘Prince.’
Matthew Yi is an assistant Sports editor for the ‘Prince.’
Joe Uglialoro is an assistant Sports editor for the ‘Prince.’
Bryant Figueroa is an assistant Sports editor and a staff Audience creator for the ‘Prince.’
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com
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