Gary “The Gut” Goombah’s 2022 March Madness Preview
Gary “The Gut” has been red hot on his “Futures” picks as of late. He correctly nailed all three football champions this past season. On September 2, he dramatically picked the Georgia Bulldogs to win the 2021 National Championship. He correctly predicted the Los Angeles Rams would win Super Bowl 56. Plus, in that same Pro Football Spectacular published on September 13, he even predicted the Winnipeg Blue Bombers would become the Canadian Football League’s Grey Cup Champions. That’s three for three in football champs in one season.
Now it’s time to spring ahead. Welcome to March. The Madness begins on Thursday (we don’t acknowledge the four play-in games, who does right?). Gary “The Gut” will give his best bets for the 2022 NCAA Tournament, along with his prediction for the National Champion.
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Gary “The Gut” has his national championship contenders down to ten schools. He firmly believes one of these ten teams will win it all (in alphabetical order):
- Arizona
- Auburn
- Duke
- Gonzaga
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Purdue
- Tennessee
- UCLA
- Villanova
Next most likely: Texas Tech, Illinois, Iowa, and Houston
No chance: Any team not listed above. That’s right… you didn’t see Baylor. That’s because Baylor will not repeat. I don’t care what anybody says. Losing all that talent from last year, most notably Davion Mitchell, gives them no chance to repeat. Remember Jared Butler, MaCio Teague, and Mark Vital? That’s four starters gone from last year’s National Championship squad. Amazingly, Coach Scott Drew coached this year’s Baylor Bears to a 26-6 record. So don’t get me wrong, Baylor has a really good team. They just don’t have a chance to repeat as National Champion. Do you know the last team to repeat? (Trivia answer at bottom of article)
Mr. Goombah says to keep it simple. One of his ten teams listed above will be your National Champ. To analyze this further, Gary says to look at the top 4 seeds in each region. His title contenders are in bold.
West: This region is all about Gonzaga vs Duke. Can Coach Mark Few finally win it all? Can Coach K go out on top?
- Gonzaga
- Duke
- Texas Tech
- Arkansas
East: To borrow a soccer term, the East Region is the “Group of Death”. Only one can win the Region and yet there are three Title contenders
- Baylor
- Kentucky
- Purdue
- UCLA
South: The South is close to a “Group of Death” too, with three title contenders plus Illinois and #5 seed Houston.
- Arizona
- Villanova
- Tennessee
- Illinois
Midwest: The Midwest is the worst region this year. Wisconsin is a #3 seed, yet has no chance. They’re not even very good this year, according to the metrics. TeamRankings.com has Wisconsin ranked #33 overall. All of Gary’s ten contenders for the National Championship are ranked in the top 13 in Team Rankings. His four other contending teams are: Houston (3rd), Iowa (11th), Texas Tech (14th), and Illinois (15th). We don’t see anyone below the top 15 having a realistic shot at the Title. For those of you that are Big Ten fans, here are their rankings: Purdue (8th), Iowa (11th), Illinois (15th), Ohio St. (20th), Michigan (21st), Indiana (26th), Michigan St. (27th), Wisconsin (33rd overall/8th in the B1G), and Rutgers (61st). The Badgers should have been a 9 seed according to their metrics. Instead, they got a #3 seed.
- Kansas
- Auburn
- Wisconsin
- Providence
As for gambling, if you want to win money go to BetUS.com. One of the greatest things about BetUS is that you can gamble on Illinois collegiate teams. On many other sites, you’re not allowed to gamble on colleges in your state. Obviously there are plenty of sites available including DraftKings.com. For example, DraftKings is solid but we can’t bet on Illinois in this NCAA Tournament. Anyway, using their NCAA National Championship odds, take a look at their odds and payouts:
Gary “The Gut’s” best bets:
- Gonzaga +300 (if you gamble $10, you will win $30 (Payout $40))
- Arizona +650 (if you gamble $10, you will win $65)
- Kentucky +800 (if you gamble $10, you will win $80)
- Kansas +850 (if you gamble $10, you will win $85)
- Auburn +1200 (if you gamble $10, you will win $120)
- Villanova +1400 (if you gamble $10, you will win $140)
- Tennessee +1600 (if you gamble $10, you will win $160)
- Duke +1600 (if you gamble $10, you will win $160)
- UCLA +1800 (if you gamble $10, you will win $180)
- Purdue +2000 (if you gamble $10, you will win $200)
Other Contenders:
- Texas Tech +2200 (if you gamble $10, you will win $220)
- Illinois +4000 (if you gamble $10, you will win $400)
- Iowa +2200 (if you gamble $10, you will win $220)
- Houston +2800 (if you gamble $10, you will win $280)
Advice:
As you can see, the sure bet/safest bet is Gonzaga. However, if you want to get a solid payout, take one of those contenders who will make you some cash such as Auburn, Villanova, Tennessee, or Duke. Or you could even take more of a longshot such as our “Other Contenders.” Can you imagine if the Fighting Illini pulled off a championship? +4000!
Nonetheless, here are Gary “The Gut” Goombah’s selections starting with the second weekend.
Sweet 16:
- Gonzaga over Arkansas
- Duke over Texas Tech
- UCLA over Baylor
- Purdue over Murray St.
- Arizona over Illinois
- Tennessee over Villanova
- Kansas over Iowa
- Auburn over LSU
Elite 8:
- Duke over Gonzaga
- Purdue over UCLA
- Arizona over Tennessee
- Auburn over Kansas
Final 4:
- Purdue over Duke
- Arizona over Auburn
Championship:
- Arizona Wildcats over Purdue Boilermakers
Dutch Lion’s Favorite Players to Watch in this year’s Tournament:
- Andre Curbelo/Illinois – nobody plays like him, he’s wild and fun to watch, his passes are extreme
- Coleman Hawkins/Illinois – might be the top NBA prospect on the Illini this year; needs to finish better with confidence
- Paolo Banchero/Duke – looks like he’ll be an NBA superstar
- Ben Mathurin/Arizona – plays like Damian Lillard, should be an NBA star; did anyone see him attempt a Vince Carter jam the other night over a dude from UCLA!?! He missed it and was called for a charge, but it was insanely awesome.
- Chet Holmgren/Gonzaga – 7’1″ 195; Chet is too skinny for now but wait ’til he grows into his body
- Jaden Ivey/Purdue – plays like Michael Jordan at times; his extreme athleticism could make him an NBA All-star
- Collin Gillespie/Villanova – He’s a typical ‘Nova kid, a poor man’s Ryan Arcidiacono, are we sure he’s not Ryan in disguise?
- Jaime Jaquez/UCLA – Jaquez has moves upon moves, his pivot feet are always working to free him up for an open look
- Tyger Campbell/UCLA – similar to Curbelo
- Ron Harper Jr./Rutgers – I loved Ron Sr. What a player on the Cavs and Bulls!
- Oscar Tshiebwe/Kentucky – Huge for 6’9″: 260 pounds
- Drew Peterson/USC – local kid from Libertyville, Illinois who has the same unfortunate name as the convicted killer who murdered his wife/wives
TRIVIA Answer: Florida Gators in 2006 and 2007. Prior to the Gators, the last team to repeat was Duke in 1991 and 1992. Before that….. UCLA in John Wooden’s dynasty days from 1964-1975 (10 Championships in 12 seasons, last repeating for the 7th straight Title in 1973.) So that’s two repeat champs (Duke and Florida) over the last 50 years. What’s our point? Baylor will not repeat.
That’s it for the March Madness Preview. We hope you’ve narrowed your choices. Good luck! Enjoy the games, and remember….
“Whether rich or poor, thou shalt gamble more” – Gary “The Gut” Goombah
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