March Madness is back. The madness should be back in full swing this year after dealing with the Covid version last year. Crowds will be back in the arenas to cheer on their favorite teams during times of triumph and reel with them after their crushing defeats. Will a Cinderella story take over in both the Men’s and the Women’s tournaments? Or will the favorites take care of business and become national champions? We will soon find out. But remember, this is March. Embrace the madness and expect the unexpected.

In the Women’s tournament, the perennial favorites are on top of the brackets and on everyones short list to take home the national championship. Teams like South Carolina, UConn, Stanford, Lousiville, and Baylor are all expected to make deep tournament runs and be in the conversation for the Final Four. However there are teams in all of the regions that could play spoiler and ruin the destiny of any team.

My Cinderella team in the Women’s tournament is Stephen F. Austin, out of the Greensboro region. I believe their draw in the bracket sets up well for them to make a run to the Sweet 16 as a 12 seed. I do see the clock striking midnight for them there as they run into the buzzsaw that is South Carolina.

On that note, I am picking the South Carolina Gamecocks to win this years tournament and be crowned the 2022 National Champions. The Gamecocks have an explosive offense and a stifling defense which is the necessary recipe to win a championship. I believe they will knock off the UConn Huskies in the national championship game. It should be a very exciting tournament this year.

The Men’s tournament should be equally as entertaining as the Women’s. The favorites on the Men’s side are the Gonzaga Bulldogs, Baylor Bears, Kentucky Wildcats, Kansas Jayhawks, Arizona Wildcats and the Duke Blue Devils. These teams have been dominant all year long and I don’t see that changing once tournament play begins.

I like Vermont, Akron, Chattanooga and Loyola Chicago to be the Cinderella teams in this years tournament. All of these teams have offenses that can light the gym up and defenses that can shut a team down. They are the best of the mid-major teams and have all the makings to give any of the power five teams that they play major fits. Plus, I like all of the bracket draws that these teams have. I think everything is set up in a way that these teams can all make it to the Sweet 16 if they can put together good first and second round games.

Ultimately though, I like Gonzaga, Kentucky, Arizona and Kansas to make the Final Four this year. I believe Gonzaga and Kansas will win their games and then Gonzaga will ultimately come out on top and be the 2022 National Champions.

These are merely my predictions however. What makes March Madness so great is that no one knows what is going to happen. They call it madness for a reason. Embrace it! March Madness is one of the great spectacles in all of sports. This year is going to be no different.