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NCAA Tournament 2011 Predictions: Can Pitt Top Southeast Region?

If you're still scrambling to turn in your NCAA Tournament picks, SB Nation has a printable bracket for you. Here's a look at some bracket predictions. First up is SBNation.com's. SB Nation has Pitt actually losing in its second game, against Old Dominion:

No. 9 Old Dominion over No. 1 Pittsburgh, as the Panthers struggle with their rough Colonial equivalent.

That's the sort of pick that will make you look like a genius in your office pool if you're right, but only because you'll so rarely actually be right. The Monarchs have 27 wins so far this year, but most of those came against schools like Hofstra and William & Mary. Meanwhile, ODU lost against Georgetown and got blown out by Missouri, and its biggest win was against Xavier (who, admittedly, is seeded higher than ODU is). Not that Old Dominion played the country's easiest schedule or anything, but the difference between their slate of games and the Big East gauntlet Pitt walked is enormous. You should pick Pitt to win that game, and probably to continue winning up to the Final Four, since its opponents along the way will be relatively easy to beat.

SB Nation also picks Temple to beat Penn State.

FOX Sports' Jeff Goodman picks Pitt to advance to the Final Four before eventually losing to Kansas:

Top seed Pittsburgh drew the easiest region and the Panthers should make their first-ever Final Four appearance. Butler was fortunate to go dancing, but last year’s Cinderella will make an early exit to Old Dominion. Kansas State has turned it around, but I don’t have much confidence in anyone except for Jake Pullen — and he can’t carry this team for long.

The Sporting News notes that Pitt's bracket is a favorable one but still picks Kansas State to advance to the Final Four.

Three of six prognosticators at Sports Illustrated predict that Pitt will go to the Final Four. Two more pick Florida, and one picks Wisconsin.

Over at SB Nation, also be sure to check out Anson Whaley's Pitt primer and Aaron Hawley's West Virginia primer.

Photographs by dizfunk used in background montage under Creative Commons. Thank you.