The 2012 NCAA tournament field has officially been set, which means it is time to throw away good money trying to predict who will actually win this whole thing. In reality, a lot of people will likely pick the correct national champion. The real skill is picking the potential upsets we are guaranteed to see over the course of the first week. Make sure and head over to the mother-ship to pick up your printable NCAA Tournament bracket.
Considering Kentucky is a heavy favorite, plenty of people will be picking the Wildcats to run the table. If you are going to win your tournament pool, the key will be finding the lesser seeds that will make some noise. This goes beyond picking that 13 or 14 seed that will shock the world. The key is finding those teams in the four to seven range that have a realistic shot at advancing into the second week of the tournament. If you can nail some of those, you could find yourself "in the money" a month from now.
For the Bay Area, can Cal or Saint Mary's be such a team for you? The Bears are a 12-seed in the First Four Play-in Round of games. They get South Florida and with a win would face Temple. The Gaels are a 7-seed facing Purdue in the first round, with a potential Kansas matchup in the second round. Neither school faces an easy road, but both are extremely talented and could make some noise.
Brackets on the brain? Us too! Play Yahoo! Tourney Pick'em and be a part of the craziest month of college basketball. It is fun, easy, and free. For more coverage of St. Mary's in the 2012 NCAA Tournament, visit the SB Nation Bay Area NCAA Tournament Storystream. Click here for a link to our 2012 NCAA Bracket. And of course, make sure and get your printable bracket!