Basketball Diaries: Ethan Kass' Final Four Picks

Let me simplify the whole NCAA tournament for you: Big 12.

If you've been watching college basketball this year, you know that the Big 12 stands at the top of the heap. No other conference can beat them. Consider that Bobby Knight's Texas Tech team beat Texas and Colorado and would've beaten Oklahoma if it hadn't been for an awful officiating blunder, and the Red Raiders still didn't make the tournament. (I know they had a sub-.500 conference record, but that argument doesn't work when your conference is that good.)

But let's talk about the teams that did make it to the championship race. I'll break this down region by region, because it's a lot to handle all at once.

The West

This is the most dominant region by far. The Arizona Wildcats are the No. 1 seed of the whole tournament. Most of the so-called experts favor 'Zona to march into New Orleans, led by a versatile Luke Walton. But the Wildcats won't make it out of the Sweet 16, as they'll run into a 6-10 monster with a sweet touch and an ability to block shots from anywhere on the court, and his name is Brian Cook.

If you saw the Big 10 Tournament, you know what I'm talking about. This kid will explode and run over March Madness as he takes the Fighting Illini all the way to the championship game.

In an upset special, watch out for Memphis over Kansas in the second round. It's time for Kansas to blow one of these games.

The Midwest

This region's action will go as planned: Kentucky vs. Pitt in the Elite Eight. I give a small edge to Kentucky, but this one could go either way. This will be an old-fashioned street brawl.

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Ethan Kass is a trader with Circle T Partners. He is the son of Doug Kass, who authors The Edge trading diary on Street Insight.