We are officially less than a week from knowing what the NCAA bracket is going to look like. The whole tournament hinges upon the bracket: what match-ups it features and has the potential to feature. ESPN has Joe Lunardi to give you a potential look at what the field will look like. CBS Sports has Jerry Palm. And here at Odyssey, you have me!

I am a huge college basketball fan, and I really love diving into things come February. Once that calendar switches to March, I am non-stop college hoops. The fact that Monmouth basketball had an incredible season just added to my excitement, as I knew it was a very realistic possibility that they would be representing come tournament time.

Monmouth faces off against Iona tonight for the automatic bid from the MAAC Conference. If Monmouth wins, they are in for sure. If they lose, they could still get in as an at-large bid, but it would make for a long Selection Sunday.

So without further ado, I give you my projected bracket (as of Monday, March 7).

Midwest Region

1 Kansas
16 Austin Peay/Hampton

8 USC
9 Providence

5 Kentucky
12 Temple

4 Arizona
13 Yale

6 California
11 Monmouth

3 Indiana
14 Stephen F Austin

7 Seton Hall
10 St Mary's

2 Miami
15 New Mexico State

Kansas would seem to have a nice path to the Sweet 16 here. The thought of seeing Kentucky facing Arizona and then possibly Kansas is very appealing. On the bottom half there are some fun first-round match-ups. Monmouth could definitely beat Cal, but the Golden Bears have been playing well. Indiana won the Big 10 regular season title and would be an interesting match-up for the the Hawks in round two. I like Seton Hall and think they could make a Sweet 16 run past Miami if things broke right. In the end, however, I expect Kansas to come out of whichever section of the bracket they're in.

West Region

1 UNC
16 Florida Gulf Coast

8 Cincinnati
9 Butler

5 Baylor
12 Valpo

4 Purdue
13 Hawaii

6 Texas A&M
11 Michigan/Syracuse

3 Oregon
14 Hofstra

7 St Joseph's
10 Texas Tech

2 Michigan State
15 Weber State

If Baylor and Purdue can advance to the second round, that will be a battle on the glass in round two. Either one of those teams will be capable of taking down UNC to move along to the Elite Eight. The bottom half of the bracket is poised to see Oregon go toe-to-toe with Michigan State. At the end of the day, I think Michigan State keeps things rolling, and defeats Purdue to go on to the Final Four.

East Region

1 Villanova
16 Texas Southern/Wagner

8 Colorado
9 Pittsburgh

5 Iowa State
12 Chattanooga

4 Duke
13 Stony Brook

6 Texas
11 Arkansas Little-Rock

3 Maryland
14 IPFW

7 South Carolina
10 Wichita St

2 Oklahoma
15 Lehigh

Pittsburgh is a team that has not lived up to their stats all season against better opponents, but I am a sucker for good stats, and since I am not a huge believer in Villanova, I could see Pitt giving them a good game. Whoever comes out of the Duke-Iowa State game will be sitting in a nice position. On the bottom end of the bracket, I think Texas upsets an overrated Maryland squad. Oklahoma and Texas will put on a good show as well. This bracket sees plenty of upsets, and could easily go several directions. I could see any form of Iowa State/Duke against Texas/Oklahoma in the Elite Eight. As much as I love watching Buddy Hield and Oklahoma, I think they fall short of the Final Four, and Iowa State comes out of the East as the surprise team.

South Region

1 Virginia
16 UNC Asheville

8 Wisconsin
9 UConn

5 Iowa
12 San Diego State

4 Utah
13 Akron

6 Notre Dame
11 Oegon St/VCU

3 West Virginia
14 Northern Iowa

7 Dayton
10 Vanderbilt

2 Xavier
15 UAB

Iowa has been playing very poorly lately, so I think Utah can walk to the Sweet 16 as long as they do not get tripped up by Akron. This sets up a fun match-up with Virginia, who seem to struggle every season come tourney time. The bottom half looks like it would be poised to see Xavier take on West Virginia, as I think Dayton gets upset in round one and Notre Dame is not that great. Vanderbilt could be the surprise here, as I can see them pulling two games out. Virginia gets upset by Utah, and West Virginia comes out of the bottom. Utah then takes down the Mountaineers to advance to the Final Four.

Conclusion

So there you have it: my predictions for every first round match-up in the NCAA Tournament. This is just a rough estimate of where each team will be seeded. The NCAA selection process is so fluid and things can easily change over the course of a week, but as things stand right now, this is my projected bracket come Selection Sunday.

As for my Final Four predictions, I think Kansas takes down Michigan State to go to the Championship game, and Utah defeats Iowa State. The final game of the season will see the Kansas Jayhawks go up against the Utah Utes.

Are there any two teams you want to see go head to head? Any specific team you want Monmouth to get matched up with? And finally, who do you think will win it all? I believe Kansas is the best team, and they will walk out of Houston victorious.