The Captain’s Brilliant Bracket Breakdown- Final Four

Final Four

Before you jump into the super-fun of my last set of predictions, you really need to read my early prognostications to make sense of this. I have them broken down by first round, second round, Sweet Sixteen, and Elite Eight.

Semi-Finals

(4) LSU’s Mike the Tiger against (11) San Diego State’s Aztec Warrior- Can Cinderella go all the way? That’s the question I contemplate as I hypothesize about this match-up. The Aztec Warrior has enjoyed a great run, but this is the ultimate stage for mascots. It seems likely that he’ll fall under the pressure. After all, CBS will go out of their way to point out that Mike the Tiger has the obvious size and strength advantages. What they will forget to mention is that they have a surprising weakness, a soft underbelly –both literally and figuratively. When Mike goes to pounce on the Aztec Warrior –who has some experience fighting big cats- the tiger will try and apply his brute power and simply overmatch his opponent. But I think the Aztec will apply just the right amount of finesse and use Mike’s zeal against him. By simply rolling under the initial strike and striking out with his spear I think the Aztec can pull of a stunner and move on to play for the national title. My pick: SDSU.

(2) The Ohio State University’s Brutus Buckeye against (10) Seton Hall’s Pirate- All pirates are known to be treacherous, treasonous, cunning, and all other synonyms for deceitful. However, Brutus is named after one of the most famous traitors in world history. This battle likely comes down to who can trick the other, and pull off a sneak attack. While Brutus may have a great poker face, the Pirate is bound to combine his guile and swarthy looks to appear dead early in the match, only to spring up again once Brutus has turned his back and land the final blow. My pick: Seton Hall.

Final

(11) San Diego State’s Aztec Warrior against (10) Seton Hall’s Pirate- I know in reality a number 10 seed would never face an 11 in the national title game, but this is about the mascots and these are two greats. This battle may go on for ages and warrant entire novels be written to record it. However, in the end we all know that pirates are just too much for any opponent. I think this bracket may wind up falling in the Pirate’s favor any year Seton Hall makes this tournament. I hope one of those California branch campuses decides to call themselves the ninjas so we can put an end to this rising dynasty. The 2006 National Champion: Seton Hall.