Dreading the bracket, but here it is

I've been poring over my bracket for hours and I just can't pull the trigger on one game. UAB or Virginia Commonwealth?

What, you mean there's no NIT office pool at your place?

I know there is an NCAA pool sitting on the Xerox machine. It's as big a part of Americana as reality shows and blogs.

But before I reveal my bracket to you, a warning — guys like me who watch a lot of basketball and just spent a week in Atlanta watching nine games in four days tend to overthink these things. I probably should ask my little girl, who nailed half of the Final Four in 2006.

Plus, I've been dreading doing this bracket for two reasons. First, it has been a long time since I was filling out a bracket knowing that I'd actually be watching the whole tournament. And secondly, the SEC teams in the Big Dance are hard to figure.

What isn't hard to figure is that while the NCAA selection committee got the right teams into the tournament, the two teams who got the worst deal were both from the SEC.

Tennessee should have been a No. 1 seed, but it's certainly debatable. But to stick them in the same bracket with overall No. 1-seeded North Carolina was unfair. Even worse is making Georgia play in the first game of the tournament after playing three games in two days to win the SEC Tournament.

I've said it before and I'll say it again — there should be a rule that any team that plays in a Sunday conference tournament final does not have to play until Friday. The NCAA prides itself on always looking after the welfare of the student-athletes, except when it doesn't.

On with the bracket (for entertainment purposes only):

EAST

See, here is what I'm talking about with SEC teams. Tennessee is built for this tournament with its depth and the sting of an almost flukish (Steven Hill? Come on) loss in the SEC Tournament. But in two games in Atlanta, the Vols again failed to show up defensively, giving up 89.5 points per game.

Then there is Arkansas. The Razorbacks were up and down all year but played well in Atlanta. Is it momentum or was that destroyed by Georgia?

* First-round upset: No. 11 St. Joseph's over No. 6 Oklahoma

* First-round blowout: Louisville over Boise State

* Sweet 16: North Carolina, Washington State, Louisville, Butler (sorry Vols)

* Elite Eight: North Carolina, Louisville

* Final Four: Louisville

MIDWEST

I've espoused my theory that Vandy struggles in the postseason because of its quirky gym. But this Vanderbilt team may be the best one Kevin Stallings has had. The issues — his best player Shan Foster was shut down way too easily by Arkansas in the SEC Tournament and his second best player, A.J. Ogilvy, is about to see something he's only heard about.

This is also the bracket with the sexiest first-round game — O.J. Mayo vs. Michael Beasley. I assume their two teams will show up as well, but I know there will be more NBA scouts than fans of USC and Kansas State in attendance.

* First-round upset: No. 10 Davidson over No. 7 Gonzaga

* First-round blowout: Kansas over Portland State

* Sweet 16: Kansas, Clemson, USC, Georgetown

* Elite Eight: Kansas, Georgetown

* Final Four: Georgetown

SOUTH

I'm tempted to pick Kentucky to beat Marquette in the first round. But the Wildcats got into the tournament by beating up on the bad teams in the SEC and have to fly across the country to play. Personally, I don't think Kentucky should be in.

The other SEC team in this bracket is one of those teams that could make a deep run or be knocked out in the first round. The one thing eighth-seeded Mississippi State has going for it — Oregon was way overseeded at No. 9.

* First-round upset: No. 10 St. Mary's over No. 7 Miami

* First-round blowout: Stanford over Cornell

* Sweet 16: Memphis, Pitt, Stanford, Texas

* Elite Eight: Pitt, Stanford

* Final Four: Stanford

WEST

The final SEC team to pick is Georgia, the plucky Bulldogs who were an amazing story in Atlanta. The truth is that Georgia doesn't beat Kentucky if the game isn't moved to Georgia Tech in front of a small crowd. The Big Blue madness never got a chance be heard in Cat-lanta.

Still, Dennis Felton and his players did a wonderful job of showing what guts and determination can do for a team (paying attention Gators?), I just think the Bulldogs are out of gas.

* First-round upset: No. 13 San Diego over No. 4 UConn

* First-round blowout: Duke over Belmont

* Sweet 16: UCLA, Drake, Xavier, Duke

* Elite Eight: UCLA, Duke

* Final Four: UCLA

And in the end, we have Louisville losing to Georgetown and UCLA beating Pac-10 rival Stanford on a bad call by the officials. In the final, UCLA beats Georgetown.

I'm picking UCLA because Ben Howland knows how to win in the tournament and the Bruins have been to two straight Final Fours.

This time, there's no Florida to get in their way.