With the first weekend of the tournament over, many of us are asking: where’s the “madness?” There’s been a distinct lack of upsets, with the biggest one being 13-seed UC Irvine knocking off 4-seed Kansas State. In the Sweet 16, all four 1-, 2-, and 3-seeds got through, as did two 4-seeds. 5-seed Auburn narrowly averted an upset in the first round but then knocked off preseason No. 1 Kansas, and even 12-seed Oregon, the only double-digit seed remaining, is a power conference team that was ranked earlier in the season and so doesn’t really qualify as a “Cinderella.” While a couple games went down to the wire, notably the Duke-UCF game, we’ve lacked the usual drama… so far. What this means going forward, though, is that we’re going to have some top-level hoops this coming weekend, and while the upsets may not be as big, the drama will be high. Let’s take a look.

EAST

1. Duke vs 4. Virginia Tech: UCF gave Duke a big scare on Sunday. Virginia Tech has easily dispatched their two opponents. Don’t be fooled. These ACC rivals know each other well, but, Duke will get past the Hokies and make the Elite Eight.

2. Michigan State vs 3. LSU: We keep writing off LSU because their coach is suspended, but they’ve shown talent and resilience so far. Still, that’ll only go so far against Tom Izzo’s balanced team. Sparty looks locked in since their first round slog against Bradley and they should move on.

We saw that Duke can be beaten, and despite Duke’s hype this is a much closer matchup than many might believe. I’m changing my original pick to take Michigan State!

SOUTH

1. Virginia vs 12. Oregon: The Ducks are the upstart here, but they’re no pushover. Still, I like Virginia to send them home. Since the first half of their first round game, the Cavaliers have found themselves and shaved 44 points off of Oklahoma’s first round point total. Yeah, UVA is moving on.

2. Tennessee vs 3. Purdue: I had Cincinnati in this game and was wrong, but despite being here, Tennessee showed why I didn’t have them advancing. They let Colgate hang around and nearly blew a 25 point lead to Iowa. I didn’t have Purdue here either, but they looked more impressive in their wins and I’m taking the Boilermakers in this game for sure.

I see no reason to change from my original Virginia pick here. The Boilers are good but Virginia shuts everyone down. UVA to the Final Four!

MIDWEST

1. North Carolina vs 5. Auburn: This should be a high scoring game as both teams are hot, can put up points, and are less concerned with defense. I like North Carolina’s experience to win out here, but if there’s a crazy buzzer beater in any of the Sweet 16 games, this would be the one.

2. Kentucky vs 3. Houston: I had Kentucky in the Final Four, but they may be without PJ Washington again. Wofford could’ve beaten them. This game is a tossup, and I’m going against my earlier pick and taking Houston here — they’re playing better and are healthier.

At full strength, Kentucky could win this region (which was my original pick). But I feel safer with the healthy Tar Heels, with their scoring and their experience, over Houston.

WEST

1. Gonzaga vs 4. Florida State: Gonzaga has the toughest game of all the 1-seeds: a really tough Florida State team. This might be a trendy upset pick, but I’m sticking with ‘Zaga.

2. Michigan vs 3. Texas Tech: Tech put on a defensive clinic against UB, a high scoring, fast paced team. Michigan is in their league defensively, but Tech is in the zone. TTU’s my pick.

But Gonzaga will solve Texas Tech. They’re just too talented, and I’ve gone with offense over defense in the rest of the regions!

FINAL FOUR

So I’ve made two changes to my Final Four. I’ll take Gonzaga over Michigan State, and Virginia over North Carolina in an all-ACC semifinal. Both should be excellent games! And in a Gonzaga-Virginia final, I’ll stick with the Cavaliers to win their first national title.

This is my final column for the season, so thanks for reading!

Chris LaGrow is an OBSERVER contributing writer. Comments on this article can be sent to sports@observertoday.com.