2017 NCAA Champion Drops His Wild Picks For Final Four Much to Former Mavericks Guard’s Surprise

Justin Jackson was recently on the Tidal League Podcast, hosted by former Dallas Mavericks guard Theo Pinson. While on the show, the two spoke about a myriad of topics, with the most interesting one arguably being their Final Four picks for the upcoming March Madness Tournament.

Jackson, who won the tournament with North Carolina back in 2017, sure had some controversial takes on his list for the Final Four. In the end, the ex-Tar Heels player decided to go with North Carolina, Texas A&M, Utah State, and UConn (University of Connecticut) for his picks for the Final Four.

Justifying his take, the 2017 NCAA Champion revealed that,

” I don’t believe in Perdue. I don’t believe in Houston in tournament time…After seeing them get blown out by Iowa State”

As the final rankings stand, Perdue sits at the third spot while the Huskies have gained the first ranking as they enter the competition as the defending Champions. With both Houston and Perdue having a history of coming up short and choking, it’s understandable why the former UNC player (Justin Jackson) would prefer to steer clear of them. Even in the tournament so far, many high-seeded teams have faced serious problems while playing lower-ranked opponents, as many predict a possible ‘Cinderella’ run this season.

Listening to Jackson’s pick, former Mavericks guard Theo Pinson also decided to reveal his final Four teams. The following is what he revealed,

” So I agree with you on Uconn and North Carolina. I have Houston…and I have Tennessee.”

Though fans didn’t get a comprehensive reasoning behind Pinson’s selections, it’s clear why UConn and North Carolina made the cut. In fact, Houston, North Carolina, Texas A&M, and Perdue have all been recently been given first-seed status in each of their conferences. And it is very likely they will go far in this tournament.

The NCAA Basketball Tournament: March Madness

The NCAA basketball tournament, also known as March Madness, is an annual affair. The tournament first began with eight teams and has now expanded to 68 teams. The tournament functions as a single elimination-style competition.

The brackets for the round of 68 are determined by rankings, as the highest-ranked teams in the conference play the lowest-ranked teams. This gives teams an incentive to push for better rankings, and teams that have consistently performed throughout their season are rewarded.

With this year’s field being mostly open, many have rightfully predicted a few possible upsets and even a “Cinderella run“. Just last year UConn pulled off a Cinderella story, as this year’s defending champs were ‘unranked’ as of last year’s pre-season, as per the NCAA. Even though UConn and coach Dan Hurley did a great job, the Huskies weren’t able to get any of their players a lottery position in the 2023 NBA draft. Even UConn’s star Adama Sanogo went undrafted, as the Chicago Bulls only signed the 22-year-old to their G-League team.