"Go with your gut."
It's something you learn as a kid and are expected to carry with you the rest of your life, helping you make important decisions like whether to accept a job or which house to buy or which 12-over-5 upset to pick.
And, yes, it very much applies to NCAA tournament brackets. Every Selection Sunday for 30 years, I've filled out a blank bracket by hand. It used to be the one found in the morning paper, and later it was printed off ESPN.com. Either way, I would fill it out as it's being announced and make my picks right away. No need to tinker, no need to mull.
All the information is in. All the games, all the results, all the statistics, all the data points. Nothing is changing over the next three or four days; why not just go ahead and fill out the bracket?
So that's what we're doing here. A true instant bracket, filled out as the field was being announced. No second-guessing allowed!
First Four (Dayton)
SOUTH REGION
No. 10 Colorado 75, No. 10 Boise State 69
MIDWEST REGION
No. 16 Montana State 70, No. 16 Grambling 64
MIDWEST REGION
No. 10 Colorado State 58, No. 10 Virginia 56
WEST REGION
No. 16 Howard 65, No. 16 Wagner 63
Jay Bilas, Jay Williams and Seth Greenberg preview No. 1 seed UNC's path in the West Region of men's NCAA tournament.
East Region (Boston)
FIRST ROUND PICKS
No. 1 UConn 91, No. 16 Stetson 63
No. 8 Florida Atlantic 77, No. 9 Northwestern 71
No. 5 San Diego State 69, No. 12 UAB 58
No. 4 Auburn 76, No. 13 Yale 66
No. 6 BYU 81, No. 11 Duquesne 68
No. 3 Illinois 85, No. 14 Morehead State 67
No. 10 Drake 72, No. 7 Washington State 70
No. 2 Iowa State 76, No. 15 South Dakota State 58
SECOND ROUND PICKS
No. 1 UConn 79, No. 8 Florida Atlantic 68
No. 4 Auburn 66, No. 5 San Diego State 63
No. 3 Illinois 84, No. 6 BYU 76
No. 2 Iowa State 70, No. 10 Drake 62
SWEET 16 PICKS
No. 1 UConn 76, No. 4 Auburn 69
No. 3 Illinois 71, No. 2 Iowa State 69
ELITE 8 PICK
No. 1 UConn 84, No. 3 Illinois 77
REGION ANALYSIS: UConn enters the NCAA tournament as the overall 1-seed and the favorite to cut down the nets in Phoenix -- becoming the first back-to-back national champion since Florida in 2006 and 2007. The Huskies should feel confident about coming out of this bracket and reaching the Final Four. But there are some incredibly talented individual players in this region capable of carrying their team to wins, starting with Northwestern's Boo Buie vs. Florida Atlantic's Johnell Davis in the 8-9 game. At the bottom of the bracket, there are two power-conference tournament winners in Iowa State and Illinois. The two teams go about it in different ways, with Illinois and All-American candidate Terrence Shannon Jr. scoring points at a high clip and Iowa State grinding teams down on the defensive end of the floor. The double-digit seed to watch in this region is Drake, which won the Missouri Valley tournament and has a star in Tucker DeVries, the son of head coach Darian DeVries. Overall, I think the theme of this region will be points -- and a potential Elite Eight game between UConn and Illinois will feature plenty of it. But Dan Hurley and the Huskies will make it out.
Rece Davis, Jay Bilas and Seth Greenberg break down why Purdue has a favorable draw in the Midwest Region.
West Region (Los Angeles)
FIRST ROUND PICKS
No. 1 North Carolina 90, No. 16 Howard 65
No. 9 Michigan State 66, No. 8 Mississippi State 63
No. 5 Saint Mary's 67, No. 12 Grand Canyon 65
No. 4 Alabama 95, No. 13 Charleston 88
No. 11 New Mexico 79, No. 6 Clemson 75
No. 3 Baylor 73, No. 14 Colgate 65
No. 10 Nevada 72, No. 7 Dayton 70
No. 2 Arizona 90, No. 15 Long Beach State 71
SECOND ROUND PICKS
No. 1 North Carolina 76, No. 9 Michigan State 73
No. 4 Alabama 78, No. 5 Saint Mary's 72
No. 11 New Mexico 81, No. 3 Baylor 80
No. 2 Arizona 84, No. 10 Nevada 74
SWEET 16 PICKS
No. 4 Alabama 88, No. 1 North Carolina 86
No. 2 Arizona 87, No. 11 New Mexico 80
ELITE 8 PICK
No. 2 Arizona 93, No. 4 Alabama 84
REGION ANALYSIS: There are at least four teams in this region that have looked like Final Four contenders at one time or another. North Carolina isn't the offensive juggernaut it's been in the past, but the Tar Heels have improved dramatically on the defensive end as the season has progressed. Alabama and Baylor are both capable of putting up points with anyone in college basketball, but there are questions on the defensive end of the floor -- especially for the Crimson Tide. Arizona might have the best offense-defense balance of anyone in the region, but the Wildcats have suffered a slew of questionable losses. In the top half of the bracket, both 12-seed Grand Canyon and 13-seed Charleston are capable of pulling upsets, but I think they both come up just short. Alabama will get hot and take down Carolina in the Sweet 16. New Mexico is the team that will blow up the bottom half of the bracket, carrying over their momentum from the Mountain West tournament all the way to the Sweet 16. All the upsets will open up the region nicely for Arizona, which is much tougher and more dynamic than the Wildcats teams that have produced disappointing NCAA tournament performances the last two seasons.
South Region (Dallas)
FIRST ROUND PICKS
No. 1 Houston 81, No. 16 Longwood 52
No. 9 Texas A&M 73, No. 8 Nebraska 70
No. 12 James Madison 76, No. 5 Wisconsin 74
No. 4 Duke 75, No. 13 Vermont 65
No. 6 Texas Tech 77, No. 11 NC State 71
No. 3 Kentucky 90, No. 14 Oakland 70
No. 7 Florida 81, No. 10 Colorado 73
No. 2 Marquette 81, No. 15 Western Kentucky 70
SECOND ROUND PICKS
No. 1 Houston 71, No. 9 Texas A&M 59
No. 4 Duke 79, No. 12 James Madison 69
No. 3 Kentucky 82, No. 6 Texas Tech 76
No. 7 Florida 77, No. 2 Marquette 75
SWEET 16 PICKS
No. 1 Houston 69, No. 4 Duke 65
No. 3 Kentucky 87, No. 7 Florida 86
ELITE 8 PICK
No. 1 Houston 75, No. 3 Kentucky 72
REGION ANALYSIS: One week ago, Houston would have been the overwhelming favorite to come out of this region. The best defense in the country, one of the hottest teams in the country and a team playing with a chip on its shoulder. And then the Cougars went out and lost by 28 in the Big 12 title game to Iowa State. Is Kelvin Sampson's team vulnerable? That's one of two critical questions in this region, along with the health of Marquette star point guard Tyler Kolek, who missed the Big East tournament with an injury. On the top half of the region, keep an eye on a potential second-round matchup between Houston's Jamal Shead and Texas A&M's Wade Taylor -- and 12-seed James Madison will be a popular upset pick against Wisconsin. I think 3-seed Kentucky and 7-seed Florida are both good enough to win multiple games in this region, especially given how well the Gators were playing in the SEC tournament. Kentucky can score with anyone in the country, but can the Wildcats get enough stops to get to Phoenix? If Houston can regain its form on the defensive end, the Cougars should be able to slow down Reed Sheppard, Rob Dillingham and Antonio Reeves and advance to the Final Four.
Midwest Region (Detroit)
FIRST ROUND PICKS
No. 1 Purdue 88, No. 16 Montana State 63
No. 9 TCU 76, No. 8 Utah State 73
No. 12 McNeese 81, No. 5 Gonzaga 79
No. 13 Samford 78, No. 4 Kansas 77
No. 6 South Carolina 65, No. 11 Oregon 60
No. 3 Creighton 79, No. 14 Akron 64
No. 7 Texas 70, No. 10 Colorado State 68
No. 2 Tennessee 83, No. 15 Saint Peter's 57
SECOND ROUND PICKS
No. 1 Purdue 79, No. 9 TCU 67
No. 12 McNeese 82, No. 13 Samford 78
No. 3 Creighton 75, No. 6 South Carolina 63
No. 2 Tennessee 78, No. 7 Texas 68
SWEET 16 PICKS
No. 1 Purdue 80, No. 12 McNeese 66
No. 3 Creighton 75, No. 2 Tennessee 74
ELITE 8 PICK
No. 3 Creighton 72, No. 1 Purdue 70
REGION ANALYSIS: This region has blow-up potential when it comes to double-digit upsets. 12-seed McNeese and 13-seed Samford play fast, they force turnovers and they'll be fearless entering the NCAA tournament -- which could spell trouble for 5-seed Gonzaga and 4-seed Kansas, respectively. Samford's matchup with Kansas is particularly intriguing, given the Bulldogs' "Bucky Ball" style against a Jayhawks team riddled with injuries right now. Chaos in the middle of the bracket bodes well for top-seeded Purdue, which should cruise to the Elite Eight with a potential matchup against Will Wade and McNeese in the Sweet 16. At the bottom, both Tennessee and Creighton have the pieces to make a Final Four run. The Vols have Dalton Knecht, arguably the best perimeter player in the country this season. Creighton has three playmakers in its lineup and is better defensively than people think. I like Greg McDermott's team to outscore Tennessee in the Sweet 16 -- and then pull off the upset of Purdue in the Elite Eight. Ryan Kalkbrenner is one of the best defensive bigs in the country, and he should be able to at least slow down Zach Edey down low. But does Purdue have anyone to stop Baylor Scheierman and Trey Alexander? That remains to be seen.
Final Four (Phoenix)
FINAL 4
No. 1 (East) UConn 82, No. 2 (West) Arizona 77
No. 1 (South) Houston 71, No. 3 (Midwest) Creighton 69
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
No. 1 UConn 70, No. 1 Houston 66
ANALYSIS: The two best teams in the country for most of the season have been UConn and Houston, and I think the two will ultimately match up in the national championship game on April 8. In the Final Four, UConn is just too physical and too balanced for Arizona. The Wildcats' offense thrives when they can score in the paint and get out in transition, and Donovan Clingan doesn't allow teams to get clean looks at the rim. And I'm not sure Arizona will be able to get enough in the half-court. On the other side, I still have confidence Houston will figure things out defensively -- and after getting past Duke and Kentucky in the South region, the Cougars will be able to wear down Creighton. The Bluejays don't have a lot of depth, and facing Houston can be a brutal exercise. In the title game, I'm riding with UConn. The Huskies have looked dominant for the last two seasons -- outside of one month in Big East play last year. They have two stars in the backcourt in Tristen Newton and Cam Spencer, a game-changer defensively in Clingan, a perfect floor-spacing forward in Alex Karaban and an X-factor in lottery pick Stephon Castle. UConn shares the ball, they're tough, they're physical, and Dan Hurley is one of the best coaches in the sport. The Huskies are going back-to-back.