With the first round of the NCAA tournament officially getting underway Thursday with Duke's 12:15 p.m. tip against UNC-Wilmington, The Chronicle's men's basketball beat writers give their thoughts on the Big Dance in a lightning-round format.
Who is your national champion?
Sameer Pandhare: Kansas Jayhawks
Jack Dolgin: Virginia Cavaliers
Brian Pollack: Michigan State Spartans
Meredith Cash: Kansas Jayhawks
Ryan Hoerger: Michigan State Spartans
How far does Duke make it?
SP: Elite Eight
JD: Elite Eight
BP: Round of 32
MC: Elite Eight
RH: Round of 32
Who is your Cinderella team?
SP: Wichita State
JD: Providence
BP: Connecticut
MC: Virginia Commonwealth
RH: Wichita State
Who has the best name in the tournament?
SP: Scoochie Smith (Dayton)
JD: Lourawls "Tum Tum" Nairn Jr. (Michigan State)
BP: Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk (Kansas)
MC: Diamond Stone (Maryland)
RH: Dedrick Basil (Cal-State Bakersfield)
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