It’s been a wild college basketball season. All of the cards are about to be on the table as the 2019 NCAA Men’s College Basketball Tournament has once again arrived.

I’m probably not the only one taking a “sick” day from work on Thursday, which is also known as the best day of the year if you’re a hoops-head like myself.

And if you’re reading this, you’re most likely filling out a bracket. Whether it’s an office pool just for fun, or you’re laying some serious cash on the line (legally or illegally, not my business), millions of us will be glued to the action for a few weeks.

I’m clearly not the high school football guru (see my Grid Picks since 2013), so let’s see if I fare any better in the world of college basketball.

Let’s take a deeper dive into the tournament and hear from some of the other Times News sports reporters.

“Who are your upsets?”

Everyone always loves a good upset or Cinderella story. Will there be any underdogs on top in the first round?

Twelfth-seeded Oregon

has a shot to knock out fifth-seeded Wisconsin on Friday afternoon. Vegas currently has the Badgers as a one-point favorite, and maybe no team in the tournament has adapted to change as well as the Ducks. After Bol Bol was lost for the season, Oregon went through a lot of transition, and finally head coach Dana Altman got them to click. The Ducks are well rounded and are led by crafty point guard Payton Prichard, who isn’t exactly great at anything, but always ends up finishing at the basket. He’s a treat to watch, and is basically the poorman’s version of Steve Nash. Maybe that’s a stretch, so let’s go with a YMCA-level Steve Nash. Anyway, big-man Kenny Wooten is one of many productive role players for the Ducks, averaging two blocks per game and altering many shots in the paint. Oregon is winners of eight straight, and fresh off a PAC-12 tourney title.

Another No. 12 seed that all eyes will be on is Murray State

, who takes on No. 5 Marquette. Expect fireworks here as Marquette’s Markus Howard and Murray’s Ja Morant rank sixth and eighth in the nation in scoring, respectively. According to KenPom, Murray State ranks fourth defensively in three-point percentage, and fifth in two-point percentage. However, take that with a grain of salt, as they do represent the Ohio Valley Conference.

I love the 12’s this year, and if you find a prop bet on if one of them will win in the first round, I would lock that puppy in. Belmont

defeated Temple in the First 4 on Tuesday night to claim a spot in the big dance. They’ll square off with Maryland, who has been very inconsistent this season. Five of Belmont’s top-six players in terms of minutes played shoot at least 36 percent from three-point land. Additionally, Maryland is the fourth-youngest team in the nation. Take that for what it’s worth, as Kentucky ranks right behind the Terps at 351st out of 353 programs in the experience department

South Region

I don’t have a ton of craziness in my bracket, but this might be one of my hottest takes. The biggest wrinkle of my bracket falls in the Round of 32. If you go on Google maps and type in “How far is Columbus from Cincinnati?” you’ll see that the committee has virtually decided to give seventh-seeded Cincinnati

two home games on opening weekend. A hypothetical second-round matchup between the sort-of-home Bearcats and Tennessee is quite interesting, and I’m not really sure how the Volunteers will fair with a physical team in Cinci that always seems to figuratively punch you in the mouth each year. The Vols rely heavily on the two-point shot in terms of point-distribution (20th in nation), and the Bearcats are 18th defensively in the nation in defending the two-pointer. Additionally, they’re 5-0 on neutral courts in 2019, and just dominated Houston.

Another important note in the South is that Kansas State’s Dean Wade (12.9 ppg, 6.2 rpg) is doubtful to play in the tourney. Bobby Brown can carry the load for the Wildcats, but he might not have enough help to make it to the Sweet 16 or Elite 8. I’m playing the chalk; Virginia

will not lose to a 16 this year, in fact they are going to the Final 4.

Midwest Region

The Midwest is crazzyyyyyyyy.

Let’s start with another 5-12 matchup. Auburn

is one of the hottest teams in the country, and they LOVE to launch the three-pointer. They’re winners of eight straight, including a blowout of Tennessee in the SEC title game. KenPom has Bruce Pearl’s offense ranked eighth. A risky pick, as sometimes the long-ball doesn’t drop, Auburn is a boom-or-bust sleeper in this region.

In fact, for that reason, a lot of movement has been on the New Mexico State

(30-4) side, which plays in a weak conference, but hasn’t lost since Jan. 3. The Aggies are one of the best offensive rebounding teams in the nation.

Don’t look now but Iowa State

is healthy, and Canadian star Marial Shayok led the Cyclones Big 12 tournament championship over Kansas. On paper, the Cyclones are one of the most talented teams in the country.

Houston

is one of the tournament darlings, but I just can’t believe it until I see it; especially after a dud against Cinci in the AAC conference tournament.

Wofford

is ranked 19th by KenPom; and has the fourth-best effective field goal percentage and second-best three-point percentage in the nation. I’d say there’s a 25 percent chance they have a signature moment in a few days.

This was a tough one, but I have North Carolina

advancing to the Final 4, as long as Coby White takes some better shots (and gets a haircut). Luke Maye just brings the same leadership that Tyler Hansbrough had years ago, and that’s special.

West Region

Good ole’ Gonzaga

. Mark Few has been there since 1999, and has had numerous highly-touted teams, but never got the job done. Many people think this is his best team to date. However, remember when we thought the Adam Morrison team from over a decade ago would be unbeatable? The Bulldogs have wins over Duke and St. Mary’s and losses to Tennessee and North Carolina this season. They’re the true wildcard of the tournament. KenPom has Zaga’s offense first and defense 16th.

If you like defense, this is the region for you.

Third-seeded Texas Tech and No. 2 Michigan

rank first and second in Adjusted Defensive Rating, respectively according to KenPom. Michigan’s only losses since Valentine’s Day were all to Michigan State. The Red Raiders were one of the hottest teams in the country before losing to West Virginia a few days ago in conference play. This bracket is going to dictate a lot of winners and losers in office pools. Nearly impossible to decide, I’m sending the Wolverines to the Final 4. John Beilein’s team has the third-best turnover percentage offensively in the country and has very good size.

East Region

So, we have an unorthodox Duke

team on our hands.

The Blue Devils have lived and died by the three-pointer over the last decade or so. However, this season, Zion Williamson and his colleagues have been working the paint.

Williamson is unanimously the best player in the nation, and is joined by two more future lottery picks in Cam Reddish and R.J. Barrett. However, Duke is not deep, and ranks 338th in the nation in three-point percentage (30 percent from floor). The most future pros don’t always translate to National Championships though (i.e. the 2009 Kentucky team with John Wall, Demarcus Cousins, Eric Bledsoe, Patrick Patterson, and Darius Miller that did not win). That being said, Coach K’s squad is the No. 1 overall seed for a reason; and if Duke doesn’t fall far behind in any game, they are punch-for-punch the best team in the land and are going to be a tough out. Vegas favors them, and for good reason.

The actual opening game of the tournament on Thursday might be the most intriguing of the afternoon, featuring No. 7 Louisville and No. 10 Minnesota. I’ll be rushing to the Borgata in Atlantic City to grab a good seat for this one. Looking ahead here, a hypothetical showdown between No. 2 Michigan State

and L’Ville in the second round is surprising and a tough draw for Sparty, but if MSU can grind it out against the Cardinals (or Gophers), I like their odds of making a deep run.

I’ll take coaching and good guard play in March over anything, and there might not be a better pair than Cassius Winston and Tom Izzo this year. This team is battle-tested and has had to battle through so much adversity this season. I’ll never hear the end of it if I pick Duke to come out of this region, so I’m going to go with the slight upset and send MSU to the Final 4. This would be an interesting hypothetical Elite 8 matchup, as the Spartans rank third in the country defending the two-point shot, which is statistically all the Blue Devils do offensively.