"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