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Before I saw this year’s NCAA tournament  bracket, I thought the picks to advance to the Final Four were going to be no-brainers. Once I took a look at the bracket, my mind changed, at least somewhat.

I think three teams (North Carolina, U.C.L.A. and Texas) have a great chance to make the Final Four, thanks to the home-court advantage.

U.N.C. doesn’t have to leave the state, U.C.L.A. only has to travel to Phoenix, Arizona, and Texas gets to play in Houston in its home state. The Final Four in San Antonio also favors the Longhorns.

While I think the home court will fuel these teams to a run in the tournament, it is important to note that all three teams lost at home during the year.

U.C.L.A. lost to U.S.C., U.N.C. lost to a non-tournament team in Maryland and Texas got beat by Wisconsin. This proves anything is possible, although I don’t see it happening.

The weakest bracket is the Midwest, where we could see some surprises. Kansas has always been vulnerable in the tournament and Georgetown, Vanderbilt and Clemson are all capable of knocking off the Jayhawks.

The strongest bracket is the East, which has the top No. 1 and No. 2 seeds in North Carolina and Tennessee, respectively, plus a solid No. 3 in Wisconsin. It also has a dangerous dark horse in Butler, who got hosed with a No. 7 seed.

Remember the referees have decided several games this year and they may decide more. Therefore, it is important to know who the refs seem to favor (U.C.L.A., U.N.C. and UConn) and plan for them to get some help.

Here is how the brackets look to me.

East Regional

Winner: (1) North Carolina
Bracket Buster: (7) Butler
Outlook: No. 7 Butler and No. 2 Tennessee has the making of a great game with their contrasting styles. No. 5 Notre Dame and No. 4 Washington State is a great battle of three-point shooting teams, but W.S.U. has a great defense. The only team that can beat U.N.C. is Tennessee, but the Vols have two tough games before they will have that opportunity. Don’t be surprised to see Butler take on U.N.C. in the Elite Eight.

Winner: (2) Georgetown
Bracket Buster: (6) U.S.C., (10) Davidson
Outlook: I have no confidence in my selections in this bracket. With the strength of Davidson and lack of dominance elsewhere, there is the making of a few upsets, although I think Georgetown will survive. Keep an eye on U.S.C. as it has played top teams well all year. Kansas is better this year than in years past, but I like Vanderbilt to beat Kansas in the regional semifinal. Georgetown wins another close game over Vanderbilt on another traveling violation not called.

Winner: (1) U.C.L.A.
Bracket Buster: (3) Xavier
Outlook: Xavier isn’t much of a bracket breaker, but there isn’t many worthy opponents to choose from. UCLA’s toughest game will probably come against Connecticut, but the advantage of playing much closer to its home will make the difference. I don’t remember seeing such weak No. 5 through 7 seeds as in this regional. In the end, Xavier doesn’t have a man to defend U.C.L.A.’s Kevin Love as the home crowd carries the favorite.

Winner: (2) Texas
Bracket Buster: (9) Oregon
Outlook: I don’t like the underdogs in this region at all, but if one team can make a surprising run, it is the Ducks. If they are on, Memphis may be in trouble. This region could feature a dynamite regional final four in Memphis vs. Pittsburgh and Stanford vs. Texas. Both games and the winners’ match-up could be great to watch. Texas playing in its home state makes a difference in the end.

Score: U.C.L.A. 68 North Carolina 65 — If you talk about a lucky team, you are probably talking about U.C.L.A. After getting two horrendous calls at the end of the season, it appears that it is a team of destiny. The Bruins can’t match the offensive firepower of U.N.C., but their defense is far superior and that is what wins this game (besides, perhaps, the referees).

Tags: college basketball, march madness