For the first time in a long time, I don’t have a No. 1 seed winning the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. And considering how poorly I’ve performed in recent bracket pools, a change of pace might be a good thing.

I’m not a hardcore college basketball fan, but I definitely watch my fair share of games. That’s life when your schedule often includes Mondays off.

This is what my living room will look like for the next four days.

And the best team that I saw this year was Missouri. I love their guards. I love their experience. I love their style of play. And I loved the Big 12 Conference this year.

Yeah, maybe the Tigers don’t have a lot of depth. But that’s more of a regular-season problem than a tournament problem. At most, they’ll play two games per week from here on out. I can live with that.

So I’ve got a No. 2 seed winning the whole thing, beating a No. 1 seed in North Carolina in the championship. My other Final Four teams are No. 2 seed Ohio State and No. 1 seed Kentucky.

Here are a few other surprises:

• I’ve got No. 8 seed Memphis upsetting No. 1 Michigan State on its way to the Elite Eight. Probably my biggest “out on a limb” pick.
• One Sweet 16 party crasher I have is No. 13 Montana, with wins against No. 4 Wisconsin and No. 5 Vanderbilt. Montana has enjoyed an impressive season. I’m not a big fan of the Badgers this year, and I don’t know what to make of Vandy. Too inconsistent for my blood.

And finally, I leave you with a couple of videos.

First (and you’ll have to click on the link), a hilarious “Funny or Die” video from a year ago, with an impersonator of broadcaster Gus Johnson calling great moments in history. Secondly, one of my great first-round upset picks of all time, with No. 14 Northwestern State stunning No. 3 Iowa a few years ago. I lost it when NW State hits the last-second 3-pointer.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzc-CRKST9s