The Front Row: Bracket busters

UCLA, ALL THE WAY: Filling out an NCAA Tournament bracket is easily one of the highlights of my year, every year.

This might speak more to my lack of a life than to my dedication to college basketball, but I don’t care. March Madness is the best.

Usually, I agonize over which team I’m going to select to cut down the nets, but it was a deceptively easy task this season (which makes me think this team is destined to lose somewhere along the line).

Honestly, I can’t see anyone taking down the UCLA Bruins this month.

This team is built for tournament play. They have no weaknesses. Try to collapse on Pac-10 Player of the Year Kevin Love and lightning-quick guards Darren Collison and Russell Westbrook will eat you alive.

Try to limit penetration, and Josh Shipp will rain down 3-pointers.

Try to exploit a mismatch defensively, and Ben Howland (for my money, the best coach in college basketball) will turn that alleged weakness into a strength.

In addition, the Bruins secured two games they had no business winning. One, the phantom foul against Stanford that led to an overtime thrashing on March 6. Two, Shipp’s over-the-backboard, only-seen-in-a-game-of-horse game-winner against Cal on March 8.

Games like that point to UCLA as a team of destiny.

Mark it down. If you want to take first in your office pool, you’ll jump on the UCLA bandwagon and ride it into San Antonio.

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OTHER TOURNEY TEAMS I LIKE: Of course, most of the fun is trying to pick out the bracket’s sleepers.

Every year, a 12-seed beats a five. This dates back to Naismith. When picking a 12-seed, look for a successful program with a great coach who always seem to make noise in March.

Go with Villanova to take down an overrated Notre Dame squad.

Also, don’t rule out No. 11 Baylor taking down No. 6 Purdue. The Big Ten is absolutely awful, and the Bears have a “team of destiny” vibe happening, with that 5-OT win over Texas A&M serving as a season highlight.

Finally, if you’re looking for a small school to stun everyone and sneak into the Sweet 16, look no further than Davidson. The Wildcats scored a favorable first-round matchup against an average Gonzaga squad and match up well with No. 2 Georgetown. Davidson’s Stephen Curry (25.1 points per game) can take over any game against any opponent.

If you’re looking for first-round fireworks, look no further than the USC versus Kansas State matchup (4:10 p.m., CBS). Michael Beasley, OJ Mayo and about four dozen NBA scouts should make this Thursday’s must-see game.

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