Sporting News columnist Mike DeCourcy joins me once a week to talk about the Steelers and the NFL on our “Friday Football” livestream. But during college basketball season, DeCourcy also does a lot of work for the Big Ten Network and Fox.
He joins me annually on the “Breakfast With Benz” podcast to predict the NCAA men’s basketball bracket so you can pick winners and claim your office pool.
DeCourcy will also be on the next two weeks to recap every round of the tournament heading into the Final Four.
St. John’s in the East
DeCourcy called the East region the “Bracket of Brands,” with big-name programs and coaches sprinkled through it.
Top-ranked Duke is on top of it after winning the ACC Tournament. Danny Hurley and UConn are the second seed with national titles from 2023 and 2024 still fresh. Tom Izzo and Michigan State are third, and traditional powerhouse Kansas is fourth.
But DeCourcy settled on St. John’s after the Red Storm just blasted UConn, 72-52, to win the Big East title.
“It’s like the guy on the side of the cliff in Yosemite saying, ‘I don’t recommend doing this if you haven’t practiced.’ Well, I wouldn’t tell everybody to take St John’s over Duke, but I did.”
Hey, so did I. St. John’s (28-6) is my choice too. The Red Storm only has two losses since the calendar flipped to 2026. Big East Player of the Year Zuby Ejiofor is averaging 20.6 points per game over the last five contests.
Zuby Ejiofor against No. 15 Alabama:
27 PTS | 9-12 FG | 10 REB | 2-3 3PT pic.twitter.com/QgAxYbTabL
— B/R Hoops (@brhoops) November 8, 2025
Plus, Duke has injury issues. Point guard Caleb Foster and center Patrick Ngongba II are both dealing with foot injuries.
“It’s hard to see Duke winning it with the way they play, especially at the offensive end,” DeCourcy said. “Defensively, with Caleb down, he was a big part of why they were really hard to score against. With him being gone (at least until the Final Four round), I just have them vulnerable.”
The path for St. John’s is tough, though. They’d have to beat Kansas in Round 2 before upending Duke in the Sweet 16.
Arizona in the West
DeCourcy and I are also of like mind in the West. We both think top-seed Arizona cuts down the nets in San Jose.
“I don’t think any of the teams in the West are really ideally suited to beat Arizona,” DeCourcy said. “If Arizona doesn’t make it to Indianapolis (for the Final Four), it’s because somewhere along the line, Arizona beat Arizona. However it might develop, players get into foul trouble, panic in a certain situation, whatever it might be that that would be my scenario, because I don’t think anybody out there is as good as them or close to as good as them.”
I’ll disagree to an extent with DeCourcy there. I think Arkansas could pull off that upset in the Sweet 16. The Razorbacks just won the SEC Tournament, and when Darius Acuff Jr. is on, they can beat anybody.
FRESHMAN DARIUS ACUFF JR. DROPS 37 PTS TO ELIMINATE OKLAHOMA FROM SEC TOURNEY ???? @RazorbackMBBpic.twitter.com/TFvv5iyoyt
— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) March 14, 2026
He has failed to reach 20 points just once since Jan. 20.
Houston advances out of the South
In the South region, DeCourcy and I align to a point. We both have a No. 1 vs. No. 2 showdown in the Elite Eight. I’m taking No. 1 seed Florida to win that game. DeCourcy is picking the Houston Cougars in a rematch of last year’s NCAA title game.
“This time the result gets reversed,” DeCourcy insisted. “My reasoning on that is that I think Houston is one of the few teams that looks at the intact (Florida) championship front court from a year ago, and says, ‘OK, whatever.’ They’re going to stand up to anybody’s interior challenge, because they’re that tough.”
Florida is the best rebounding team in the country at 45.4 per game. Houston is the second-best defensive team in the country, yielding just 62.9 points per game.
Iowa State wins the Midwest
Like Duke, top-seeded Michigan would appear to be the logical choice here, but injuries are a red flag. DeCourcy is concerned about the Wolverines because of the injury to point guard L.J. Cason.
Cason tore his ACL in the regular season final against Illinois. He averages 8.4 points per game and is a 40% 3-point shooter.
I’m sticking with Michigan, here. But DeCourcy likes No. 2 Iowa State.
“It’s a team that is intact, that is physically tough, that has more scoring options than they’ve had in the past,” DeCourcy said. “(Milan) Momcilovic, their small forward wing, is 6-foot-9. He is one of the great shooters in college basketball. Joshua Jefferson has developed into a tremendous, all-around player–great rebounder, ridiculous playmaker for a 6-foot-9 guy.”
One of the SEC teams in this region could spoil the party before the Elite Eight for either of these clubs. Alabama (4), Tennessee (6) and Kentucky (7) are all potential stumbling blocks.
A Cinderella to pick
If there is a dark horse team to watch, DeCourcy and I are both looking in the South Region.
“Troy (13) is an interesting team. They have played really well lately,” DeCourcy said. “They began the year by scoring a ton of points. They scored 108 in a win over San Diego State, which may have cost San Diego State an NCAA Tournament bid. They also went into triple overtime and scored 106 against USC, but lost that one by a point. So that’s a team that can go.”
Keep in mind, Troy plays fourth-seeded Nebraska in a 12:40 game Thursday. The Cornhuskers have never won an NCAA Tournament game.
I think Penn, McNeese State, Texas A&M and VCU are all on the 10-line or below and all capable of pulling off an upset or two. That region could be very dicey until it gets down to Florida and Houston.
As far as everybody’s sweetheart, Miami (Ohio), they are playing in the First Four game Wednesday night in Dayton. DeCourcy says, “It’s going to be a real struggle” for them to advance beyond SMU and into the main bracket.
Who wins it all at the Final Four?
I have St. John’s over Arizona. Mike has the Wildcats winning it over Houston.
“Maybe I got drunk on the Big 12 Tournament, but I have three Big 12 teams in the Final Four, kind of like 1985 all over again, when Georgetown, Villanova and St John’s went out of the Big East to Lexington,” DeCourcy said. “I have three Big 12 teams. Maybe that’s too many. Maybe I’ll pay for it. But I have Houston versus Arizona in the Final, and I have Arizona emerging as champ.”
If that happens, it’d be Arizona’s second national championship and its first since 1997.
LISTEN: Tim Benz and Mike DeCourcy break down the 2026 NCAA Tournament.