3/18/2021 basketball Edit

TKR Staff presents their 2021 NCAA Tournament brackets

The Knight Report Staff

Rutgers.Rivals.com

The 2021 NCAA men's basketball tournament is officially set and the staff here at The Knight Report decided to show you our picks for each game in the tournament.

Do you think you can make a better bracket than us? Enter our Tourney Pick'Em group here.

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RICHIE SCHNYDERITE

THE SKINNY: This is it, the NCAA Tournament is finally here and we are finally getting a chance to see some tourney games for the first time since March 2019. After watching the Big Ten Conference a ton this season, you'll notice a slight bias in my bracket towards those schools as I feel the conference was far and away the best in the NCAA this year and they will prove their worth in this tournament.

Overall I didn't go too crazy with my predictions, as I picked a few upsets here and there, but for the most part I like my picks quite a bit and I have two Big Ten teams making my final four with Illinois winning it all.

As far as Rutgers goes, I have the Scarlet Knights making it to the Sweet 16 as I do believe they beat Clemson on Friday and I think they will ride that high into Sunday as they will take down Houston in the second round. However it's going to be an old Big East foe in West Virginia that will end up ending their run. I would call that a pretty darn successful season for Rutgers should it come true.

CHRIS NALWASKY

THE SKINNY: Selection Sunday felt like Christmas to me as it was the first time I covered it and had a big interest in it. I always enjoyed watching the NCAA Tournament, and that enjoyment escalated even further this year with Rutgers in the dance.

Picking the winners was no easy task. There were a slew of tough matchups, but in the end, I went with Illinois to win it all.

Illinois has a well-balanced team with one of the top guard-center combinations in Ayo Dosumnu and Kofi Cockburn. The Illini are deep have a tremendous supporting cast as well. Plus, they are battle-tested coming out of the Big Ten Conference. The Midwest Region has a bunch of defensive teams, and I think Loyola-Chicago and Oklahoma State will be challenging opponents for Illinois as will Gonzaga in the final.

Speaking of the Midwest Region, Rutgers faces Clemson in its first round game, and I see the early season Scarlet Knights showing up and taking down the Tigers. A potential date with Houston is up next, and although Houston probably ends up winning, I'll go with Rutgers and Jacob Young over the Cougars.

I did pick a few upsets here and there with Michigan falling to LSU in the second round without Isaiah Livers. Overall, though, the Big Ten is tough, and you can't count out the Wolverines or anybody. I originally had Ohio State falling to Arkansas in the Sweet 16, but I flipped that late.

A matchup between Oregon-Iowa is intriguing as is UConn-Maryland. There's a potential Syracuse (how?) against West Virginia game the first weekend as well.

I probably over-analyzed the games, but it's all for fun. My bracket will be busted after one game most likely.

Still, Illinois wins it by one point over the Zags.

CRAIG EPSTEIN

THE SKINNY: In what was as difficult a bracket to fill out I can remember, I decided to go with a Final Four of Gonzaga, Alabama, Baylor, and West Virginia. In regards to big-time upsets, I have Oregon knocking off Iowa in the second round as well as two one-seeds falling to eight-seeds in Michigan and Illinois. I feel as though the loss of Isaiah Livers will prove to be costly for the Wolverines, who have had their struggles as of late, and LSU will take advantage. Also, in what would likely be the bracket busting game of the tournament, I have Loyola Chicago stunning Illinois and leaving Richie and Chris to say: “What on earth just happened?”

Although I believe Illinois has the talent to make a Final Four run, if there is anything I have learned watching March Madness over the years it is to expect the unexpected and Illinois losing in the Round of 32 would certainly fall under the title of “unexpected.” In the end, I feel as though Gonzaga and Baylor are two teams destined to meet each other so I have them squaring off in the finals with Gonzaga coming out on top and capping off its perfect season.

As for Rutgers, I think they got about as good of a draw that fans could have hoped for. It will not be easy but if they can return to the team they were earlier in the season I feel they could find themselves making a Sweet 16 run and possibly further. If Illinois were to go down early, I see the Midwest region becoming a free-for-all. For the first time in 30 years, Rutgers fans can dream about their team making a March Madness run so my message to them would be to enjoy the ride and let’s see what happens.