By now, your NCAA Tournament bracket is likely in shambles, as it probably was even before any second round games were played.

Sure, it’s chic to pick a few 12 seeds in the first round — some of you out there maybe had Yale or Arkansas Little Rock pulling off an upset.

But No. 15 Middle Tennessee State over the highly regarded and second-seeded Michigan State Spartans? No. 14 Stephen F. Austin over No. 3 West Virginia?

Yikes.

The tournament resumes this week with the Sweet 16, and here is how our staff sees it shaking out …

BILL STEWART

Typically, the first thing I do when filling out a bracket is pencil Michigan State — regardless of its seed — into the Final Four.

Hey, I’m a big Tom Izzo guy, and this year I picked the Spartans to go … All. The. Way.

Oops.

I also had Kentucky in the Final Four.

Oops, again.

Despite those, um, “setbacks,” two of my predicted Final Four participants are still dancing, so not all is lost, right?

At this point I don’t see anyone stopping Kansas — it has all the pieces needed to win this thing — with the possible exception of rival Oklahoma. Oh, and I’m taking Gonzaga out of the Midwest Region. The Zags are playing good ball and I am not sold on the remaining three teams in the region — Syracuse, Iowa State and Virginia.

FINAL FOUR: Oklahoma, Kansas, Gonzaga, North Carolina

CHAMPIONSHIP: Kansas over North Carolina, 76-64

EVAN CRAWLEY

After a wild first round, the tournament returned to (relative) normalcy in the second round with most of the top seeds (barely) advancing. All four of the No. 1 seeds made it to the Round of 16, although the path for some seems far more forgiving than others.

Oregon looks to have it toughest in the West, with a talented Duke team in the Sweet 16 and a possible matchup with potential NCAA POY Buddy Hield and Oklahoma looming in the Elite Eight. Kansas also faces a tough path. If the Jayhawks can get past Melo Trimble, Diamond Stone and Maryland, both Miami and Villanova have hardly looked like pushovers thus far.

As for North Carolina and Virginia, they very well could be playing for a Final Four berth in their next games. UVA gets an Iowa State team still seeking redemption from last season’s mid-March collapse, while Indiana guard Yogi Ferrell is as battle-tested as they come and will give UNC’s Marcus Paige all he can handle in the Sweet 16.

As much as I want to pick Indiana out of spite for UNC thrashing Providence down the stretch last round, hard to imagine the Tar Heels not getting there and same goes for Virginia.

I still don’t believe in Oregon (I thought St. Joe’s would have — and should have, actually — beaten the Ducks) so give me Oklahoma out of the West. I still like Kansas out of the South, but if any of those four teams won the region I wouldn’t be surprised.

FINAL FOUR: Kansas, Oklahoma, UNC, Virginia

CHAMPIONSHIP: Kansas over Virginia, 73-68

RANDY WHITEHOUSE

Wait a minute. Isn’t this supposed to get easier after the first couple of rounds? We’re supposed to pick four out of 16 teams, but I’m a little gun shy after last weekend, and that’s with two of my original Final Four — Oklahoma and Kansas — still intact.

I’m sticking with Oklahoma because I have a man crush on Buddy Hield. I’ve already tried to make contact with Danny Ainge to draft him in June but he won’t return my calls. I’m not so sure about Kansas because, well, they’re Kansas and are more likely to underachieve than anything. Plus, it is probably going to run into Maryland in the regional final, and Maryland is, in my opinion, the most talented team left in the region.

The other side of my bracket died with Michigan State and Kentucky, which leaves me with mixed emotions — Michigan State because I love Tom Izzo, but Magic Johnson beat Larry Bird almost 40 years ago, and Kentucky because John Calipari, well, I alternate between love and hate with him.

So I feel obligated to pick at least one replacement that leaves me just as conflicted. Syracuse immediately leaps off the page to me. I never thought I’d type these words, but Syracuse isn’t getting enough respect. I feel the same way about Jim Boeheim as I do Calipari, but if we’re going to have a Cinderella in the Final Four, it’s going to come out of the Midwest. Why not have it come in the form of a 2-3 zone? The East is less of a crap shoot because North Carolina has Brice Johnson and Paige and maybe Kennedy Meeks will decide to show up this week. If he does, or if Joel Berry can shoot a little more consistently from the outside, nobody is taking down the Tar Heels.

FINAL FOUR: Maryland, Oklahoma, UNC, Syracuse

CHAMPIONSHIP: UNC over Maryland, 80-66

TRAVIS LAZARCZYK

At halftime of the Middle Tennessee State/Michigan State first round game, my brother sent me a text message. He had Michigan State winning the title in his bracket, and he was worried. Don’t worry, I wrote back, Michigan State will rally and win.

The NCAA men’s basketball tournament made me lie to my brother. At the same time, I was glad to see Michigan State lose. I have North Carolina winning the title and one less strong team in the field helps the Tar Heels’ chances. With the two, three and four seeds out of UNC’s region, I like the Tar Heels to get by Indiana and Notre Dame to win the East.

My Midwest Region burst into flames, with Michigan State’s loss and Syracuse suddenly playing like Derrick Coleman and Pearl Washington are running the floor for the Orange again. I think top-seed Virginia gets through to set up a rematch of the ACC title game with North Carolina in the Final Four.

I still like Oklahoma to win the West, beating Oregon in the regional final. In the South, top seed Kansas is the only team I have left in my bracket (thanks for nothing, Arizona), so I’ll stick with the Jayhawks taking the region. Kansas beats the Sooners in a Big 12 battle in the other Final Four game.

FINAL FOUR: UNC, Virginia, Kansas, Oklahoma

CHAMPIONSHIP: UNC over Kansas, 80-76

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