The bracket (for entertainment purposes only)

Getting 68 NCAA teams down to one will be a 3-week obsession.

If this bracket projection turns out to be close to reality, all plaudits will be modestly ackowledged.

If it doesn’t, well, that’s what happens with Chat GPT.

FIRST FOUR

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi over Southeast Missouri State: SE Missouri players have fouled out 33 times this season.

Pittsburgh over Mississippi State: Panthers want to erase their 27-point loss to Duke last week.

Fairleigh Dickinson over Texas Southern: TSU is the third NCAA tournament team ever to lose 20 games, and it shoots 28.4 percent on its 3-pointers, but it did knock off the top two seeds in the SWAC tournament. And, back in late 2022, it beat Arizona State.

Arizona State over Nevada: If it gets dull, Bobby Hurley (ASU coach) will play Steve Alford (Nevada) one-on-one.

SOUTH

Alabama over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi: Crimson Tide has the best defense in Division I against 2-pointers and 3-pointers, and Nick Saban is only peripherally involved.

Maryland over West Virginia: Erik Stevenson of the Mountaineers has played for Washington, Wichita State and South Carolina. That’s four of the six “power” conferences. The road ends here.

San Diego State over Charleston: It’s a popular upset pick, but Aztecs’ defense will be a new experience for Charleston.

Furman over Virginia: Paladins are the best 2-point shooting team in Division I, and Cavaliers’ defense isn’t what it was.

Creighton over North Carolina State: It’s the 40th anniversary of Lorenzo Charles and Survive and Advance, but this will be a case of Lose and Leave.

Baylor over UC Santa Barbara: Bears are too dependent on three shooters to get very far, but they’ll squeeze past the best team ever nicknamed after a Steely Dan album.

Missouri over Utah State: Not only is Kobe Brown a first team All-Star in the SEC, he’s the conference scholar-athlete of the year.

Arizona over Princeton: Tosan Evboumhwan came from London, where he cold-contacted Princeton and asked for a chance. He was Ivy League Player of the Year in 2022, led the Tigers this season.

Alabama over Maryland: Led by Brandon Miller, ‘Bama freshmen have scored over 51 percent of their points.

San Diego State over Furman: Mike Bothwell is a terrific player, but the Paladins will lose this one primarily because they put “Dins” on their jerseys, in America’s continuing war on syllables.

Creighton over Baylor: Sixth-seeded Blue Jays lost 12 games but are 13th in the KenPom ratings, ahead of third-seeded Bears.

Missouri over Arizona: Tigers didn’t win the press conference when they hired Dennis Gates from Cleveland State, but now they’ll win for years.

Alabama over San Diego State: But the Tide will have to do it in first gear.

Missouri over Creighton: Missouri has three rotation players who shoot 39.7 percent or better from three.

Alabama over Missouri: Is it difficult to beat a team three times? Not if you’re already done it twice.

EAST

Purdue over Fairleigh Dickinson: FDU comes out wearing St. Peter’s jerseys from last year. Does not have the desired effect.

Memphis over Florida Atlantic: But don’t bet more than a Penny on it.

Duke over Oral Roberts: Potential trap game for a young, big, hot but unsuspecting Duke squad.

Tennessee over Louisiana: Will be tight. Louisiana’s 6-foot-11 Jordan Brown was Pac-12 Sixth Man of the Year at Arizona.

Kentucky over Providence: Since Feb. 26, Friars have won only once, over Georgetown.

Kansas State over Montana State: Top scorer Rae’Quan Battle transferred from Washington to Montana State. He grew up on a Tulalip reservation north of Seattle.

Michigan State over USC: Have Spartans forgotten from their face-plant at Iowa on Feb. 25? Not with Tom Izzo around.

Marquette over Vermont: This will disappoint Vermont fans Darrell, Darrell and their other brother Darrell.

Purdue over Memphis: There’s no little blue pill to deal with (Zach) Edey in this case.

Tennessee over Duke: Even without Zakai Zeigler, the top-rated Vols’ defense will be a source of frustration.

Kansas State over Kentucky: Point guard Markquis Nowell, at 5-foot-8, sends the Big Blue Nation home.

Marquette over Michigan State: Few players are more essential to their teams than Tyler Kolek.

Tennessee over Purdue: The Vols won’t give Purdue open shots in their attempt to silence Edey.

Marquette over Kansas State: Eagles have lost only twice since Dec. 20.

Tennessee over Marquette: A good passing team finds a way against a frenetic defense.

MIDWEST

Houston over Northern Kentucky: Darrin Horn, former South Carolina and Western Kentucky coach, leads the Norse.

Auburn over Iowa: Hawkeyes coach Fran McCaffery will have a gripe with the location of this one: Birmingham.

Drake over Miami: Even if Miami big man Norchad Omier plays he’ll be hampered by his ankle.

Indiana over Kent State: Hoosiers didn’t finish well but they still have Trayce Jackson-Davis.

Pittsburgh over Iowa State: Cyclones lost 11 of their last 17. Victims of Big 12 fatigue?

Kennesaw State over Xavier: The school was founded the year before John Wooden won his first NCAA championship, is coached by Amir Abdur-Rahim (Shareef’s brother) and looks the part.

Penn State over Texas A&M: Nittany Lions are the most experienced team in Division 1.

Texas over Colgate: Not without stress. Matt Langel has won consistently at Colgate and may contend for the Notre Dame or Temple jobs.

Houston over Auburn: With Marcus Sasser hobbled by a groin strain, freshman Jarace Walker demonstrates his lottery worthiness.

Indiana over Drake: Hoosiers are less dependent on the 3-pointer than all but 15 teams in Division I. Will serve them well here.

Kennesaw State over Pittsburgh: There’s always room for a 14 seed in the Final 16.

Texas over Penn State: Longhorns are playing to keep interim coach Rodney Terry, among other things.

Houston over Indiana: Not hard to find the storyline here. UH coach Kelvin Sampson was canned at Indiana for an illegal number of recruiting calls.

Texas over Kennesaw State: Texas is in the KenPom.com Top 20 in both offensive and defensive efficiency.

Houston over Texas: The Cougars were in last year’s final eight and in the 2021 Final Four.

WEST

Kansas over Howard: Remember Mickey Mantle’s 565-foot home run in Washington’s Griffith Park? No? Why not? Anyway, home plate is on the Howard campus.

Arkansas over Illinois: Razorbacks have one win since Feb. 21 and coach Eric Musselman has become a nonstop tantrum, but they’re also healthy with lots of NBA talent.

St. Mary’s over Virginia Commonwealth: VCU is sixth-best in rate of forcing turnovers. St. Mary’s plays it slow and careful. Do styles make fights? Gaels hope so.

Iona over Connecticut: Rick Pitino is the peanut butter on the roof of college basketball’s mouth.

TCU over Arizona State: Chuck O’Bannon’s dad Charles was on UCLA’s 1995 title team, the Bruins’ only such championship since Gerald Ford was President.

Gonzaga over Grand Canyon: The last dance for Drew Timme, who, contary to appearances, did not start playing when Gerald Ford was President.

Northwestern over Boise State: Nothing better in March than senior guards, and Bo Buie and Chase Audige are the drivers for Northwestern.

UCLA over UNC Asheville: UNCA’s Drew Pember, a Tennessee transfer, drew fouls at a higher rate than anyone else in Division I.

Kansas over Arkansas: Jayhawks regain their sense of Self.

St. Mary’s over Iona: People want Cal to hire St. Mary’s coach Randy Bennett, but why should he take a demotion?

TCU over Gonzaga: Horned Frogs did the same thing to Arizona in the second round last year.

UCLA over Northwestern: The Bruins might carp about their 2 seed, but NCAA drew them a yellow brick road to the Final Four.

Kansas over St. Mary’s: This one plays into Kansas’ defensive hand.

UCLA over TCU: Frogs’ coach Jamie Dixon was one of three who turned down UCLA, which “settled” for Mick Cronin.

UCLA over Kansas: It’s hard to get past the big-game heritage of Jaime Jaquez, Tyler Campbell and David Singleton.

FINAL FOUR

Alabama over Tennessee: Zeigler was the key when the Vols beat Alabama in February. He’s not playing now.

UCLA over Houston: Can they play this one next door in the Astrodome?

AND THE WINNER IS….

UCLA 69, Alabama 65: Amari Bailey’s final college game is one for the books.