Page 2 columnist
By now you've been studying the brackets for hours. Perhaps more importantly, you've been fielding calls in hushed tones and "Alt-Tabbing" between instant-message screens and dummy spreadsheets (psst -- your boss is doing it, too), all about your NCAA Tournament picks.
Why would you approach this process with anything less than the most current conventional wisdom? Check out the list below for who and what is hot (and what's not), from cheerleaders to Cinderellas, from players to watch to coaches to avoid.
Your ability to be out front on this will cement your celebrity status within the office, at the bar and on dates for the rest of the year.
| WHAT'S HOT, WHAT'S NOT: NCAA TOURNAMENT | ||
| Category | Hot | Not Hot |
| Fan |  Ashley Judd |
 Carmelo Anthony |
| Bandwagon Final Four pick | Kentucky | St. Joe's |
| Sleeper | Wisconsin (6-East) | Illinois (5-South) |
| Directional school | Western Michigan | Southern Illinois |
| Cheerleaders | UL-Lafayette | (We're not that mean) |
| Premature MOP favorite |  Gerald Fitch (Kentucky) |
 Emeka Okafor (UConn) |
| Would-be Cinderella | East Tennessee State | Vermont |
| Forget our academics | Wake Forest | Princeton |
| Young coach | Bobby Gonzalez (Manhattan) | Quin Snyder (Missouri) |
| Really-needs-a-win coach |  Phil Martelli (St. Joe's) |
 Rick Barnes (Texas) |
| "He's Due" coach | Eddie Sutton (Okla St) | Jim Boeheim (Syracuse) |
| Hoops hot-bed | Washington (state) | Missouri |
| Perennial overachiever | Xavier | South Carolina |
| Nickname | Jaspers (Manhattan) | Anything conventional, like Tigers |
| Power conference | ACC (6 in Sweet 16?) | Pac-10 (only 3 bids) |
| Mid-major conference | Atlantic 10 | MAC |
| Carry-the-team big man | Lawrence Roberts (Miss. St.) | Sean May (UNC) |
| Go-to scorer | John Gilchrist (Maryland) | Jameer Nelson (St. Joe's) |
| First-round Upset Special | Western Michigan over Vandy | Standard 12 over 5 |
| Lock to choke |  Bobby Knight-coached team (Texas Tech) |
 Rick Pitino-coached team (Louisville) |
| Phrase at the office | "Three pool sheets, please" | "You're fired" |
| Sub-region | Raleigh | Kansas City |
| NBA stock |  Devin Harris (Wisconsin) |
 Ben Gordon (UConn) |
| "State" | Oklahoma | Alabama |
| Roy Williams Watch | Low expectations at UNC | Underachiever at Kansas |
| Sartorial style (coach) | Suit stays on (until first TV time-out) | Sweaters or mock turtles |
| Kicks | New-school Huaraches | Old-school retros |
| Celebratory move | Brushing dirt off shoulders | Tugging on jersey's school name |
| Bench superstition | Locked arms | Holding hands |
| Jersey to be seen in | Georgia Tech | Whoever loses first on Thursday |
| Say hello, say goodbye | Florida A&M | Lehigh |
| "Sound-smarter" buzzphrase for water-cooler | "Non-conference strength of schedule" | "Um, I like Kentucky!" |
| Conventional wisdom | You need at least some frontcourt size | You need a go-to scorer |
| Defense | Zone | Man |
| Hairstyle | High 'fro (Stanford's Josh Childress) | Cornrows |
| Three-point shooter | J.J. Redick (Duke) | Ryan Gomes (Providence) |
| Historical perspective |  G'towns '84 "finally" title team |
 NC State's '83 "miracle" team |
| Fashion statement | High socks | headbands |
| Trend | Parity from 1-30 | First-round upsets |
| "OH-ver-RAY-ted!" | Maryland as No. 4 | Wisconsin as No. 6 |
| NIT favorite | Georgia | Florida State |
| Will kill your pool sheet |  Florida |
 Wake Forest |
| NCAA coach-convention hot-button issue | Recruiting policies | College hoops course final exams |
| Pity for burst bubble | Utah State | Colorado |
| Strategy | 3-point bombs away | Drive and dish |
| Cliche | "Survive and advance" | "One game at a time" |
| Storyline | At what point will St. Joe's stumble? | How many No. 1's will lose THIS year? |
| "One Shining Moment" cover-band wish |  Beyonce |
 Norah Jones |
| Flaw to watch | Three-point FG shooting | Free-throw shooting |
| Juicy potential "down the road" match-up | Duke-UNC in regional final | Duke-UNC in regional final |
Everyone out there thinks they know the hot sleeper or favorite that can't miss. Well, Page 2 already has heard it all, and here's what we think of the conventional wisdom for picking this year's bracket big winners:
| PAGE 2 BRACKET PICKS | ||
| Category | We like | We don't like |
| East fave |  Anyone but St. Joe's |
 St. Joe's |
| East sleeper | Wisconsin | Memphis |
| West fave | Stanford | Syracuse repeat |
| West sleeper | Western Michigan | Southern Illinois |
| Midwest fave | Kentucky | Gonzaga |
| Midwest sleeper | Georgia Tech | Pacific |
| South fave | Duke | Texas |
| South sleeper | Xavier/L'ville winner | Air Force |
| Has it easy | Kentucky | Duke |
| Got hosed | Big Ten | Big 12 |
| Champ for your boss |  Kentucky over UConn |
 Stanford over St. Joe's |
| Champ for yourself | Kentucky over Duke | Anyone over Kentucky |
Dan Shanoff is a columnist for Page 2. His "Daily Quickie" commentary appears every weekday morning.
