Death, taxes, Charles Barkley picking Arizona to win NCAA Tournament
Mar 18, 2022, 9:45 AM | Updated: 4:44 pm
Charles Barkley arrives to the clubhouse during Capital One's The Match V: Bryson v Brooks at Wynn Golf Course on November 26, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by David Becker/Getty Images)
(Photo by David Becker/Getty Images)
Charles Barkley represents the state of Arizona well.
He will talk up his former team, the Phoenix Suns, and point out that the Valley is a damn nice place to live.
He will also pick any Arizona basketball team to go deep into the NCAA Tournament. And be wrong about it.
Arizona Wildcats fans hope that trend ends this year, because the trend of Barkley choosing their team to win the national title continues.
Barkley filled out his full bracket ahead of the round of 64 that tipped off Thursday, and he has Tommy Lloyd’s Wildcats going all the way.
Chuck's Final Four:
🏀 @ZagMBB
🏀 @KentuckyMBB
🏀 @ArizonaMBB
🏀 @AuburnMBBHow you feeling about his #MarchMadness bracket? pic.twitter.com/YRId6EfZ2n
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) March 17, 2022
Kentucky, Gonzaga, Arizona and Auburn made The Round Mound of Bracketology’s Final Four.
“And unfortunately,” the Auburn product said, “I’m going with Arizona. … The winner: The Arizona Wildcats.”
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That’s not a big branch to go out on considering Arizona has the second-best odds behind Gonzaga as favorites. Still, it’s become a bit of a trend for Sir Charles to put his faith in Arizona.
A quick Twitter search can trace his history of choosing the Wildcats to win it all.
He did so in 2015, 2017 and 2018.
A Barkley seal of approval might not be the best sign for Arizona’s sake.
In 2015, the No. 2 Wildcats made the Elite Eight but fell to a red-hot, top-seeded Wisconsin team led by Sam Dekker and now-Sun Frank Kaminsky.
No. 11-seeded Xavier upset Arizona as a No. 2 seed in the 2017 Sweet 16, and in 2018, the fourth-seeded Wildcats led by Suns center Deandre Ayton got blown out against by 13th-seeded Buffalo in the first round.
