SI likes Kansas

In its NCAA playoff preview, Sports Illustrated forecast a rather upset-free Final Four: three No. 1 seeds - Kansas, Syracuse and Duke - and West Virginia, the No. 2 seed in the East. It is also predicting Kansas to whip West Virginia for the championship.

As for other Big 12 teams, SI has Baylor going to the Elite 8, with wins over Sam Houston State, Notre Dame and St. Mary's, before bowing to Duke. No other Big 12 teams even make it to the Sweet 16, according to the magazine, although it has Oklahoma State, Texas, Missouri, and Kansas State as other conference teams recording first-round victories.