The 2022 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament bracket is out.

So, subscribers — and celebrities taking part in the “Pros vs. Joes” Bracket Challenge on kerryeggers.com — bring it on!

Our first “Pros vs. Joes” competition gives readers a chance to match their college basketball forecasting skills with those of the likes of … me.

But not just me.

Our list includes a bevy of familiar names to sports fans throughout the state: 1) broadcasters Brian Wheeler, Brooke Olzendam, Neil Everett, Mark Schwarz and Chad Doing, ex-Blazer players Dave Twardzik and Darnell Valentine, ex-Oregon State athletes Charlie Sitton, Mikayla Pivec, Lester Conner, Dick Fosbury, Yvenson Bernard, Frank Peters, Tim Euhus and Steve Preece, ex-Oregon athletes Rob Closs and Mike Walter, veteran football coach June Jones, journalist Dwight Jaynes and — last but not least — Dillon the Pickle, mascot of baseball’s Portland Pickles.

I’ve written a feature story on each of the 20. If you haven’t read them, please do so. It’s an impressive group of people whom I’m proud to call friends.

They will fill out their brackets on-line and give kerryeggers.com subscribers something to shoot for. Or perhaps not.

Readers, fill out your brackets here by 9 a.m. Thursday. The group password is RipCityBaby. We will post results throughout the three weeks of March Madness. It’s FREE to enter.

We will have prizes.

(Note: Everyone gets credit for the four play-in game winners. It’s the final 64 teams, beginning with the first round, that we’re picking.)

Who do I think will rule among the celebs? Given their interest in the college game, their history of filling out a bracket and their willingness to study the teams involved, I’m going to say Closs, Olzendam and Dillon the Pickle. I also think that someone out there — it could be you — will beat them all. And me.

I will be covering all the action this week from Portland for first- and second-round games at Moda Center. Check the website each night or the next morning. I’ll provide an inside look at what’s happening on the local scene beginning with Wednesday’s media day, followed by Thursday’s first round that features four games. It’s Gonzaga against Georgia State, Boise State vs. Memphis, Saint Mary’s against the winner of Wyoming/Indiana and UCLA vs. Akron. Saturday’s second round will match the first-round winners.

A few observations before we get started:

• The Pac-12 has only three representatives — Arizona, UCLA and Southern Cal — the smallest contingent of any of the Power Five conferences. But there is more interest in West Coast basketball at the NCAA Tournament than there has been for some time.

• Gonzaga of the WCC is the No. 1 overall seed and the favorite to win it all. Arizona is ranked No. 2 and was picked Sunday by several experts to take the top prize and become the first national champion from the Pac-12 since … Arizona in 1997.

The Zags and Wildcats are on different sides of the brackets. That leaves the possibility that the title game will match Gonzaga coach Mark Few with Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd, Few’s assistant at Gonzaga for 20 seasons and in his first season coaching in Tucson.

If it gets down to that, it could be wild. Gonzaga leads the country in scoring (87.8 points per game) while Arizona is third (84.6). The Zags and Wildcats are also 1-3 in field goal percentage (.527 to .496).

• Memphis has plenty of name recognition on its coaching staff, beginning with head coach Penny Hardaway, a four-time All-Star during his NBA playing days, and Hall of Famer Larry Brown, an assistant. But there is also a name of high local recognition — former Trail Blazer Rasheed Wallace.

• Baylor (Fort Worth) and Wisconsin (Milwaukee) start out with distinctive homecourt advantages, though they shouldn’t need it. Both rate a decent shot at making the Final Four.

• Could Duke send Coach Mike Krzyzewski off into retirement with his sixth national title? The Blue Devils had a strong season, but didn’t finish well, losing to North Carolina in the regular-season finale, then getting pounded by Virginia Tech in the ACC championship game.

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Readers: what are your thoughts? I would love to hear them in the comments below. On the comments entry screen, only your name is required, your email address and website are optional, and may be left blank.

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