Waiting until the start of the season doesn’t seem to be too smart of an idea either, but what the heck? Here’s one man’s early predictions for March Madness, which is four months and approximately 10,500 games away.

This won’t be a line-by-line breakdown, but rather a cut-and-run look at what might happen.

EARLY ROUNDS: The first question always is, will a 16 seed beat a No. 1 for the first time? Not this season. There just doesn’t seem to be any champions from the low Division I conferences that can pull the monumental upset. Watch Texas Southern of the Southwestern Athletic Conference be the one that scares a tournament favorite.

There has to be a No. 12 beating a 5 (it’s not in the rule book, but close) and this year’s dandy dozen will be Princeton. The Tigers are a veteran team that should emerge from the Ivy League and then ruin the tournament for a possible 5 seed like Rhode Island. The other could be No. 12 Belmont of the Ohio Valley Conference against a Big 12 team like Texas.

For those fans of close seedings, the 8-9 games are always entertaining and usually close. Four 8-9 winners could be Notre Dame, Iowa State, San Diego State and Colorado.

Of those four winners, watch for Notre Dame and Iowa State to knock off No. 1 seeds Kansas and Villanova, meaning no repeat champion.

REGIONAL ROUNDS: Having sent two No. 1s home early, it will be Duke and North Carolina carrying on the mantle for the favorites.

The No. 2 seeds in Kansas and Villanova’s brackets are Oregon and Kentucky and they move on to the regional finals where they both lose, the Ducks to West Virginia and the Wildcats to Louisville in the most-hyped game of the tournament and one that is the epitome of an intrastate rivalry.

Duke and North Carolina knock off No. 4 seeds UCLA and Michigan State to reach the Final Four as No. 1 seeds.

It’s Wisconsin and Virginia moving on to the Final Four with the wins over Oregon and Kentucky.

FINAL FOUR: Despite the pleas of many, the Final Four will be held in Glendale, Arizona, rather than moving it to Tobacco Road for the Blue Devils against the Tar Heels. Virginia, which gives the Atlantic Coast Conference three teams in the national semifinals, beats Wisconsin in a defensive battle. Duke finds a way to beat the Tar Heels, with the freshmen playing a huge role for Mike Krzyzewski.

An all-ACC matchup between Duke and Virginia goes to the Blue Devils, title No. 7 for Coach K.

DISCLAIMER: Everything listed above is just a guess unless it really happens; then it was a well-thought out selection based on extensive knowledge.

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In other expected moves, the Jets also cut a pair of backups, safety Eric Smith and tackle Jason Smith. Injured tight end Josh Baker was waived, giving the Jets a total of $24.2 million in salary-cap relief when Baker’s salary is factored. As of last week, they were $23.3 million over the cap.

The Jets announced after their releases that linebacker Bart Scott had met the same fate. To remain on the roster, Scott, due to make $6.9 million, would have had to agree to a massive pay cut.

Tuesday’s releases start what figures to be a tumultuous offseason under new general manager John Idzik, whose top priority is determining the future of Darrelle Revis. The star cornerback has one year left on his contract, but the Jets may trade him instead of meeting his salary demands.

Pace was an every-down linebacker, but his cap charge was prohibitive — he was due to count $11.6 million. By cutting him, the Jets will get hit with $3.0 million in “dead” money, meaning there will be a savings of $8.6 million.

The Jets snagged Pace with a six-year, $42 million contract during free agency in 2008, one of many key additions in a blockbuster offseason. Of all the big-name acquisitions — Alan Faneca, Kris Jenkins, Damien Woody and, later, Brett Favre — Pace lasted the longest.

Pace didn’t become the pass-rusher the Jets envisioned, never eclipsing eight sacks in a season. In 2012 he played in 94 percent of the defensive snaps, recording only three sacks and 42 solo tackles (sixth on the team).

His signature moment occurred in the 2010 playoffs when he landed on the cover of Sports Illustrated, an action shot of him sacking Tom Brady in the Jets’ stunning upset of the New England Patriots.

In five seasons with the Jets, Pace had 28 sacks and 12 forced fumbles. He was a key member of the 2009 defense, which led the league in fewest yards allowed. He could draw interest from the Buffalo Bills, where he’d be reunited with former Jets defensive coordinator Mike Pettine.

The Jets don’t have an obvious replacement for Pace, but they could draft an outside linebacker with the ninth overall pick in April.

Jason Smith’s ouster was a no-brainer considering his $12 million cap figure — which included an $11.25 million roster bonus. The Jets inherited the contract last August from the St. Louis Rams, who previously had restructured the contract to include the prohibitive bonus, virtually ensuring free agency in 2013.

The entire $12 million charge is wiped off the Jets’ cap, an enormous savings that will allow them to do business on the open market.

Smith was acquired last August in a trade with the Rams as a straight-up swap for Wayne Hunter, another right tackle who fell out of favor. Smith, the No. 2 overall pick in 2009, was used exclusively as a backup. He played in 24 percent of the offensive snaps as an extra blocker in the “jumbo” package.

Eric Smith was a valuable backup who contributed heavily on special teams. He was a situational player last season on defense, but he has started 36 games in his career. He was due to make $3 million in the final year of his contract, all of which is cleaned off the cap.

He, too, could be reunited with Pettine in Buffalo.

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