It’s March ladies and gents, that means it’s time to put your money down on some brackets and chance your odds at scoring the first perfect bracket…. ever? I’ll pretend I know what I’m talking about in this blog but this is my first year that I will really seriously follow March Madness. But today, we will be talking about some first round predictions, maybe I’ll toss out my favorites for the final 4 and who I think will take it all, although we can probably assume I’m very far off as I made my bracket last night at 5am when I may not have been in the best mind state… We’ll see.
Notre Dame vs. Northeastern
Both two of the teams that commit the least fouls in the nation. Expect to see a free flowing game in which Notre Dame, the three seed in their bracket, breezes through.
Iowa State vs UAB
Expect Iowa to roll through this guy, UAB really could not even be in this tournament and I don’t think many people would bat much of an eye. But since they are we can assume Iowa State is pleased with their match-up in the round of 64. With the talent Iowa has in multiple players, their depth provides horses that they can ride through the first round and who knows how much farther.
Baylor vs Georgia State
Georgia State was looking promising this year with their strong backcourt, but facing injuries it appears they may have had hopes too high coming into the tournament. If Harrow can come back full strength for this game, they stand a chance, but the likelihood of him having more than 75% of his strength back makes this matchup a pretty easy decision. Baylor.
Arizona vs TSU
Ok well Arizona has been crushing it, so we can only assume the best for them seeding in at second, facing the 15th seed TSU. Arizona coming off their hotstreak, winning 4 of their last 5 games by 22 points or more, it looks like if they don’t get too cocky, that confidence will send them flying through this first round.
Texas vs Butler
In my bracket, I chose Butler. Just because hey, who doesn’t like to see an underdog team come in and crush the competition. Texas was expected to be one of the best in the nation this year, but somewhat fell apart. They will have to use their size to win as they ranked first nationwide in blocks per game. If Texas can bully their way into the paint, I take them, but on my bracket, I have Butler coming out of this round.
SMU vs UCLA
Me, being a California dude, and having many friends who go to UCLA, as well as it being one of the schools I seriously considered, I’ve got UCLA crushing the upset on SMU. We’ve seen foul trouble come from these team’s big men. I’d say this one may have the refs as a deciding factor, whether they let them play or not. I still take UCLA because Cali is life and shout-out the homeboys.
Xavier vs Ole Miss
This will no doubt be one of the more exciting first round games. People have mixed feelings about this one. Both teams have played phenomenal ball this year, and both teams have also melted in other games. I take Xavier, although I would like to see Ole Miss come out on top. This game will be decided in the front court.
VCU vs Ohio State
Many people take Ohio State in this matchup, but as a Penn Stater I’m going to have to say eff those Buckeyes. I see the Rams winning on their three point shooting and hard pressured defense. They record a lot of steals and if they can ride their 44% three point shooting up, I take VCU over Ohio.
Villanova vs Lafayette
This game does not deserve much attention, Villa will fly through, thanks for the free match on my bracket NCAA.
Purdue will beat Cincinatti… UNC will crush Harvard… There are way too many matchups to discuss in one blog post I don’t want to kill you all with boredom, but we will discuss more of this madness in March in my next post.