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BEST FIRST ROUND GAMES
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Maryland vs UNC-Wilmington
| UNC-Wilmington pulled an upset in the
first round in 2002 but now was trying to oust last year’s national champs. The Seahawks
thought they had the job done but UM G Drew Nicholas hit an off-balance three-pointer
to give the Terps the win and a second round matchup with Xavier. |
Missouri vs Southern Illinois | After pulling a first round upset over Georgia last
year, SIU was looking to do the same to Missouri this year. The Tigers and Salukis
battled back and forth the entire way. The Tigers got the lead late, and a last-second SIU
shot wouldn’t fall, allowing Mizzou to move on to the second round. |
Notre Dame vs
Wisconsin-Milwaukee |
As predicted by SCS.com, this first round
matchup was a thriller. The conference tourney champs of the Horizon League, UWM
took the Irish to the limit. Milwaukee had a lay-up under the basket with only seconds
remaining, but it didn’t fall and Notre Dame advanced to the second round. |
Kansas vs Utah State |
This was also a matchup that SCS.com
projected to be a closer game than most thought...and it was. The Aggies gave KU their
money’s worth and then some. After falling behind early, USU battled back and had a
couple looks at the 3-point shot just before time ran out that would have sent the game
into overtime but failed to convert. |
Mississippi State vs Butler |
MSU knew that the Bulldogs from
Indianapolis had pulled upsets before and were prepared. However, the battle was a fierce
and back-and-forth affair. Butler hit a running lay-up with six seconds left to take the
lead. MSU failed to score on their end, and BU advanced. |
NC State vs California |
This was an 8 vs 9 matchup and another
thriller. Both teams traded huge three pointers late, but it was the Golden Bears of the
PAC 10 who prevailed over the Wolfpack of the ACC and advanced to the second
round. |
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BEST SECOND ROUND
GAMES |
Arizona vs Gonzaga | This matchup will likely go down as one of the
best games in NCAA history. The underdog Zags hung with ‘Zona the entire evening and
forced overtime on a lay-up that hung on the rim for what seemed like an eternity. Then
Gonzaga missed a long shot that would have won the game and a second OT was forced.
The Zags failed to score late in the second extra period and the top-seeded Wildcats
advanced. |
Missouri vs Marquette | The Tigers trailed late in the second half but
rallied late to force overtime. However, the Marquette Golden Eagles controlled the extra
period, as they had done most of the game, and came out of the second round matchup
victorious while advancing to the Sweet 16. |
Wisconsin vs Tulsa |
After knocking off Dayton in the first round,
the Tulsa Golden Hurricane jumped on Wisconsin early and led most of the way. The Big
Ten champs, the Wisconsin Badgers, failed to give up and came back to a tight one point
win over Tulsa and eliminated the Hurricane one step short of the Sweet 16. |
Butler vs Louisville |
Butler knocked off Mississippi State in the first
round but fell behind to Louisville early. The Bulldogs battled back though, and
eventually led at halftime. BU jumped out early on UL in the second half and held on late
for a win and a trip to the Sweet 16. |
Auburn vs Wake Forest |
Almost no one, except maybe the Tigers
themselves, expected Auburn to make any kind of run at the Sweet 16. However, after
knocking off St. Joseph’s in overtime in the first round, AU earned a second round game
with the ACC champs, Wake Forest. Auburn never led until late in the game, but once
they did, they hung for a win and a trip to the round of sixteen. |
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MOST DISAPPOINTING
TEAMS |
Wake Forest | With an ACC championship and a number two
seed under their belt, the Deacons looked capable of making a run behind star player Josh
Howard. However, the Auburn Tigers got the best of Wake Forest in the second round
and sent the Deacons home early. |
The Four Seeds | None of the four seeds advanced to the round of
sixteen this year. The Dayton Flyers lost to Tulsa in the first round while each of the other
three lost in round number two. Illinois fell to Notre Dame, Louisville was upset by
Butler, and Stanford was knocked off by Connecticut. |
Mississippi State |
Many experts had MSU advancing as far as
the Final Four, but MSU ran up on a pesky Butler team that refused to lose. The Bulldogs
had a tough night shooting, and following a Butler lay-up, the Bulldogs failed to convert
and were sent home following their first round game. |
Here’s a glance at what the Sweet 16 matchups look like this Thursday and Friday
and a brief preview by SCS.com on each of those games....
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MIDWEST |
(1) Kentucky vs (5) Wisconsin
| The Kentucky Wildcats have really
shown no weaknesses throughout the SEC or NCAA Tournaments so far. The Wildcats
got through the conference tourney fairly easily and have so far not had much of a
problem from either IUPUI or Utah. Wisconsin got by Weber State in the first round
before knocking off Tulsa in the second round. I expect this game to be fairly close at the
half but for Kentucky to pull away early in the second half and win by double digits.
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(3) Marquette vs (2) Pittsburgh | The Golden Eagles slipped past Holy Cross in a
tight game to start things off and then knocked off Mizzou in overtime. Pittsburgh
crushed Wagner and then got by Indiana to advance. Both of these have been ranked in
the top ten at times throughout the season. Pitt was even ranked as high as two. This
should be a great battle, especially between the two point guards, Travis Diener of the
Eagles and Brandin Knight of Pitt. I expect a close contest won by Pitt as they pull away
slightly in the final few minutes. |
WEST |
(1) Arizona vs (5) Notre Dame
|
After easing past Vermont in the first round,
UA fought a hard, double-overtime battle with Gonzaga but pulled out the victory. Notre
Dame escaped in a thrilling contest with Wisconsin-Milwaukee before sliding past Big Ten
Tourney champs Illinois. Following their escape against the ‘Zags, I expect Lute Olson’s
team to turn it up a notch and make a run at the Final Four, beginning this weekend
against Notre Dame. However, if the Irish shoot from the outside like they did against
Illinois, the Wildcats could be in trouble. |
(3) Duke vs (2) Kansas |
Duke won a hard-fought battle with Colorado
State in the first round before knocking off Central Michigan to advance to the Sweet 16.
The Jayhawks escaped a near-upset against Utah State and then easily knocked off
Arizona State in the second round. This, again, should be a tremendous matchup of two
good teams, and two teams that are traditionally two of the best in the country. KU seems
to struggle at times winning the big Tourney games, while Duke thrives in these situations.
KU probably has the experience factor in their favor, but I’m going with Duke in an
extremely close game. |
SOUTH |
(1) Texas vs (5) Connecticut |
The Longhorns defeated play-in winner
UNC-Asheville before sliding past Purdue in a tough, hard-fought second round game.
Meanwhile, UConn knocked off BYU and then got past the Stanford Cardinal to advance.
This is yet another super matchup of top teams. Before the Tournament, I picked the
Longhorns to make it to the Final Four and championship game. I’ll stick with that pick
and predict UT to get past Connecticut in the Sweet 16. |
(6) Maryland vs (7) Michigan
State |
Maryland got a late, off-balance three-point
shot at the buzzer from Drew Nicholas to slip past UNC-Wilmington in the first round.
The Terps then defeated Xavier to advance to the Sweet 16. Michigan State knocked off
Colorado before upsetting the second-seeded Florida Gators. Both of these should be
surprises in that they didn’t get great seeds, but both have great tournament experience
and shouldn’t be that much of a shock. Gary Williams’ team won the title last season, and
they continue their run at another with a victory over Michigan State. |
EAST |
(1) Oklahoma vs (12) Butler |
The Oklahoma Sooners breezed by South
Carolina State to begin the Tourney and then knocked off Cal in the second round. The
Butler Bulldogs upset Mississippi State before doing the same to Louisville to advance to
the Sweet 16. Most might at first think the Sooners walk away with an easy win here, but
so did MSU and UL fans. I’m not all that big on the Sooners, so I’ll go with yet another
Butler upset, this time over Oklahoma. |
(3) Syracuse vs (10) Auburn |
The Orangemen knocked off Manhattan to
begin the Tourney and then rallied late to slide past Oklahoma State in the second round.
Auburn claimed two upsets in their Tourney run, victories over St. Joseph’s and Wake
Forest, champions of the ACC. Syracuse is playing within two hours of their campus in
Albany, NY, which should provide SU with a tremendous advantage. The Tigers’
impressive NCAA run ends here as Syracuse wins fairly easily over the
Tigers. |