SU: 21-15
ATS: 21-15
The Round of 32 will begin on Saturday afternoon, leaving us one step closer to the Final Four in New Orleans. There was not a whole lot of drama on the opening day, but boy was Friday a different story. Since the field expanded to 64 in 1985, we had only seen four 15 seeds defeat a 2 seed. On Friday alone we added 2 more as Norfolk State beat Missouri and Lehigh upended Duke. There have been no buzzer beating shots though. Let's hope that changes over the weekend. Here is a look at who I expect to see advance to the Sweet 16.
East Regional at Pittsburgh
1 Syracuse (-5) vs. 8 Kansas St.
Syracuse needed a 2nd Half comeback to hold off UNC-Asheville and avoid being the first ever 1 seed to lose to a 16 seed. K-State surged late to overcome a feisty Southern Miss squad. The Orange could find it difficult to avoid the upset again. Their weakness is rebounding, which is K-State's strength. The Guards for Syracuse will need to come up big. Dion Waiters, Scoop Jardine, and Brandon Triche will get it done and lead the Orange into the Sweet 16.
Prediction - Syracuse 68 Kansas St. 64
East Regional at Pittsburgh
2 Ohio St. (-7.5) vs. 7 Gonzaga
DeShaun Thomas was huge for the Buckeyes on Thursday night. The Sophomore scored 31 points and grabbed 12 boards in leading OSU to victory over Loyola (Md). It was exactly the type of performance they needed if they are going to make a run in the NCAA Tournament. Gonzaga controlled their game with West Virginia from start to finish. They wound up routing the Mountaineers 77-54. These two teams have been consistently amongst the nation's best over the past 5 years. Only one of them can advance.
Prediction - Ohio St. 76 Gonzaga 70
West Regional at Louisville
3 Marquette (-5.5) vs. 6 Murray St.
Marquette and Murray State will battle on Saturday for the right to advance to the Sweet 16. Marquette knocked off BYU in impressive fashion, dominating the Cougars 88-68. Murray State continued their fairy tale season by defeating Colorado State to improve to 31-1 on the year. Isaiah Canaan of Murray State might be the best player on the floor, but Marquette's duo of Jae Crowder and Darius Johnson-Odom will lead the Golden Eagles to the win.
Prediction - Marquette 75 Murray St. 68
East Regional at Albuquerque
4 Wisconsin (-1) vs. 5 Vanderbilt
Wisconsin was terrific on the defensive end of the floor once again in their win over Montana. Vanderbilt fought off a pesky Harvard squad to advance to the weekend. Expect a very close game here. Wisconsin is looking to make it to back-to-back Sweet 16s for the 1st time in school history, while Vandy is looking for their 1st Sweet 16 appearance since 2007. The shooting of John Jenkins and Jeffery Taylor will propel the Commodores to the W.
Prediction - Vanderbilt 59 Wisconsin 56
South Regional at Portland
4 Indiana (-6) vs. 12 VCU
The Indiana Hoosiers have built up a long legacy of rich basketball tradition. VCU is working on building theirs. As steep as the tradition is at Indiana, VCU has made just as many Sweet 16 appearances in the past decade - one. Indiana easily moved past New Mexico State in the Round of 64 and VCU survived a last second shot against Wichita State. I don;t think the Rams will keep this one as close. Their dream of back-to-back Final Fours will end.
Prediction - Indiana 76 VCU 56
South Regional at Louisville
1 Kentucky (-11) vs. 8 Iowa St.
Kentucky enters Saturday's slate of games as the only double digit favorite. They used a double-double by Terrance Jones to ease their way past in-state rivals, Western Kentucky in the Round of 64. Iowa State beat the defending champs, UConn, from the opening tip and proved they were not a team that can be overlooked. Kentucky will have their hands fill with Royce White, but their dream season is far from over. Coach Cal's team will make it to the Sweet 16 for the 3rd year in a row.
Prediction - Kentucky 73 Iowa St. 70
South Regional at Albuquerque
3 Baylor (-7.5) vs. 11 Colorado
Baylor and Colorado are two schools that aren't accustomed to success in their basketball programs. Baylor is in search of just their 2nd Sweet 16 appearance since 1950. Colorado has not won 2 games in a single NCAA Tournament since 1955. Colorado looked much sharper than Baylor did in the Round of 64, but there is far more talent on the Baylor roster. The Bears will advance.
Prediction - Baylor 71 Colorado 61
West Regional at Portland
4 Louisville (-1) vs. 5 New Mexico
Louisville and New Mexico will face off for the 1st time with a berth in the Sweet 16 on the line. Both teams have been playing exceptional basketball of late. Louisville won the Big East Tournament title and blew past Davidson with relative ease in the Round of 64. New Mexico won the Mountain West Tournament title and beat a dangerous Long Beach squad in their NCAA Tournament opener. One of these teams is going to become a serious Final Four threat. I like Rick Pitino's squad to do so.
Prediction - Louisville 65 New Mexico 59
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