Bracket, Upsets, and A Little Extra

Oregon over Oklahoma State

                Oregon received a lower seed than UCLA even after defeating them twice. In my opinion, Oregon deserved a higher ranking than they were given. Even Arizona was given a higher seed than Oregon and they did not make it to the PAC-12 final.

Iowa State over Notre Dame

                This game is going to be close. Notre Dame’s game plan is almost guaranteed to be to get the ball to 6’9” forward Jack Cooley which means as long as Iowa State can keep from fouling, they should have a good shot.  In the end though, the game is going to come down to foul shots and no one in this game is going to be better than Iowa State’s Tyrus McGee. He sinks about 7 of every 8 free throws and will be the difference maker in the game.

South Dakota State over Michigan

                If you do not know who Nate Wolters is, you soon will. As the nation’s fourth-leading scorer, Wolters will be controlling the pace of Michigan’s defense. Michigan typically preforms better when the pace of the game slows down. Michigan point guard Trey Burke stated this week that Michigan players better when the pace is slower but the Jackrabbits will rotate their bench players in often to keep the pace up. This game should be fast-paced and a fun one to watch.

Minnesota over UCLA

                Again, Lunardi ranked the Bruins too high. After a loss to Oregon, they should recognize that they weren’t playing at the level they needed and with injured Jordan Adams, the team is missing its second leading scorer, it’s going to be a tough battle for the Bruins.

A little extra

Also, as a shout out to my brother Owen, I agree with three of his first play-in game picks, the one I disagree with being of course James Madison versus Long Island University of Brooklyn. (You can see Owen's picks here.)

            Even without Rayshawn Goins for the first half, the Dukes still have CAA Tournament Most Valuable Player A.J. Davis and Senior Point guard Devon Moore along with young talent in Charles Cooke, Ron Curry, and Andre Nation. In addition, the Dukes may have senior Andre Semenov back for tomorrow night’s game. With this lineup, the Dukes may have what it takes to keep the game close into halftime.

           Once the second half begins, expect Goins to be aggressive to make up from his first half suspension which will boost the Dukes to a victory over LIU Brooklyn.

           Of course with all this, I am a little biased.