Round 2 Predictions: Sunday

#5 Tennessee-#4 Virginia: I thought these two were overseeded coming in but they both impressed in their first round game. I don't expect the margin of victory in this one that they each had in their first round game though. Expect an uptempo game with the Vols coming out on top due to more turnovers by Virginia. Tennessee 78 Virginia 76

#2 Memphis-#7 Nevada: Memphis struggled for awhile to put away North Texas while Nevada emerged victorious in the first overtime game of the tourney against Creighton. And Fazekas was on the bench fouled out. Pretty impressive. Nevada has always baffled me. When I pick them to win they lose. When I pick them to lose they win. So take this prediction with a grain of salt. I think Memphis's surplus of athletes should overwhelm the Pack in this game as they won't be able to stop the Tigers as often as Memphis can stop them. Memphis 78 Nevada 69

#2 Wisconsin-#7 UNLV: Wisconsin nearly laid an egg against Texas A&M Corpus Christi while UNLV made Ga Tech look bad the entire game. Wisconsin cannot afford to play that poorly against a solid Runnin' Rebels squad. I think the Badgers will be ready to play this time. UNLV doesn't do well against teams that protect the ball and Wisconsin is one of the best. Badgers to the Sweet 16. Wisconsin 70 UNLV 62

#4 Southern Illinois-#5 Virginia Tech: Both teams had pretty impressive wins with Southern Illinois beating Holy Cross and Va Tech ruining one of my upset specials by coming from 12 down to beat Illinois. This looks like the toughest second round game to pick. I picked the Salukis in my bracket to the next round. But I believe the Hokies will win. Virginia Tech easily could have folded being down double digits to a #12 seed Illini. With the way they've payed this year I expected them to. But they didn't. They showed a great deal of resolve in pulling out the win. I think they'll bring their A game for this second round matchup in what should be a grinding defensive struggle. Virginia Tech 63 Southern Illinois 62

#3 Oregon-#11 Winthrop: Winthrop dominated Notre Dame throughout which ruined one of my Sweet 16 picks. Oregon nearly walked into one of the biggest upsets of the tourney beating Miami (Ohio) by 2. The Ducks must be more focused against a very dangerous Winthrop. Will Winthrop suffer a let-down or be outgunned by Oregon's speedy offense? Could be. But I think Oregon is a weaker team than Notre Dame so don't be shocked if Winthrop can make the Sweet 16. The free throw percentage concerns me though. They shot around 50% and if Notre Dame hadn't shot around 30%, Winthrop might have lost that first round game. Oregon shot the same percentage that Notre Dame did, around 75%. I don't expect two bad free throw performances by two quality shooting teams against Winthrop. Oregon puts it away at the line. Oregon 73 Winthrop 67

#1 Florida-#9 Purdue: For awhile, it looked as if the first #16 seed upset could happen as Jackson State was down by 6 at halftime. Than Florida scored 71 points in the second half to drown that dream. The Gators are ready to defend their title. They'll be lucky to score 71 points for the game against the tough defense of an underrated Purdue. Still, the Gators outmatch Purdue and if they play smart and don't get frustrated when they don't blow Purdue out of the gym, then they should advance. Florida 72 Purdue 65

#1 Kansas-#8 Kentucky: You normally don't see first round games between the #1 and #3 winningest programs of all time. So this could be a memorable one. Still, this isn't the strongest Kentucky team of all time. Kansas has superior talent and should outlast the Wildcats by the end. Kansas 73 Kentucky 66

#4 Texas-#5 USC: USC ruined another of my upset picks by thrashing Arkansas all over the court. Looks like they didn't let the Oregon blowout rattle them too much. Texas allowed New Mexico State to stay around longer then anticipated. I think USC has a bad matchup in this game. They're weak against good rebounding teams. Texas is one of the ten best in the country. Also, Durant is a bad matchup for any team. He got off to a slow start but finished with 27 in the first round game. I expect that was just nervousness for his first game. The scary thing is that could be his lowest point total in this tournament. Hook 'em Horns! Texas 75 USC 72

Jeb's Game Predictions: 27-6