Well the play-in game is over. As I predicted Niagara won so they advance to play Kansas. I'm 1-0 with my NCAA picks. Hooray! I'll have my List of Eight in which I will GUARANTEE that one of the eight teams I choose will cut down the nets in Atlanta. Here are my final first round picks for the West region.
#1 Kansas-#16 Niagara: Whether Niagara of Florida A&M, the outcome will be the same. Kansas 88 Niagara 59
#8 Kentucky-#9 Villanova Gah this is is a tough one to pick. I'm not sure there' s a more evenly matched set of teams in the tourney. Both had double digit losses but I think either one could cause problems for Kansas in round 2. I don't have any legit reason to pick one over the other. So let's go to tiebreakers. Which coach has won a national championship? That'd be Tubby Smith. Kentucky 71 Villanova 70
#5 Virginia Tech-#12 Illinois: Just as tough as the Kentucky-Nova game. I've seen Virginia Tech this year and they're so damn bipolar it's not even funny. I have absolutely no faith in them whatsoever. But it's not like Illinois set the world on fire either. With a #5-#12 matchup between major conference teams I've got to go with the upset. Illinois's excruciatingly slow tempo and solid defense will fluster Va Tech who is as my brother said, one of the dumbest teams in the country. I pick the Illini to advance. Illinois 63 Virginia Tech 62
#4 Southern Illinois-#13 Holy Cross: Holy Cross could pose some problems for the Salukis but I like the Salukis' defense. And maybe I'm hoping for an Illinois-Southern Illinois defense slugfest that could be a first to 50 wins matchup. Go Salukis! Southern Illinois 63 Holy Cross 55
#6 Duke-#11 VCU: Clearly Duke is having a down year so obviously VCU will pull the upset. Which is why I'm picking....Duke? Ok I lied because I don't think VCU will pull the upset. Everyone who doesn't think Duke can win some games in this tournament is sadly mistaken. They had ten losses this year. Eight were to teams in this tournament. One was to Florida State who nearly made the tournament. The other was to NC State who nearly won the ACC Tournament and Henderson was suspended for that game. And I'm not going to pick against Coach K in a first round game against a mid-major. Would you bet money against him? Didn't think so. Duke 75 VCU 64
#3 Pittsburgh-#14 Wright State: I've seen Pitt play and they're a good but not great team. But they play a very hard slow-paced defensive style which is a little too similar to Wright State to be taken out of their comfort zone. I just don't see an upset here. Pittsburgh 72 Wright State 59
#7 Indiana-#10 Gonzaga: Gonzaga rallied from a mediocre (by their standards) season and problems off the field to win the West Coast. I think the suspension of Heytvelt will doom this team to an early exit especially against a tough Indiana squad. But beware, Gonzaga seems to do best when nobody thinks they are capable of doing well. So consider this a challenge Zags. Indiana 77 Gonzaga 71
#2 UCLA-#15 Weber State: I thought even losing two straight to end the season, UCLA should have been a #1 seed. I'm sure Weber State will agree with me after the game. UCLA 80 Weber State 57
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