NCAA Tournament Picks 2016: First Four

How could the NCAA Tournament play-in games shape up over the next few nights?

For the past few years of the NCAA Tournament, the First Four has kicked off the festivities. These are usually made up of two games to battle for a No. 16 seed and the last four teams at-large teams that the committee placed into the field. It allows for more teams to enter the Big Dance and has created some exciting games over the past few years.

The 2011 VCU Rams may be the most notable First Four team. They came out of nowhere to make a run all the way to the Final Four before losing to Butler. This put Shaka Smart’s team on the map and arguably was a reason he got a job with Texas prior to the 2015-2016 season.

As for this year, we’ll have to see if one of these teams from the First Four can make a run. The 16-seed games involve Florida Gulf Coast vs. Fairleigh Dickinson and Holy Cross vs. Southern. The 11-seed games will see Vanderbilt vs. Wichita State and Michigan vs. Tulsa. They should make for some entertaining games to open the week of play.

So which four teams could get past Tuesday and Wednesday? Here are predictions for the games.

Next: FGCU vs. FD