Mar 23, 2014; San Diego, CA, USA; UCLA Bruins guard/forward Kyle Anderson (5) dunks against the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks in the second half of a men
How’s your NCAA Tournament bracket doing? That is the question that I have heard the most today. Not too bad, actually. I had Duke, Syracuse, Villanova, Wichita State, and Kansas all not surviving the weekend anyway. I just didn’t always pick the right team to beat them.
In one of my work pools I made the mistake of having Creighton beat Baylor — and Oregon — so I have some ground to make up there. But here, I get to wipe the slate clean and just pick this round again. So far with the round-by-round picks, including the play-in games, I am sitting at 37-15. No one ever said that this was an exact science.
SOUTH REGION at MEMPHIS, TN:
(1) Florida vs. (4) UCLA:
This is one of the few places where a bracket is not destroyed. Florida stymied a Pittsburgh offense that trampled Colorado in the first round. Pitt was not getting the easy baskets on drives to the lane like they did against the undersized Ralphies. Florida forced them into a much slower game, and didn’t relinquish the lead again after they took it for good with five-and-a-half minutes left in the first half. The true story of this game was turnovers, or in Florida’s case, a lack thereof. The Gators turned the ball over just five times in the first half. In the second half, their lone turnover was a shot clock violation with five seconds left in the game. This kind of play will take you very far in the NCAA Tournament.  Florida should know — this is their fourth consecutive Sweet 16 appearance.
UCLA made short work of a Stephen F. Austin team that pulled the unlikely upset of VCU. The Lumberjacks were not hitting as many outside shots as they did against VCU, and they largely got run ragged by UCLA. The Bruins opened the second half at a frenetic pace and buried SFA with quick transition baskets, all while committing just three turnovers during the entire game. Steve Alford has the Bruins advancing past the first weekend for the first time in six years.
Chalk held, and I am curious to see at what pace this game will be played. The Gators like to slow you down and make you make mistakes. UCLA wants to destroy your spirit by running you into the ground. Florida has enough players to survive a more up tempo game, but are more comfortable keeping the pace to a minimum. The team that dictates the tempo should win this game. I expect it to be close, especially considering that these two teams had less than ten turnovers combined in their last games. Well, I took Florida to win the whole damn thing, so I should probably stick with them.  (Pick: Florida)
Mar 22, 2014; Buffalo, NY, USA; Dayton Flyers head coach Archie Miller works from the sidelines against Syracuse Orange in the first half of a men
(10) Stanford vs. (11) Dayton:
If anyone had this matchup, I salute you. You should be doing this instead of me. Seriously though, I know Syracuse was not playing well coming in, but I didn’t expect them to get outhustled by Dayton. Missed shots aside, it was not hustling after loose balls and rebounds, especially late in the game, that lost it for the Orange. Dayton even stepped out of bounds to give the ball back to Syracuse with four seconds left. The Orange missed on all 10 of their three-point shots.  It was the first time in their last 665 games that they have failed to make a three-point basket. Dayton’s defense and tenacity earned them this win. This is the first trip to the Sweet 16 ever for the Flyers.
Stanford did much of the same thing to Kansas. They pestered the Jayhwks defensively for the entire game. The Cardinal held Andrew Wiggins to his worst game of his career, scoring just four points. Kansas had come back to tie the game late, but Tarik Black fouling out with over five minutes left ultimately sank the Jayhawks. He was the leading scorer for the game, and no one could pick up the slack.
Stanford’s size in the middle is going to be a problem for Dayton. The Flyers also wont be able to outhustle the Cardinal like they did Syracuse. Stanford’s suffocating defense will make every shot a tough shot for the Flyers and will wear them down. (Pick: Stanford)
Mar 22, 2014; Spokane, WA, USA; San Diego State Aztecs head coach Steve Fisher (right) talks to guard Xavier Thames (2) against the North Dakota State Bison in the second half of a men
WEST REGION at ANAHEIM, CA:
(1) Arizona vs. (4) San Diego State
Arizona’s defense swarmed Gonzaga. The Bulldogs are usually an efficient team that takes care of the ball, but not here. Arizona stole the ball a whopping fifteen times in this game. Frankly, Gonzaga never stood a chance. The Wildcats’ balanced offense and stifling defense was just too much, and shows just how good Arizona can be when they are rolling.
Speaking of defense, San Diego State showed why theirs is among the best in the country. They held the nation’s best field goal shooting team to just 32 percent from the field. They shot just over 50 percent during the season. Xavier Thames dominated the Bison, torching their defense for 30 points to send the Aztecs to the Sweet 16 for just the second time in school history.
This sets up a rematch from the Aztecs’ second game of the year, in which they lost to Arizona by nine. Defense will be the order of the day in this one. Both teams put up impressive defensive performances to get here. In the rematch, the Wildcats will not have the advantage of being at home like they were in November. They have to travel to California for this one, and while it’s not a true home game for the Aztecs, you can bet they will be well represented. Ultimately, I think it will be extraordinarily difficult for the Aztecs to beat the Wildcats if they are anywhere close to where they were on Sunday. (Pick: Arizona)
Mar 23, 2014; San Antonio, TX, USA; Baylor Bears center Isaiah Austin (21) reacts in the first half of a men
(2) Wisconsin vs. (6) Baylor:
Oregon jumped all over Wisconsin, frustrating the Badgers and running the court at a breakneck pace to the tune of 49 first-half points. That is the most the Badgers had allowed in a half all season, and more than they allowed the entire game against American. In the second half, Wisconsin was able to slow the Ducks down, pretty much taking away the fast break element of their offense. This allowed the Badgers to impose their will on the Ducks and erase a 12-point halftime deficit. Who would have thought that Wisconsin could score 85 points without two or three overtimes? Like I said in an earlier column, this is the best offense the Badgers have had in quite some time.
If you thought what Baylor did to Nebraska was bad, you should have seen what they did to Creighton. Baylor came out on fire from long range, and never let up. They used their size to frustrate Doug McDermott, and generally make life difficult for him. In fact, the NCAA’s leading scorer had just three points in the first half, and was held to nearly half of his season average, finishing with 15 points. Baylor was up 20 at halftime, and ended up winning by 30. It was an unceremonius end to the career of one of college basketball’s most prolific scorers.
Baylor is going to try to do what the Ducks did to Wisconsin. They will try to play fast and run the Badgers ragged. The difference is that Baylor has the size that Oregon doesn’t. It will be difficult for Wisconsin to handle Baylor if they shoot over 60 percent again. (Pick: Baylor)
 » Come back to Fantasy CPR tomorrow to get all my predictions for Friday’s Sweet 16 matchups