Fansided

2016 NCAA Tournament: Second Round Predictions For Sunday

By Mike Marteny

Mar 5, 2016; Fort Worth, TX, USA; Oklahoma Sooners guard Buddy Hield (24) and forward Dante Buford (21) and forward Ryan Spangler (00) during the game against the TCU Horned Frogs at Ed and Rae Schollmaier Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 5, 2016; Fort Worth, TX, USA; Oklahoma Sooners guard Buddy Hield (24) and forward Dante Buford (21) and forward Ryan Spangler (00) during the game against the TCU Horned Frogs at Ed and Rae Schollmaier Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Mar 18, 2016; St. Louis, MO, USA; Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders players celebrate after the game against the against the Michigan State Spartans in the first round in the 2016 NCAA Tournament at Scottrade Center. Middle Tennessee State won 90-81. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 18, 2016; St. Louis, MO, USA; Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders players celebrate after the game against the against the Michigan State Spartans in the first round in the 2016 NCAA Tournament at Scottrade Center. Middle Tennessee State won 90-81. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports /

2016 NCAA Tournament: Second Round Predictions

Did Middle Tennessee State mess up your brackets? Have no fear, you can still play the round by round games! Here are the predictions for the second round games on Sunday, so you have plenty of time to get the picks in!

Midwest Region:

(10)Syracuse vs. (15)Middle Tennessee State:

Syracuse did a nice job of neutralizing Dayton’s guards and shutting up all the nay-sayers (myself included) who thought they should be in the NIT instead. Meanwhile, Middle Tennessee State pulled one of the most shocking upsets in tournament history. Michigan State was picked to win the whole thing in 18% of brackets. They are a well coached team, and a team that usually turns it on come March.

Middle Tennessee State is going to be overmatched again, but the Blue Raider fans turned St. Louis into Mufreesboro West. They will again. Only Florida Gulf Coast advanced to the Sweet Sixteen after upsetting a two seed. MTSU doesn’t have history on their side, but they were likely underseeded to begin with.

Here’s the thing: Middle Tennessee State didn’t get lucky. They didn’t hit some impossible shot to advance. They started quick, and held the lead for the entire game. If they can do that against Syracuse, there is no reason that they can’t take out Syracuse as well.

Pick: Middle Tennessee State

Next: Saturday's South Region Games

Mar 18, 2016; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Villanova Wildcats players Kevin Rafferty (52) , Mikal Bridges (25) and Patrick Farrell (20) react in the second half in the first round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament against the North Carolina-Asheville Bulldogs at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 18, 2016; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Villanova Wildcats players Kevin Rafferty (52) , Mikal Bridges (25) and Patrick Farrell (20) react in the second half in the first round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament against the North Carolina-Asheville Bulldogs at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports /

South Region:

(5)Maryland vs. (13)Hawaii:

Maryland was given a tough game by South Dakota State. After Melo Trimble fouled out, I thought they were in trouble, but the Terrapins did step up and hang on. All of the experts saying that Cal was vulnerable despite the NBA talent on the roster were right. Hawaii outplayed them the entire game.

Maryland wont be vulnerable to Hawaii’s interior play the way Cal was. Suleymon will give them all the interior power that they need.

This wont be an easy game for Maryland, but this is one that they are equipped to win.

Pick: Maryland

(2)Villanova vs. (7)Iowa:

Villanova really made short work of UNC-Asheville and showed why they were a favorite for a one seed for a while. This is a solid defensive team that has really good guards. Iowa had quite a fight with Temple. For stretches during this game, Iowa looked like the team that was ranked as high as third in the country this season. That team will have to show up a lot more for them to take out Villanova.

Jared Uthoff is going to cause some problems for Villanova in the middle, but the key to this game might be Peter Jok. He will need to knock down shots like he did against Temple, which could be difficult against Villanova’s guards. Iowa has the talent to stay in this game, but they can’t have lapses like they have had for most of the last six weeks. Can they do it?

Pick: Villanova

Next: East Region Saturday Picks

Mar 18, 2016; St. Louis, MO, USA; Xavier Musketeers forward Jalen Reynolds (1) falls on the court in front of the bench during the second half of the game in the first round against the Weber State Wildcats in the 2016 NCAA Tournament at Scottrade Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 18, 2016; St. Louis, MO, USA; Xavier Musketeers forward Jalen Reynolds (1) falls on the court in front of the bench during the second half of the game in the first round against the Weber State Wildcats in the 2016 NCAA Tournament at Scottrade Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports /

East Region:

(6)Notre Dame vs. (14)Stephen F. Austin:

Notre Dame survived a slow start and stormed back against Michigan. They dominated the second half. Stephen F. Austin once again proved the experts right. West Virginia was frustrated by the pressure and turned the ball over a lot. The Lumberjacks really did control the game.

The Irish will need to find ways to beat the press for easy buckets. They take care of the ball better than West Virginia, but they also need to control Thomas Walkup. If Notre Dame plays like they are capable of, they can win this. However, the Lumberjacks are the perfect tournament team. They are aggressive, high energy, and they truly feel like they can beat anyone.

Pick: Stephen F. Austin

(2)Xavier vs. (7)Wisconsin:

Xavier didn’t have much of a problem with Weber State. Wisconsin had a street brawl with Pittsburgh. It was rough. It was ugly. And there were a whole lot of missed shots. That made Wisconsin as happy as a pig in mud.

Wisconsin will try to do the same thing to Xavier, but the Musketeers are a much better shooting team. The Badgers really picked themselves up once they stopped trying to replace Frank Kaminsky and played to their actual strengths. This is still a tough team that creates matchup problems because their bigs can shoot from outside.

The problem with that is that though Xavier is a bit smaller, they are athletic enough to defend anyone. Wisconsin is going to have their hands full.

Pick: Xavier

Next: West Region Saturday Picks

March 18, 2016; Spokane , WA, USA; Oregon Ducks forward Elgin Cook (23), guard Tyler Dorsey (5) and forward Dillon Brooks (24) celebrate the 91-52 victory against Holy Cross Crusaders in the first round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament at Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
March 18, 2016; Spokane , WA, USA; Oregon Ducks forward Elgin Cook (23), guard Tyler Dorsey (5) and forward Dillon Brooks (24) celebrate the 91-52 victory against Holy Cross Crusaders in the first round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament at Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /

West Region:

(1)Oregon vs. (8)St. Joseph’s:

The Ducks ran Holy Cross into the ground, much like everyone expected them to. St Joseph’s survived against Cincinnati, including a reviewed dunk that would have tied the game, but it was a fraction of a second late. That was one of the better Friday games. One of them. There were many.

The Hawks players are going to be working overtime just like the Hawks mascot to try and slow Oregon down. They are potent, they are quick, and they are great shooters. However, St Joseph’s has the defensive chops to do it. I just think that Cincinnati might have worn them out a little.

Pick: Oregon

(3)Texas A&M vs. (11)Northern Iowa:

The Phoenix hung with A&M for most of the first half, but they got buried in the second half. Northern Iowa hit the shot of the tournament to avoid overtime and shock Texas. It also foiled the committee’s efforts to pit Texas against Texas A&M. Hey, at least we still got Kentucky vs. Indiana and Michigan vs. Notre Dame!

A&M is a tough team that does a lot of things well, but they need to be careful here. The Panthers have knocked off some good teams this year, including North Carolina and now Texas. If A&M gets cold or complacent, UNI is good enough to take this game.

That said, Texas A&M is loaded with talent. This game will likely stay close, but the Aggies wont just roll over.

Pick: Texas A&M

(2)Oklahoma vs. (10)VCU:

Oklahoma wasn’t able to pull away from Bakersfield until later on in the game. They defended Buddy Hield the same way that teams have for the last month. They shadow him everywhere. Oregon State gave VCU a great fight, but they came up short.

VCU did a pretty good job on dynamic guard Gary Payton II, so they will likely be able to contain Buddy Hield. Oklahoma needs the supporting cast to step up or they will be going home like so many higher seeds have already done.

Oklahoma does have a significant advantage on the interior with Ryan Spangler and Khadeem Lattin though. That could be enough to make the difference in this game, but it is going to be a close one.

Pick: Oklahoma

Next: Derrick Rose Fantasy Update

Stay tuned for my Sweet 16 picks as well. We also have daily NBA FanDuel picks and baseball previews coming your way at Fantasy CPR!