2017 NCAA Tournament: South Region Second Round Predictions
The question most heard this morning around the water cooler? How’s your 2017 NCAA tournament brackets? Not too bad, actually. Last year I lost my pick for champion (Michigan State) on the first day. This year my pick didn’t play the first day, so I was safe!
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I ended up missing the first game of the day Thursday, and a few more yesterday, but the rest of the day went well. Overall I’m not missing many of my round of 32.
That still doesn’t mean that the round by round tournament isn’t interesting. I know there is a good chance that my brackets can go up in smoke at any minute since every team this year is flawed.
I’m still keeping the round by round alive, just in case. The entire West region played yesterday, which is nice for those of us that have such a short turnaround to make round by round picks! Let’s get into the second round matchups for the South region!
(1)North Carolina vs. (8)Arkansas:
Texas Southern hung with the Tarheels for about ten minutes. We saw the Tarheels and Kansas make their games look like tune ups, and we saw Villanova and Gonzaga struggle for at least a half in theirs. Is this a harbinger of things to come?
A bogus intentional foul call on Seton Hall secured the win for Arkansas. Dustin Thomas and Moses Kingsley dominated the interior, but the Razorbacks also had sufficient guard play. Khadeen Carrington did everything he possibly could to avoid going back to Jersey, but despite him and a big game for Angel Delgado on the inside, it just wasn’t enough. It’s hard to win when you turn it over 15 times.
Arkansas played a good game against Seton Hall, but they are going to need an even bigger game from Kingsley if they want to take down the Tarheels. Especially on the defensive end. Justin Jackson is a nightmare to guard, and the size of Kennedy Meeks and Isaiah Hicks is hard to counteract.
Pick: North Carolina
(4)Butler vs. (12)Middle Tennessee State:
Butler used a balanced game and a career-high six three pointers from Avery Woodson to take care of Winthrop. Kelan Martin was pretty much a non-factor. That will have to change against the Blue Raiders.
Many people, including myself, didn’t view Middle Tennessee State’s win as much of an upset. They got Minnesota’s star center Reggie Lynch in foul trouble early, and he sat most of the first half and a lot of the early part of the second after picking up number three less than a minute in. The lack of Lynch in the middle allowed MTSU to dominate on the glass. Minnesota’s cold shooting from outside ultimately doomed them though. Nate Mason, he of the 15.2 points per game average, was just 2-10 from the floor and 1-7 from three point land.
The run may not be over for the Blue Raiders. They are balanced just like Butler, but Reggie Upshaw may be the most accomplished scorer on the floor in this game. Andrew Chrabascz is going to have his hands full here. The other matchup will be on Giddy Potts. Will it be Kelan Martin tasked to take care of him?
At any rate, Butler seems to be very in tune to teams that are built like they were in their Horizon League days. When they made the tournament as an eight seed or worse and made a run. Middle Tennessee fits that bill. I expect a great game, but somehow Butler pulls it out.
Pick: Butler
(3)UCLA vs. (6)Cincinnati:
The Bruins were up 15 before most fans even got back to their seats from the line at the restrooms between games. Kent showed a lot of heart coming back, but they never got closer than six points. The Bruins had five players in double digits, led by T.J. Leaf’s 23. This was a balanced attack from a team that has National Title aspirations.
Charles Barkley has started his own vendetta against UCLA because he is tired of LaVar Ball. While I don’t blame him, I’m not so quick to dismiss this team. Son Lonzo broke the single season assists record at UCLA as a freshman in this game. This team looks like it could go a ways.
Wesley Iwundu had a good game, but his teammates were just 16-44 from the field against Cincinnati. Meanwhile, the Bearcats took just 43 shots, but they made a staggering 27 of them, including 5-11 from beyond the arc.
Cincinnati will get their shots against UCLA as well, but don’t count on them beating the high-flying Bruins unless they are able to shoot 63% from the floor again. UCLA just has too many athletes.
Pick: UCLA
(2)Kentucky vs. (10)Wichita State:
Kentucky had several double digit leads last night/early this morning against Northern Kentucky, but the Norse would not go quietly. The game mostly wasn’t as close as the score indicated. The biggest story from this game is the NCAA earning the ire of John Calipari for making the Wildcats play so late. The game didn’t end until 12:18 a.m. eastern
Was that to blame for Kentucky’s mostly underwhelming performance? The coach will tell you it is. He also said that the SEC is better than most think. The conference responded with Florida, South Carolina, and Arkansas joining Kentucky in the second round. Maybe he is on to something.
Wichita State has been known as a scoring team this year. They got into a street brawl with Dayton. This was a game that should have been a Sweet Sixteen matchup, not a first round one. Dayton shot just 31% from the field, and went a stretch of nearly eight minutes in the second half without a made basket. The Shockers showed they can still play a little defense. Wichita State survived 16 turnovers by dominating Dayton on the glass.
This sets up a matchup the Shockers have been waiting four years for. In the 2014 tournament, eight seed Kentucky ended Wichita State’s perfect season in the second round. Payback is a mother, revenge is a dish best served cold. Pick your cliche. It’s coming true.
Pick: Wichita State
Next: How Did I Do? Check Out My Picks From Before The Madness!
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