2017 NCAA Tournament: Midwest Regional Semifinal Predictions
The Midwest had three of the top four seeds advance to the Sweet Sixteen in the 2017 NCAA Basketball Tournament. In fact, three regions had at least three of the top four advance! That doesn’t happen every year!
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That doesn’t mean that there weren’t any upsets and wont be any more. The East Bracket has no seed higher than a three left. The South has the whole top four left. We have one 11 seed still alive in the second weekend. What more mayhem is in store?
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.
So far, I have 39 points in the round by round, if you include the First Four. I’m in the high middle of the pack, but with each game only being worth one point, it’s a lot more difficult to make up ground this way. Such is the advantage of picking by the round, I guess.
Let’s check out the Midwest Regional Semifinals, and who has a chance to advance to Saturday!
(1)Kansas vs. (4)Purdue:
Kansas has played as well as anyone in the first two rounds of the tournament. We have heard it all. How no team that has lost in the first round of their conference tournament has ever won an National Championship. One thing that people are forgetting is that Josh Jackson was suspended for that loss to TCU in the opening round.
Iowa State was getting dominated by Purdue. They stormed back from a 19 point deficit to take the lead with just over three minutes left. Then Caleb Swanigan took over yet again. Purdue’s leader propelled them to the next weekend. The reward? A road game against Kansas.
Josh Jackson is capable of dominating games, just as he showed against Michigan State last weekend. Well, he pretty much dominated against UC-Davis as well. Purdue has a lot of size, but they lack the athleticism that the teams that have taken down Kansas present. Just look at what TCU did to the NIT Field.
Swanigan is going to be a big problem for the Jayhawks. However, Kansas doesn’t lose at home. Not a home game, you say? The Sprint Center is less than an hour from the Kansas campus. You can make it in closer to a half hour if traffic is moving. That will be too much for Purdue to overcome.
Pick: Kansas
(3)Oregon vs. (7)Michigan:
Let’s get this out of the way first: Oregon should not have beaten Rhode Island. Of course, with players like Tyler Dorsey and Dillon Brooks, you can accomplished things you should not. Rhode Island dominated most of this game. Oregon’s dynamic duo made plays with the season on the line.
Is anyone playing better than Michigan right now? They took every punch Louisville landed, and popped right back up. Derrick Walton was huge again, but the play of Moritz Wagner propelled Michigan into the second weekend.
if Michigan falls behind by double digits to Oregon, they may not be able to come back from it. The Ducks are experienced and fast. Michigan has proven they can score on anyone. They put up 92 in the first round against Oklahoma State. They scored 45 second half points against one of the best defenses in the country. They can score with Oregon. That said, I think they need to keep them within striking distance.
Giving Michigan a seven seed after winning the Big Ten(14) tournament was not only a slight on the Wolverines, but the conference as a whole. Not to mention the higher seeded teams that had to deal with them lurking in the brackets. They may not be done yet. That said, Oregon does miss Chris Boucher, but they have adapted to playing without him. I’m not convinced that Wagner can do what he did against Louisville, and someone will need to come up big against Oregon in the middle.
Pick: Oregon
Next: Feeling Nostalgic? Check Out My Midwest Picks Before The Games Started!
Stay tuned for the rest of the second round picks! We also have our daily NBA and NHL picks for you DFS players! Our David Gate also shares his EPL wisdom for those of you who just can’t get enough of DFS sports!