2017 NCAA Tournament: South Regional Semifinal Predictions
By Mike Marteny
2017 NCAA Tournament: South Regional Semifinal Predictions
We save the best 2017 NCAA Tournament bracket for last! At least seeding-wise. Chalk held in the south as all four of the top seeds advanced to the regional semifinals. Will the one and two seed meet on Sunday?
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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)North Carolina vs. (4)Butler
I guess I will lead with the obvious. There is no way Arkansas should have been able to crawl back into this game. The Tarheels led by as many as 17 points, but needed a 12-0 run to close the game and make it back to the second weekend. They are going to need to shore some things up to make it back to the third.
Of course, Joel Barry’s ankle got worse as the game went on, and Justin Jackson was battling leg cramps down the stretch in this game. The five days of rest wont help anyone as much as it helps North Carolina.
Butler’s defense locked down Middle Tennessee State. They held Giddy Potts, who averages almost 16 points a game, scoreless for the entire game! Not even a free throw! Butler showed that they earned their four seed with another good performance.
That defense is going to have their hands full. Arkansas did a great job defensively on North Carolina in the second half up until the last three minutes of the game. It was the Razorback offense that failed them. Butler has enough accomplished scorers to win this game of the Tarheels struggle again. North Carolina will be healthy though, which increases their chances by a lot.
As much as I would like to see Butler win, I just don’t know if they have it in them. They are a very good team with a bad draw. Of course, Carolina hasn’t played anywhere close to where they can. Can the Butler defense do what Arkansas did? I have my doubts.
Pick: North Carolina
(2)Kentucky vs. (3)UCLA:
Wichita State just would not go away. If you thought they would, then you haven’t been paying enough attention over the last few years. Kentucky blocked each of Wichita State’s last two shots to avoid overtime.
The Shockers didn’t have an answer for Bam Adebayo. They contained his scoring, but he still cleaned up the glass. Kentucky sports a ho-hum win against Northern Kentucky, and was pretty fortunate to escape the Shockers, especially when you consider the struggles of Malik Monk. Monk has made just six out of 21 shots in the tournament for 26 points. If he doesn’t get going, it’s going to be a short trip to Memphis for the Wildcats.
Cincinnati was allowing just 61 points per game coming into this. They gave up 49 in the second half alone to UCLA! The Bruins ran circles around Cincinnati in the second half, showcasing just how ridiculously athletic this team is.
UCLA beat Kentucky – in Lexington – back in December, but Kentucky’s big three freshman had only played together about a month by that time. They are likely a better team now. That said, John Calipari is still one of the least popular people in Memphis, and he hasn’t been there in several years. Fans are still bitter about his departure for the bluer pastures of Kentucky.
You can bet this partisan crowd will get behind UCLA by default. Kentucky will need Malik Monk to step up to have any chance of avenging that December loss. Is he up to the task?
Pick: UCLA
Next: How Did I Do? Check Out My Picks From Before The Madness!
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!