2018 NCAA Tournament: South Region Second Round Predictions
The question most heard this morning around the water cooler? How’s your brackets? Arizona destroyed a lot of them. Even more went up in smoke with a historic upset last night. Let’s face it: this is the year that someone who just picked mascots likely has the best chance of winning. I mean, who doesn’t love a Retriever?
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That’s why we still have the round by round going, right? My south region is a disaster! I only got three of the eight teams right. That’s right, I have a chance to get more picks right for the second round than the first. I assure you that I am adequately embarrassed.
I realize that everyone was hurt by Virginia’s loss, but me more than most. I was one of the one in five that had them winning the whole thing on ESPN.
That’s the good part of the round by round. It’s a clean slate! Let’s get to the South region picks!
(9)Kansas State vs. (16)UMBC:
Someone had to step up with Dean Wade out. Why not have it be one of the best defenders in the Big 12(10)? Barry Brown led the Wildcats with 19 points and completely shut down Creighton sparkplug Marcus Foster. Mike McGuirl added 17 points off the bench. The Wildcats were one of the best defenses in arguably the toughest conference in the country this season, but I didn’t see them dominating Creighton without Wade.
I can tell you the exact moment that I realized that the NCAA tournament was the greatest sports spectacle on earth. It was March of 1990. I was 12 years old, and I absolutely loved baseball and liked football. Basketball was new to me. However, I decided to watch the NCAA tournament because nothing else was on. I was tuned in to the Syracuse vs. Richmond game. As you all know, Richmond won that game, and I was hooked. I have followed every tournament since. Yes, sometimes even just by radio. I listened to Tyus Edney go coast to coast on Missouri in 1995 on AM radio. Tonight is going to do the same thing for some kids of this generation.
Where were you on March 16th, 2018? You better get your story down, because you are going to be telling it to your kids, your grandkids, and hopefully, your great grandkids until the day you die. Not only did UMBC shred the best defense in college for 53 points in the second half, but they became the first 16 seed to beat a one seed. I always thought this would happen eventually. I thought Texas Southern had the best chance of any 16 seed in a while. It turns out that this 16 seed not only beat a number one, but beat the number one overall seed! This is easily the greatest upset in college basketball history. The Retrievers are forever immortalized as the answer to a trivia question that will live on long after we are gone.
We Knew Jarius Lyles was a good player. What we didn’t know is that three of his teammates would also hit double digits en route to a 20 point blowout of the number one overall seed. This is going to be tough for the Retrievers and fans on Sunday because the entirety of Baltimore county may still be celebrating at 7:45pm Eastern on Sunday.
As far as the matchup goes, if UMBC can beat Virginia, they can beat anyone. This Kansas State team is built almost exactly like the Virginia team they just stunned. The Wildcats could have trouble, especially if Dean Wade is still out.
UMBC is done sneaking. I really want them to continue their run, but this Wildcat team is very physical. Maybe even more so than Virginia. I think I have to go with Kansas State, but I want UMBC to win. Ah, what the hell. It’s only one point. GO UMBC!!
Pick: UMBC
(5)Kentucky vs. (13)Buffalo:
1,047 games. That’s how long it had been since Kentucky has played a game and not made a three point basket. Of course, Davidson didn’t shoot well enough from distance to take advantage. Jon Axel Gudmundsson did everything he could to keep Davidson in this game, but a subpar game from Kellen Grady ended the dream for Davidson.
The great free throw shooting of Kevin Knox and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander put this game away down the stretch for Kentucky. Free throws really did decide this game. Kentucky hit 26 of 32 foul shots. Davidson only shot 17.
Let’s get one thing straight: Buffalo didn’t just beat Arizona. They whipped them. It’s hard to call it an upset when someone wins by 21 points. Wes Clark, Jeremy Harris, and CJ Massinburg combined for 67 points. Arizona has good guards, but they had no answer at all for the high powered Buffalo attack. The huge difference in this game was three pointers. Buffalo nailed 15 of 30. Arizona hit just two of 18.
Can Kentucky keep up with Buffalo? Gilgeous-Alexander is great at creating shots. Buffalo is going to make a lot more threes than Davidson did. Kentucky will have to get the outside shot going to avoid being blown out like Arizona was. This game stays close, but I still like the Bulls. They were one of my favorite mid-majors coming into this thing.
Pick: Buffalo
(3)Tennessee vs. (11)Loyola-Chicago:
Tennessee blew out a decent Wright State team. It was never close. Admiral Schofield had a double-double and Lemonte Turner lit up the scoreboard with 19 points off the bench.
Donte Ingram hit a buzzer beating shot to beat the Hurricanes in the first crazy win of the NCAA tournament. That was only the beginning. The Ramblers have good guards, but the great play of Aundre Jackson off the bench really made a difference here. You could really tell the impact of Miami not having Bruce Brown in this one.
Loyola is going to have all kinds of issues with Kyle Alexander. The Ramblers’ tallest player is just 6’6″ Alexander is five inches taller than that. Grant Williams is taller than any Loyola player as well, and is an accomplished scorer. Tennessee’s size on the inside is going to be a major issue for Loyola.
Pick: Tennessee
(2)Cincinnati vs. (7)Nevada:
Georgia State game out swinging, but the veteran Bearcats took the punches and Jarron Cumberland delivered the haymakers. D’Marcus Symonds put up 24 of the Panthers’ 53 points. Meanwhile, Cincy had four players in double figures.
Texas and Nevada put in the second overtime game of the tournament, but it never should have got that far. Texas threw away an inbounds pass with four seconds left to secure overtime. If you just look at the box score, Texas should have won this game going away. Matt Coleman and Kerwin Roach combined for 51 points. Mo Bamba put up a double-double on a sore toe. So what happened? Jordan Caroline hit some big shots late. Cody and Caleb Martin had big games. Nevada played just six players in the overtime win. That’s a rotation that would make Tom Thibodeau proud!
Nevada’s thin bench could hurt them against Cincinnati. They were able to survive big scoring outbursts from Texas, but Cincinnati plays much better defense. I was shocked to see this many points because Nevada’s calling card is defense. Expect a slower and more defensive game against the Bearcats. That plays into the strengths of both teams. I think this stays close, but Cincy has more weapons
Pick: Cincinnati
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!