2018 NCAA Tournament: West 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? I hit seven out of eight in the first round in the west region. Can I continue that into the weekend?
Chalk held in this region. The only lower seed that won was ninth seeded Florida State. Will chalk continue?
That’s the good part of the round by round. It’s a clean slate! Let’s get to the West region picks!
(1)Xavier vs. (9)Florida State:
Texas Southern put up a good fight, and until UMBC stole their thunder, the Tigers were going to be remembered for a 16-0 run on the top seeded Musketeers. J.P Macura, Trevon Bluiett, and Kerem Kanter all scored 24 or more points as Xavier was the only team to top 100 points in the first round. It was a valiant effort by the Tigers, but that Xavier offense just couldn’t be stopped.
Florida State did not have a single starter in double digits. Of course, two starters played less than ten minutes. Mfiondu Kabengele was a huge problem for Missouri on the inside, and could be for Xavier as well. The Seminoles are going to need all of that defensive prowess and then some to pull off the upset here.
I think Xavier has too much offense here. Missouri has been a one man gang most of the season. Can the Seminoles stop three scorers? I doubt it.
Pick: Xavier
(4)Gonzaga vs. (5)Ohio State:
Gonzaga, despite a bit height advantage, were outrebounded by UNC-Greensboro. Honestly, the Bulldogs were lucky to escape the first round. They only shot 21.7% from three and 13-25 from the foul line. If Greensboro hadn’t been even worse from the foul line, the Bulldogs would likely be back in Spokane by now.
It takes a lot to blow a game like South Dakota State did. Game tied at 70, they foul on a made three. The next time down the court, the Jackrabbits fouled on another three. No time off the clock, and all of the sudden Ohio State has a seven point lead. Mike Daum was as advertised here, but poor decisions and defense down the stretch gave the Buckeyes the game.
27. That’s how many points that Gonzaga beat Ohio State by in November. A lot of things have changed since then, and honestly, if Gonzaga plays like they did on Thursday, they will be the ones getting blown out. Has Ohio State improved by 27 points since then. This also will not be a neutral game. Boise is only about two hours from Spokane. This is a home game for the Bulldogs, and I think they will wake up for this one.
Pick: Gonzaga
(3)Michigan vs. (6)Houston:
Michigan trailed 10-0 to Montana early on, but the defense clamped down on the Grizzlies. This was a big game for Charles Matthews on a night where not much else was working for the Wolverines. For the hottest team in the country coming into the tournament, this was a rather dull showing for Michigan.
The Houston-San Diego State game was one of the more entertaining games of Thursday. It also featured the best individual performance so far in the tournament. Rob Gray had 39 points. The rest of the Cougars had 28. Houston will need someone else to step up if they are going to oust Michigan.
The Wolverines have now won ten straight, but it hasn’t always been pretty. Michigan has the defense to stop Gray. If they can do that, Houston will need something more out of Devin Davis. 4-14 from the floor wont cut it. Davis is good enough to handle Matthews. Someone besides the stars needs to step up for one of these teams. I think Houston has a better supporting cast, and definitely had a better first game.
Pick: Houston
(2)North Carolina vs. (7)Texas A&M:
It took North Carolina about 30 minutes of game time to shake Lipscomb. As with much of the regular season, it was a balanced attack by the Tarheels. All five starters scored in double figures. This is an experienced team and a stacked team. There is a reason a lot of people picked the Tarheels to come out of the west region.
Admon GIlder played the whole game for Texas A&M, and three other starters scored in double figures. The lack of bench help wasn’t a glaring weakness against Providence, but it could be this round.
These two teams are pretty similar, but the Tarheels’ experience, especially in the NCAA Tournament, could be huge. This is going to be a fun game to watch, but I don’t see anyone on the Aggies that can stop Kenny WIlliams and Luke Maye. Theo Pinson is also going to be tough to match up with.
Pick: North Carolina
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!