NCAA Tournament 2019: Predicting the perfect March Madness bracket

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA - MARCH 14: Kyle Guy #5 of the Virginia Cavaliers reacts after a play against the North Carolina State Wolfpack during their game in the quarterfinal round of the 2019 Men's ACC Basketball Tournament at Spectrum Center on March 14, 2019 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /

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RICHMOND, KY – FEBRUARY 16: Ja Morant #12 of the Murray State Racers is seen during the game against the Eastern Kentucky Colonels at CFSB Center on February 16, 2019 in Murray, Kentucky. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /

West Region – Hartford, CT (Thursday, March 21)

5 Marquette vs. 12 Murray State

To put it in the simplest terms, the Murray State Racers as a whole are not that impressive of a basketball team. However, Ja Morant is impressive enough to make them a better team than they are, which is why they topped Belmont in the Ohio Valley Conference tournament final. Morant is a bonafide superstar, but he faces another superstar in Marquette’s Markus Howard in this matchup, one of the best of the First Round.

The dirty secret for Marquette, however, is that the Golden Eagles really faltered down the stretch of the regular season and in the conference tournament. Subsequently, it’s hard to think that, even with the potential for Howard to go off, that they’re in a good place. As such, Morant is going to look like a star and lead the Racers to a big upset.

Pick: Murray State

4 Florida State vs. 13 Vermont

The Vermont Catamounts didn’t exactly play a brutal schedule this season, but they ran through it solidly as they posted a 27-6 record on the year. Having said that, they fell short against every top-tier team that they faced this season, including losses to Kansas and Louisville. Now facing a March Madness showdown with an under-seeded Florida State Seminoles team, the Catamounts could be in some real trouble.

While junior forward Anthony Lamb is a star for Vermont, the team as a whole is going to get stifled by Florida State in this matchup. The Seminoles, who went to the Elite Eight last year, just have so much length at every spot on the floor and can make life miserable for teams who can’t match it with either length of their own or athleticism. Vermont falls into that category, so they have little shot at an upset here.

Pick: Florida State

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