2019 NCAA Tournament: East Region Second Round Predictions
The question most heard at the bar last night was “how’s your bracket?” Did Kansas State hurt? How about Nevada? How about those of you that got creative with Nevada or Belmont? Well, Virginia didn’t lose in the first round this year (though they were down 14 at one point), so most brackets haven’t lost their champion yet. Don’t worry. The first weekend isn’t over yet!
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The round by round is still something to pay attention to even if your real bracket isn’t busted. Something is still on the line!
I hit five of eight in this region, but I should have picked UCF and I knew it. I did pick the Liberty upset, so it wasn’t a total loss.
Three lower seeds advanced in this region. Will any of them make it past the first weekend? Let’s go round by round!
That’s the good part of the round by round. It’s a clean slate! Let’s get to the East region picks!
(1)Duke vs. (9)Central Florida
North Dakota State started strong, and stuck with Duke for the first 25 minutes or so, but Zion Williamson was eventually too much. It was a spirited run for the Bison, but they were severely overmatched to the surprise of no one.
Tacko Fall dominated the interior for the Knights against a much smaller VCU team. Fall is a force, but he can’t do it alone. Strong guard play was a must for UCF as well. B.J. Taylor and Aubrey Dawkins provided just that.
Fall is going to be a problem for Duke, but this Blue Devil team is not as weak in the middle as many of it’s predecessors. Fall isn’t your typical 7’6″ guy. He’s quick, limber, and an all around good athlete. That still doesn’t mean he can guard Williamson.
The inside may neutralize each other. I do like the UCF guards, but I don’t know that they are good enough to actually beat Duke. This game is going to be closer than most think, but the Blue Devils are just too talented to lose this.
Pick: Duke
(4)Virginia Tech vs. (12):Liberty:
Virginia Tech finally advanced past the first round for the first time since 2004. Justin Robinson was rusty, but he still played 28 minutes. That’s the thing to take away from this. Honestly, St Louis did a great job of coming back. The Hokies were blowing them out of the building in the first half. It was still never close though. This was total domination by Virginia Tech.
I’ve had people ask me why I picked Liberty. Caleb Homesley was a big reason why. That and I don’t think the SEC was as tough as their berths and seeding suggested. Kentucky, Tennessee, and LSU are strong at the top, but the rest of them were average at best.
Liberty was a good story, but they aren’t going very far. Virginia Tech is one of the few teams that are dominant enough defensively and have enough offensive firepower to take down anyone. On top of that, we didn’t really see the lapses that the Hokies have become famous for. I think Homesley and Lovell Cabbil do everything they can to keep Liberty in this, but the Hokies still pull away.
Pick: Virginia Tech
(3)LSU vs. (6)Maryland:
Yale was getting properly throttled by LSU at the half, but the Bulldogs stormed back in the second half to put a scare into LSU. LSU dominated the paint, but Yale’s long range shooting brought them back into this. Skylar Mays showed the importance of free throws in the NCAA tournament. He was only letting Yale gain one point at a time, and it was enough for LSU to hang on.
This is a game that Maryland shouldn’t have won. Belmont had the lead at the half and late into the second quarter, but a bench altercation in the second half took some steam out of Belmont. Maryland stormed back with a huge second half from Bruno Fernando, a guy that Belmont had no answer for. Still, the Bruins had the ball down one with the shot clock off, but a deflected pass gave Maryland the victory.
Fernando wont be able to dominate the interior the way he did with Belmont. LSU has the big men to take care of him. LSU was ranked as high as ninth in the country at one point, and are still one of the more dangerous teams out there. This one could get ugly
Pick: LSU
(2)Michigan State vs. (10)Minnesota
It happens every year, but it seems to happen a lot to Michigan State lately. The Spartans actually trailed Bradley at halftime before pulling away late in the second half. This is probably the furthest a two seed will be pushed in the first round this year. Cassius Winston just took this game over.
The official first game of the tournament was the highest scoring of the day as well. Minnesota’s fans took the short jaunt down I-35 to Des Moines in droves to watch Minnesota put on a display of three point shooting only matched by Wofford and Murray State. Louisville dominated the inside, but couldn’t keep Minnesota from knocking down triples.
Michigan State blew out the Gophers by 24 in East Lansing in the only regular season meeting. However, this will be Minnesota’s home game in the series. Minnesota’s sharpshooting will keep this close, but much as it was with the Bradley game, the Gophers don’t have an answer for Cassius Winston. Matt McQuaid and Nick Ward were huge in the first game too.
Pick: Michgan State
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!