Talking South Bracket
Here we are in Illinois’ bracket, where the North Carolina Tar Heels are the 1-seed. Just like Illinois, North Carolina has an injury question at the point guard spot. Last I heard Ty Lawson was doubtful for the Heels’ first round game. With Lawson, the Heels are the favorite to make the finals from this side of the bracket, but without him they could lose a game to a team like their Florida State loss in the ACC Tournament. UNC gets Radford in the first round and will win by 20, minimum. The winner of the LSU-Butler game will get the Tar Heels in the second round. LSU is very athletic and will give Butler some problems, but this is the classic picking problem where Butler could heat it up from three and steal the win.
Illinois takes on Western Kentucky in the first round, and I don’t like this match-up for the Illini. Illinois is 9-1 in their last 10 first round games, but the Hilltoppers won a couple games in last year’s tournament and have another tough team. Illinois has the advantage down low, so Tisdale might have to carry them to the win with Frazier on the bench. The Hilltoppers like to run and don’t like to play a lot of defense, so if Illinois can stop them in transition, they can win this game for sure. The other match-up in Portland will be Gonzaga and Akron. The Zags should go ahead and win this one easily playing in their backyard.
In Miami, Arizona State has to feel fortunate with their Temple draw. I think VCU, Dayton, or Utah State all could have upset the Sun Devils, but they should get by Temple. Syracuse gets Stephen F. Austin in the first round and will have to avoid an upset similar to their Vermont loss a couple of years back. They should be fine and have a nice road to the Sweet 16.
The bottom of this bracket is very interesting. We have Clemson and Michigan in the 7-10 game and both these teams have shown they can beat anyone, and lose to anyone. John Beilein is a great tournament coach, but if Clemson is on their game, they will be almost impossible to beat; lucky for Michigan, Clemson has not been on its game lately. Oklahoma looked like a lock for a one seed not long ago. Then Blake Griffin was injured and they haven’t seemed the same since his return. The Sooners will play Morgan State in the first round, but will have their hands full regardless of who they meet on Saturday.
Predictions sure to ruin your bracket:
Sweet 16 lock: North Carolina
Upset Pick: Michigan over Clemson
Bold Call: UNC wins by at least ten until the Elite 8
Best Games: Thursday- Clemson vs. Michigan, 7:10 et.
Arizona St. vs. Temple, 2:45 et.
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