"The Stack" 3-16-17
USC rallied from a 17 point second half deficit to take down Providence and advance to play SMU on Friday. Today the NCAA Tournament officially starts.
Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
It’s here! Finally! The best sporting event known to mankind officially begins today. March Madness is here. The Stack loves this tournament. The first two days are the most exciting days that sports has to offer. Who is going to pull off an upset? Who is going to bust your bracket? We have 16 games today so let’s get right to it and preview what’s going to happen in the NCAA Tournament today in “the stack” for today, Thursday, March 16th:
#12 Princeton vs. #5 Notre Dame 12:15 PM ET CBS (West Region, Buffalo, NY)
I never want to doubt a Princeton squad. They seem to have success in the tournament and make life difficult for their opponents. Having said that, I don’t know how much I trust them against a Notre Dame who can really score and a fantastic player in Bonzie Colson. The Princeton offense (literally and figuratively) will keep things slow, but Notre Dame prevails.
Pick: Notre Dame
#12 UNC-Wilmington vs. #5 Virginia 12:40 PM TruTV (East Region, Orlando, FL)
Right out of the gate we get two very interesting 12 vs. 5 matchups and two matchups that could produce upset. I think this one is most likely or second most likely to happen. UNC-Wilmington can really score. They like to run and they gave Duke a scare last year if you recall. The one reason to be afraid of picking them is their defense and also being able to crack Virginia’s defense. Virginia is outstanding defensively, but their offense is less than to be desired. Maybe going against UNC-Wilmington’s defense will help. I’ll still take the Seahawks.
Pick: UNC-Wilmington
#13 Winthrop vs. #4 Butler 1:30 PM ET CT TNT (South Region, Milwaukee, WI)
It’s March so that means another big Butler run in the NCAA Tournament. Butler is really good. They’re solid at just about everything. Winthrop is going to be challenging. The Broman brothers can do some surprising things (Anders played at South Dakota State briefly) and Ke’on Johnson is a legit scorer. Be aware of the upset here, but I believe Butler prevails.
Pick: Butler
#16 South Dakota State vs. #1 Gonzaga 2 PM ET TBS (West Region, Salt Lake City, UT)
No 16 seed has ever beat a one seed. This Jackrabbit team is different only because they have a star player in Mike Daum. If nothing else tune in to watch him. Jacks fans take a listen to "The Sports Block" podcast SDSU Jackrabbit edition here for more tournament coverage. But Nigel Williams-Goss and the big guy down low Przemek Karnowski is going to be a matchup nightmare for the Jacks. Gonzaga has never made the Final Four before. After Thursday, they will be just three more wins away.
Pick: Gonzaga
#13 Bucknell vs. #4 West Virginia 2:45 PM ET CBS (West Region, Buffalo, NY)
West Virginia was bounced in the first round last year by #14 seed Stephen F. Austin. Perhaps that will be in their minds when they take the floor against Bucknell. The Press Virginia defense is going to be coming whenever they can, but Bucknell I don’t believe will be intimidated. Can West Virginia knock down shots? If their offense disappears, they will lose.
Pick: West Virginia
#13 East Tennessee State vs. #4 Florida 3:10 PM ET TruTV (East Region, Orlando, FL)
A lot of people are looking at this game as the 13 over 4 upset this year and for good reason. ETSU scores roughly 80 points a game. They can hang with the Gators who can score plenty of points on their own. I am very tempted to go with the upset here and I will not be surprise in the slightest if they pull it out, but conventional wisdom says to go with Florida and so I will…barely.
Pick: Florida
#12 Middle Tennessee State vs. #5 Minnesota 4 PM ET TNT (South Region, Milwaukee, WI)
If UNC-Wilmington is the hot 12 seed to pick, Middle Tennessee State is either right behind them or they are the sexy pick. They return a lot of players from last year’s team that upset #2 Michigan State in the NCAA Tournament led by Reggie Upshaw and Giddy Potts. With Akeem Springs out for the Golden Gophers, it’s a huge loss on the offensive end. He can knock down some threes. Minnesota loves to play in the paint. MTSU will let them have it, but they’ll come out on top.
Pick: MTSU
#9 Vanderbilt vs. #8 Northwestern 4:30 PM ET TBS (West Region, Salt Lake City, UT)
For the first time ever, Northwestern is in the NCAA Tournament. So many media members are excited and why shouldn’t they? Celebrate this. Bryant McIntosh is really good. Vanderbilt likes to shoot a lot of threes though. They make a high percentage of them too. I think they can outlast Northwestern, but it wouldn’t be easy. A virtual toss-up.
Pick: Vanderbilt
#11 Xavier vs. #6 Maryland 6:50 PM ET TNT (West Region, Orlando, FL)
Injuries have severely crippled and hampered Xavier’s season. They just aren’t the threat they used to be. Maryland hasn’t been great themselves, struggling to beat bigger opponents, but Melo Trimble will help lead Maryland to a win in this one.
Pick: Maryland
#16 Mount St. Mary’s vs. #1 Villanova 7:10 PM ET CBS (East Region, Buffalo, NY)
Hopefully The Mount enjoyed their win over New Orleans Tuesday night. Josh Hart and Villanova will make sure they don’t hang around for long in this one.
Pick: Villanova
#10 VCU vs. #7 St. Mary’s 7:20 PM ET TBS (West Region, Salt Lake City, UT)
It’s so hard to pick against VCU. The havoc defense that they run. The good players they have. Nothing against head coach Will Wade, but these aren’t your Shaka Smart VCU Rams. St. Mary’s has one loss to teams not named Gonzaga. This St. Mary’s team is good. I think they find a way to get by the offensively challenged at time VCU Rams. I hate picking against VCU.
Pick: St. Mary’s
#13 Vermont vs. #4 Purdue 7:27 PM ET TruTV (Midwest Region, Milwaukee, WI)
I love my Vermont Catamounts (I love a lot of teams with places that I am not affiliated with at all whatsoever). Anthony Lamb is a great freshman. Trae-Bell Haynes is a good player as well, but Vermont has no answer for Purdue Caleb Swanigan. Then again, this seems like a game that Purdue will lose and play surprisingly poorly. Be aware of the upset here. Last time Vermont was a #13 seed, they took down #4 seed Syracuse. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Pick: Purdue
#14 Florida Gulf Coast vs. #3 Florida State 9:20 PM ET TNT (West Region, Orlando, FL)
Dunk City is back. Sure FGCU was in the tournament last year, but they are back and even better this year. Florida State may boast the tallest average team in the tournament, but they haven’t been playing great over the last month or so. I’ll go out on a major limb and take the upset.
Pick: Florida Gulf Coast
#9 Virginia Tech vs. #8 Wisconsin 9:40 PM ET CBS (East Region, Buffalo, NY)
There is a lot to like about what head coach Buzz Williams is doing at Virginia Tech. Seth Allen is a good three point shooter. Zach LeDay is also a good player. I just can’t pick against Wisconsin, especially not after they seemed to figure things out in the Big Ten Tournament.
Pick: Wisconsin
#15 North Dakota vs. #2 Arizona 9:50 PM ET TBS (West Region, Salt Lake City, UT)
North Dakota is making their tournament debut today. Nicely done by them for winning the Big Sky. Arizona will not lose this game though. Freshman Lauri Markkanen is great down low and Allonzo Trier is one heck of a player. They’ll get by UND pretty easily.
Pick: Arizona
#12 Nevada vs. #5 Iowa State 9:57 PM ET TruTV (Midwest Region, Milwaukee, WI)
Nevada has a couple of potential pro players on their squad. They have size. They can shoot and they can rebound. Iowa State is known to disappoint. This is a very dangerous game for them. Monte Morris may be the best player outside of Frank Mason III in this region and he will show it in this game. Ultimately Iowa State’s shooting is going to be too much for Nevada and they will hang on.
Pick: Iowa State
Coming up Friday: Reaction to Thursday’s games plus preview of Friday’s 16 games
