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NCAA Tournament Projections Round 1
AthleteVault
Updated March 20, 2008...
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Here are our projections for the first round as well as our final four and national champion picks! On Saturday, we will release our Round 2 projections.
Round 1:
EAST
1) North Carolina vs. 16) Mt. St. Mary’s
Easy game to pick here, I like North Carolina by at least 20!
8) Indiana vs. 9) Arkansas
Tough game as Arkansas shows flashes of brilliance at times. With that said, Indiana will be ready to play and Gordon should take this game over.
5) Notre Dame vs. 12) George Mason
Upset special, George Mason does it once again!
4) Washington State vs. 13) Winthrop
Tempted to take Winthrop but I think the Cougars pull a close one out
3) Louisville vs. 14) Boise State
Louisville should win this comfortably and has potential to do some major damage in this tournament
6) Oklahoma vs. 11) St. Joseph’s
With all the chatter of whether Capel is staying or going, I think St. Joes will pull of the upset
7) Butler vs. 10) South Alabama
I really believe that Butler is more like a 3 or 4 seed. South Alabama is tough but Butler will win this game
2) Tennessee vs. 15) American
Behind Lofton’s jumper, the Vols will cruise in this one
MIDWEST
1) Kansas vs. 16) Portland State
Rock Chalk Massacre, Jayhawks will win big
8) UNLV vs. 9) Kent State
The Running Rebs made a nice run last year; they continue it this year with a victory over Kent State
5) Clemson vs. 12) Villanova
Scottie Reynolds is going to have a big game which will key the Wildcats to victory
4) Vanderbilt vs. 13) Siena
The Dores should win this but it will be a battle
3) Wisconsin vs. 14) CS Fullerton
Wisconsin wins albeit boring, but they will win
6) USC vs. 11) Kansas State
This will be a battle between Walker and Mayo and Walker will win because he will allow his team to be more involved
7) Gonzaga vs. 10) Davidson
Tough matchup here, really wish Gonzaga could’ve been somewhere else and played spoiler. Davidson is a quality club and much better now that Curry is back
2) Georgetown vs. 15) UMBC
Hibbert and the Hoyas will win this one by at least 10
SOUTH
1) Memphis vs. 16) UT-Arlington
The Tigers should win this one easily
8) Mississippi State vs. 9) Oregon
The Ducks will win this game behind the arc
5) Michigan State vs. 12) Temple
5/12 matchups typical breed upsets, not for this game however
4) Pittsburgh vs. 13) Oral Roberts
Oral Roberts is a quality club but Pitt has the grit to grind this close one out
3) Stanford vs. 14) Cornell
Cornell tore it up in the Ivy League but Stanford will be too strong in this one
6) Marquette vs. 11) Kentucky
Kentucky’s best player Patterson is out due to injury but they still will pull of the upset
7) Miami (FL.) vs. 10) St. Mary’s
St. Mary’s has a good squad and a great PG; he will control the tempo and win this game for them
2) Texas vs. 15) Austin Peay
WEST
1) UCLA vs. 16) Mississippi Valley
The Bruins have some injury concerns but they still will win this game by a comfortable margin
8) BYU vs. 9) Texas A&M
The Aggies are very overrated and will pull off the upset over the Cougars
5) Drake vs. 12) Western Kentucky
I like Drake a lot but I think the Hilltoppers will be better prepared for this game
4) Connecticut vs. 13) San Diego
This will be a war and I can see San Diego winning this, but I have to go with the Huskies
3) Xavier vs. 14) Georgia
The Bulldogs Cinderella run ends here folks
6) Purdue vs. 11) Baylor
The Boilermakers are tough and physical and that will guide them to a victory
7) West Virginia vs. 10) Arizona
Arizona is extremely talented and has shown flashes of greatness this season. I like the Wildcats in this one
2) Duke vs. 15) Belmont
Duke was upset in the 1st round last year, it won’t happen this year. Belmont is talented, but Duke will win this game
FINAL FOUR: Tennessee, Kansas, Memphis, Connecticut
NATIONAL CHAMPION: Memphis