This is the first of many NCAA Tournament games we are picking to help you fill out your bracket.

The Pac-12 is one of the strongest conferences in the country. Colorado cut their teeth against some of the best teams in the country.

The American Athletic Conference wasn’t as strong. Teams beat up on each other in-conference and they all came out of the year a bit hobbled.

Can UConn get second-chance points against Colorado?

Can Colorado limit turnovers against a smaller backcourt?

Who do you think will win? We help you fill out your bracket.

The Colorado Buffaloes are war-ready just based on their cut-throat Pac-12 conference schedule. The Pac-12 was arguably the best conference in the nation. Colorado was able to win in that conference due to their elite rebounding ability lead by big man Josh Scott. If they can control the boards, they have a shot to win any game.

Connecticut stumbled into the Big East, but looked strong and beat Memphis in the American Conference tournament. UConn has balanced scoring and doesn’t rely on one or two main scoring options, so defenses have trouble since double-teaming rarely works.

Both teams struggled against ranked teams this season, with Colorado being the only team with a win against a ranked team. Both teams like to control the clock, but Colorado like to play a little more up-tempo. UConn will try to slow the game down, but with Colorado’s rebounding ability, the Huskies won’t get many second-chance points. I believe Colorado will win this game by a decent margin.

Prediction: #8 Colorado Buffaloes

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About the Author…

Bobby Roberts (otherwise known as Sweetbob) is the creator of ‘America’s White Boy’ and contributor at Project Shanks. His writing has been featured on ESPN’s ‘SportsNation’, Sports Illustrated’s Hot Clicks, Guyspeed, and various other sites. You can follow him on Twitter at @Sweetbob.