Category Archives: 2018 March Madness

2018 March Madness: #16 Seed Play-in Game (LIU-Brooklyn vs Radford)

The #16 seed Play-in Games are fun games to watch. The small school’s fanbase travels and they make a lot of noise.

The LIU-Brooklyn Blackbirds aren’t strangers to the play-in game atmosphere. They have been here before, but failed to leave with a win.

It’s been awhile since Radford made the field of 68, but they are also looking for their first-ever NCAA tournament win.

The winner of this game will face the Villanova Wildcats.

Who do you think will win?

Who do you have: LIU-Brooklyn Blackbirds or Radford Highlanders?

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2018 March Madness: #16 Seed Play-in Game (NC Central vs Texas Southern)

The two #16 seed Play-in Games are two exciting contests to kickoff the NCAA Tournament. They pit teams that probably have no business being in the tournament, but they made some upsets in their conference tournament. There’s a place for teams like that in the field of 68.

North Carolina Central and Texas Southern are lead by coaches that have NCAA Tournament experience. Neither team was favored to win their conference tournaments, but the MEAC and SWAC both get representation.

The winner of this game will face the Xavier Musketeers.

Who do you think will win?

Who do you have: North Carolina Central Eagles or Texas Southern Tigers?

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2018 March Madness: #5 Clemson vs #12 New Mexico State

The ACC got a lot of teams in the NCAA Tournament this season. It’s hard to differentiate any team after Virginia as they just traded wins and losses among each other. Clemson was near Virginia’s level, but suffered an injury to their second-leading scorer.

There’s a trend of first-year coaches getting their teams in the tournament this season. Chris Jans was a smart hire by the Aggies. He’s was an assistant at Wichita State for years. He was able to learn under Gregg Marshall, who is one of the nation’s best college basketball coaches.

Who do you think will win?

Do you have #5 Clemson Tigers or #12 New Mexico State Aggies?

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2018 March Madness: #5 West Virginia vs #12 Murray State

Murray State had a great season and is probably the best Ohio Valley squad to play in the NCAA Tournament in recent memory. The conference has had some tournament upsets in the past, so the Racers could be a dangerous team.

West Virginia tied Texas Tech for second place in the Big 12 regular season. They made it to the ACC Tournament final, but lost to Kansas.

The Mountaineers are a touch match-up for most teams, let alone against a smaller conference team. Does Murray State have a chance for an upset?

Who do you think will win?

Do you have #5 West Virginia Mountaineers or #12 Murray State Racers?

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2018 March Madness: #5 Ohio State vs #12 South Dakota State

The Buckeyes were a team put together with duct tape, but turned into something indestructible. It’s truly a rags to riches story for the program.

South Dakota State doesn’t get a lot of press as they play in lightly-populated state in a small conference. They should get more respect as they have a Summit League championship contending team every single year.

Ohio State is the better overall team, but South Dakota State may have the better overall player in this game. Can the Jackrabbits upset the Buckeyes?

Who do you think will win?

Do you have #5 Ohio State Buckeyes or #12 South Dakota State Jackrabbits?

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2018 March Madness: #5 Kentucky vs #12 Davidson

This is an interesting match-up. The team that comes out of this contest alive will be a tough out in this NCAA Tournament.

Kentucky missed out on a lot of the five-star recruits this past recruiting season, but they still managed to suit up a very good team. They are young and inconsistent at times, but they are long and can disrupt inside-scoring attempts.

Davidson was a long-shot to receive an at-large big and needed to win the Atlantic 10 Tournament. They cemented their spot by beating St. Bonaventure and Rhode Island on back-to-back days. Can they keep the upset train rolling?

Who do you think will win?

Do you have #5 Kentucky Wildcats or #12 Davidson Wildcats?

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2018 March Madness: #11 Seed Play-in Game (Arizona State vs Syracuse)

Arizona State looked like a title contender early this season, but there’s a reason why they play more than a dozen games. The Sun Devils looked pedestrian once the Pac-12 conference schedule was underway.

Syracuse was probably the last team in the field; I refuse to believe otherwise. You could make the case for other teams to have leapfrogged them for an at-large bid. The Orange were among a middling group in ACC standings. Many teams split home-and-away games with each other, so it’s hard to separate any of them from the pack.

Can either one of these teams be a real threat to the TCU Horned Frogs in the first round?

Who do you think will win?

Who do you have: Arizona State Sun Devils or Syracuse Orange?

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2018 March Madness: #11 Seed Play-in Game (St. Bonaventure vs UCLA)

It’s been awhile since a team with such prestige was stuck in a play-in game. UCLA shouldn’t have been in this position, but they failed to beat very beatable teams late in the season. They weren’t playing their best basketball at the end of the year.

St. Bonaventure found themselves in this tough spot by overlooking Davidson in the semifinals of their conference tournament. They would have solidly been in the regular field as they were on a long winning streak up until that game.

Can either one of these teams be a real threat to the Florida Gators in the first round?

Who do you think will win?

Who do you have: St. Bonaventure or UCLA?

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2018 March Madness: #6 Miami (FL) vs #11 Loyola-Chicago

The Missouri Valley Conference is home to many teams that have went on to upset teams in the NCAA Tournament. It’s been over thirty years since Loyola-Chicago made an NCAA Tournament appearance. Can they join the likes of Wichita State, Indiana State and Valparaiso and make it deep in the NCAA Tournament?

The Atlantic Coast Conference had a good year with nine teams making it in the NCAA Tournament. Virginia was the cream of the crop with Duke finishing second and a four-way tie for third. The ACC was a jumbled mess by end of the year.

Can Loyola-Chicago pull off the upset?

Who do you think will win?

Do you have #6 Miami Hurricanes or #11 Loyola-Chicago Ramblers?

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2018 March Madness: #7 Texas A&M vs #10 Providence

Every year there’s a team that just catches fire during their conference tournament. Some win the whole thing, but most just knock off a top-seed. Providence beat Xavier and nearly pulled off another upset, but lost to Villanova in overtime.

Texas A&M were on the other side of an upset in their conference tournament. Alabama freshman Collin Sexton hit a buzzer-beater to send the Aggies home. They made a bonehead mistake on defense that led to the shot.

Will Providence come into this game flat after three-straight overtime games?

Who do you think will win?

Do you have #7 Texas A&M Aggies or #10 Providence Friars?

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2018 March Madness: #7 Nevada vs #10 Texas

The NCAA Tournament committee selects team based on a lot of factors. Even though Nevada played lesser competition in the Mountain West, they were still seeded above Texas due to their overall résumé. The Wolf Pack won 27 games and were consistent all season long.

The Texas Longhorns faced adversity, lost players to illnesses and suspensions, but still managed to win 19 games in a deep Big 12 conference.

How much will injured freshman big man Mohamed Bamba play in this game?

Who do you think will win?

Do you have #7 Nevada Wolf Pack or #10 Texas Longhorns?

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2018 March Madness: #8 Seton Hall vs #9 NC State

The #8 vs #9 seed games are often volatile. The nine-seed has just about as much chance of winning the game than the eight-seed. I think the nine-seed has historically actually won the most games in this first-round match-up.

NC State has a new coach and no one expected them to be this good. They got lucky when the NCAA cleared Ohio State-transfer Braxton Beverly. He was left in limbo after Ohio State fired Thad Matta.

Seton Hall pushes the ball up and down the court all game. They excel when teams play their tempo, which is ‘frenzy’ tempo.

Who do you think will win?

Do you have #8 Seton Hall Pirates or #9 NC State Wolfpack?

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