Tag Archives: NCAA Tournament

2015 March Madness: #7 Michigan State vs #10 Georgia

This game pairs a perennial title contender (Michigan State) against a school more known for football (Georgia).

Michigan State is coming off a close loss to Wisconsin in the Big Ten tournament final. They had a double-digit lead late in the game, but coughed it up. Tom Izzo is great in the NCAA Tournament, so I have high expectations for the Spartans.

Georgia wasn’t expected to have an NCAA Tournament-bound team to start the season. Head coach Mark Fox had his best record at Georgia since he took over the job in 2009. This will be his second tournament appearance with the team.

Can Georgia pull off the upset and beat Michigan State?

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

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2015 March Madness: #7 VCU vs #10 Ohio State

There are some great #7 vs #10 games this season. Many of the teams are on trending upwards instead of falling into these spots. Winners of these games have a real shot at beating a #2 seed the next round.

VCU made a name for themselves when they made the Final Four after in 2011 after playing in the play-in game. Head coach Shaka Smart is great on his toes. He’s an X’s & O’s guy who knows when to make adjustments.

Thad Matta and the Ohio State Buckeyes have also made some noise in the NCAA Tournament in the past. Matta has had success in the Big Dance with both OSU and Xavier. This coaching match-up will be one of the best of tourney.

Can Briante Weber’s injury hurt VCU’s shot at advancing?

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

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2015 March Madness: #7 Wichita State vs #10 Indiana

This game pits Wichita State, who was last year’s dark horse title contender, and Indiana, who many believe shouldn’t have received an at-large bid from the NCAA Selection Committee.

The Wichita State Shockers are one of the representatives of the Missouri Valley Conference. They won the regular season, but were upset by Illinois State in the conference tournament final.

Indiana is limping into the NCAA Tournament. They have some really nice individual players, but head coach Tom Crean has had trouble getting them to play together as a team. The Hoosiers haven’t looked ‘right’ since mid-January.

Will this be the last game Tom Crean coaches for the Hoosiers?

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

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2015 March Madness: #8 San Diego State vs #9 St. John’s

This match-up pits two head coaches with NCAA Tournament experience. Neither are still with the team they had the most success with, but Steve Fisher and Steve Lavin will have their current teams ready for this game.

San Diego State have come into the NCAA Tournament with better teams recently, but this seed better suits this squad. They couldn’t live up to the high seeds Fisher’s teams have received from the selection committee.

This will only be the fourth time this century that St. John’s will appear in an NCAA Tournament. The once-powerful program fell on hard times in the late 90’s. Lavin helped resurrect them from the dead.

This game will be a chess match between two great head coaches. Which team will advance?

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

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2015 March Madness: #8 Oregon vs #9 Oklahoma State

This match-up is one of the most intriguing 8 vs 9 games in this the 2015 NCAA Tournament. The styles of teach team won’t mesh well at all.

Oregon’s offense is their best asset. Joe Young can put up points in a hurry and is a lot of fun to watch. The Ducks will do their best to keep pushing the ball up and down the court.

Oklahoma State will play the role of the turtle in this game. They are methodical and use their defense to set up a lot of their offense. I don’t want to compare their half-court offense to watching paint dry, but it’s damn close.

Which team will get their way and force their pace of the game?

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

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2015 March Madness: #8 NC State vs #9 LSU

We love a good #8 versus #9 matchup. It’s often one of the most difficult picks you’ll have to make on your bracket.

The ACC was top-heavy this season. Virginia and Duke lead the way, but there are a few other teams that could win a few games in the NCAA Tournament.

Kentucky was the cream of the crop in the SEC, but there were plenty of teams playing for at-large bids this season. LSU was a bubble team, but unlike Texas A&M, they received an invite to the tourney.

How will LSU’s low-post offense do against NC State’s smaller lineup?

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

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2015 March Madness: #8 Cincinnati vs #9 Purdue

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

The Big Ten was the arguably the strongest conference from top to bottom in the country. They have seven teams representing them in the 2015 NCAA Tournament. Purdue was a bubble team and I strongly believe they deserved a spot in the Big Dance.

The American Athletic Conference wasn’t as strong, but Cincinnati made it through the season with a lot of adversity.

Can Cincinnati score enough points to win games in the NCAA Tournament?

How will Purdue handle Cincinnati’s elite perimeter defense?

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

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2014 March Madness: #7 Texas vs #10 Arizona State

We are picking every NCAA Tournament game in an effort to help you fill out your bracket and win your office pool.

Texas doesn’t have a good track record in the NCAA Tournament. The blame is often placed on head coach Rick Barnes…and it should be. If you can’t win a few games with Kevin Durant on your team, something is wrong.

Arizona State’s backcourt is one of the best in the Pac-12. They run their offense through them and take good shots. It helps that they have more than one player who can shoot the lights out from deep.

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

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2014 March Madness: #8 Kentucky vs #9 Kansas State

We are picking every NCAA Tournament game in an effort to help you fill out your bracket and win your office pool.

Kentucky head coach John Calipari is a great recruiter, but turning over a roster every year might be getting to him. The players on his roster will go onto the NBA and have great careers, but the last two seasons have been disappointing.

Kansas State played one of the hardest schedules in college basketball. They were playing a ranked team every other night. I am surprised they survived and played well enough for an at-large bid.

Can the Kentucky freshman pull it together and make some noise in the tournament?

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

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2014 March Madness: #7 Oregon vs #10 BYU

We are picking every NCAA Tournament game in an effort to help you fill out your bracket and win your office pool.

Oregon had a rocky start to the Pac 12 portion of their schedule. They had some bad losses, but redeemed themselves with wins at UCLA and against Arizona.

BYU has third highest-scoring offense in college basketball. Their non-conference schedule went pretty rough, but settled down once they starting playing West Coast Conference games. Many ‘bracketologists’ had them as one of the last four teams to get in. As a #10 seed that clearly was not the case.

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

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2014 March Madness: #6 Baylor vs #11 Nebraska

We are picking every NCAA Tournament game in an effort to help you fill out your bracket and win your office pool.

Nebraska was the most surprising team in the Big Ten. It has been a long time since they made an NCAA Tournament appearance. They had a big wins, but were also blown out too many times. Do they belong in the tournament this season?

The Big 12 was really good this season. Six teams in the conference made the NCAA Tournament. Baylor was only .500 in the conference and was still deemed good enough for a #6 seed. Was that the correct seeding or should they have been ranked lower?

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

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2014 March Madness: #5 Oklahoma vs #12 North Dakota State

We are picking every NCAA Tournament game in an effort to help you fill out your bracket and win your office pool.

Oklahoma survived the Big 12 without any injuries. That feat alone is worth a round of applause. Head coach Lon Kruger has lead the Sooners to back-to-back tournament appearances. Kruger has taken five teams to the NCAA Tournament and has gone as far as the Final Four.

North Dakota State could be this year’s Cinderella team. They aren’t as flashy as Florida Gulf Coast’s ‘Dunk City’, but they are as efficient as they come. NDSU’s Taylor Braun is fun to watch and could have a future in the NBA.

Can the North Dakota State Bison knock off a major program?

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

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