First Round
#1 Gonzaga vs. #16 Fairleigh Dickinson: Jahlil Jenkins and Darnell Edge were awesome at the First Four, but the Zags have too great of an offense. Pick: Gonzaga
#8 Syracuse vs. #9 Baylor: What is that you say? Syracuse in the NCAA championship? GotId proceed with the Orange. Pick: Syracuse
#5 Marquette vs. #12 Murray StateI literally looked as the heart eyes emoji if they announced this match. Ja Morant vs. Markus Howard. Superstar vs. Superstar. Can we only keep whichever one loses and replace one of those Pac-12 teams? No? Fine, let us go with the Racers as the regular season closed . Select: Murray State
#4 Florida State vs. #13 Vermont: FSU is very, very excellent. They should be a No. 3 seed. The Catamounts aren’t poor, but the length and athleticism of the Seminoles will be a lot for them to conquer. Select: Florida State
#6 Buffalo vs. #11 St. John’s: Buffalo is under-seeded, in my opinion. The Bulls are No. 22 on KenPom, and also possess the No. 19 crime and No. 29 defense. CJ Massinburg is a fictitious star, and I believe the Bulls are just too much for St. John’s. Select: Buffalo
#3 Texas Tech vs. #14 Northern Kentucky: DE-FENSE [CLAP CLAP] DE-FENSE [CLAP CLAP] The Red Raiders have both the No. 1 defense AND Jarrett Culver. Their offense has struggled at times, but they won’t have a problem with the Norse. Pick: Texas Tech
#7 Nevada vs. #10 Florida: KenPom has this as a pick’em (one point Nevada triumph ), and Vegas favors the Wolfpack by 2. Nevada is prone to falling behind early and utilizing drives and threes from the Martin twins to climb back in. The Gators have finished the season strong and appear to be peaking at the right moment. Even with Jordan Caroline being among my favorite players, I believe Florida gets this in a near one. Pick: Florida
#2 Michigan vs. #15 Montana: Michigan got a bad draw in needing to play the same team they faced in the opening round this past year. That Montana team was considerably better than that one, and the Wolverines rolled. They’ll roll again. Select: Michigan
Second Round
#1 Gonzaga vs. #8 Syracuse: Syracuse against Gonzaga. No history , right? In 2016, the Orange snuck by Gonzaga by three to make the Elite Eight in which they upset Virginia to create a Final Four. This season, the Zags get revenge. Pick: Gonzaga
#5 Murray State vs. #4 Florida State: The Ja Morant Cinderella story concludes. Mfiondu Kabengele and the Seminoles do just enough to slow down the Racers and proceed to the Sweet 16. Pick: Florida State
#3 Texas Tech vs. #6 Buffalo : UPSET PICK. BUFFALO TO THE SWEET 16. The Bulls have a tough defense and certainly will make things difficult enough for TTU to score that they move on. Select: Buffalo
#2 Michigan vs. #10 Florida: I’ve noticed this particular bowl game before. Iggy Brazdeikis, Jordan Poole, Charles Matthews, and Jon Teske are simply too much to the Gators within this one. Select: Michigan
Sweet Sixteen
#1 Gonzaga vs. #4 Florida State: Sticking with FSU’s length and their ability to disrupt the Zags on offense. The Seminoles don’t have the best crime, but they’re powerful enough to maintain Gonzaga honest. This ought to be an amazing game, so that I hope we get to view it. Select: Florida State
#2 Michigan vs. #6 Buffalo: After viewing the No. 1 defense at TTU, things only let up slightly for Buffalo with Michigan’s No. 2 defense. It’s too much for the Bulls in back-to-back matches and they run out of steam in the second half. Pick: Michigan
Elite Eight
#2 Michigan vs. #4 Florida State: Another fantastic game if we can get it. I like Michigan’s defense as the big men indoors can bang with the best of these. I don’t trust FSU’s shooting enough for them to get sufficient on Michigan’s defense. Pick: Michigan
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