One winner for all 16 NCAA Tournament games on Friday
Thursday sucked for Kentucky fans, but for those who love watching the NCAA Tournament, the excitement doesn’t end with the ‘Cats. Let’s dive into all 16 games scheduled for Friday where we pick a “winner” from each. One player, coach, storyline, etc. that will come out of these games as the talking point. Dive in.
(7) Ohio State vs. (10) Loyola Chicago | 12:15 p.m.
WINNER: Sister Jean. Rambler magic is back for the third NCAA Tournament of the last four, and their spiritual leader Sister Jean is 102 years old and spryer than a spring chicken.
Purely as a basketball team, Loyola is the better team compared to the Buckeyes. EJ Liddell leads Ohio State and is a likely All-American, but the Ramblers counter OSU’s one star with four returning starters off last year’s Sweet Sixteen run, and added Princeton sharpshooter Ryan Schweiger to the mix. Drew Valentine (yes, Denzel’s brother) took over after coach Porter Moser left for Oklahoma, but Loyola’s identity remained the same: pack-line defense, great shooting, mistake-free basketball. Riding the Ramblers again this year.
(2) Auburn vs. (15) Jacksonville State | 12:40 p.m.
WINNER: Bellarmine. Auburn’s inevitable destruction of Jacksonville State will only further prove why the NCAA’s postseason ban on teams transitioning from Division II to Division I is ridiculous. Bellarmine deserved to be in this game. Heck, they earned the bid outright, but were barred from tournament participation by senseless laws. Perhaps some publicity on national television for the injustice done to the Knights could finally change the rule. Also, Scott Davenport would give the Tigers at least a little bit of hell on the court.
(3) Texas Tech vs. (14) Montana State | 1:45 p.m.
WINNER: The Under. Texas Tech rates as KenPom’s best defense by a sizable amount. Not a great matchup for Montana State’s 151st-ranked offense per KP’s metrics. Texas Tech swallowed Big 12 defenses and we don’t have a ton of confidence that the Big Sky’s best will fare much better. Give me Tech by a score along the lines of 63-39. Also, lovers of interesting names will like this matchup. There are some great names between these teams. Quite literally. Montana State has a player named Great Osobor, as well as Raequan Battle, Jubile Belo, and Aminu Adamu. And the Red Raiders have a dude named Adonis Arms — who does indeed have some big arms.
(3) Purdue vs. (14) Yale | 2:00 p.m.
WINNER: Purdue Big Men. Yale upset Princeton in the Ivy League title and their six-foot guard Azar Swain is a fun watch. However, their lack of any player taller than 6-foot-8 will spell their demise against Purdue. The Boilermakers produce the NCAA’s best offense, partially predicated upon their duo of post menaces. 7-foot-4 Goliath Zach Edey and 6-foot-10 round-bellied big Trevion Williams split time at center and post crazy usage numbers in the post when on the court. They’ll feast on — no, devour — Yale in the paint.
(2) Villanova vs. (15) Delaware | 2:45 p.m.
WINNER: Jameer Nelsons. The last time a Jameer Nelson made the NCAA Tournament, Nelson Sr. and Delonte West averaged a combined 39 points a game in the regular season to help St. Joseph’s secure a one-seed in the NCAA Tournament. 18 years later, Jameer Nelson Jr. and the Delaware Blue Hens are back in the Big Dance. Nelson leads his team in scoring and is flanked by 3,000 career points and 10 years of experience among Delaware’s other two backcourt starters. Expect a lot of shots of an excited Nelson Sr. and a stressful game down the stretch for Villanova.
(7) USC vs. (10) Miami | 3:10 p.m.
WINNER: Extra Eligibility. I like the Canes to upset the Trojans in this one, chiefly because of Miami’s cast of super-seniors. Their starting backcourt of Kameron McGusty and Charlie Moore combine for 3,448 career points and each began playing college ball west of the Mississippi in the fall of 2016. Along with fellow guard Isaiah Wong, the Hurricanes’ guards score 45.4 points per game and make nearly five threes per outing. Guards win championships, right? Ride the wave.
(6) Alabama vs. (11) Notre Dame | 4:15 p.m.
WINNER: College Football Playoff History. A matchup of two longstanding powers on the gridiron. Except Alabama has dominated Notre Dame wholesomely in every battle between the two in the postseason. I expect that trend to continue on the hardwood. The Irish will be fighting fatigue following their double-overtime win in the First Four as Alabama has one of their splashy shooting nights from beyond the arc. I’m taking the Tide.
(6) Texas vs. (11) Virginia Tech | 4:30 p.m.
WINNER: Wofford Hoops. After Buzz Williams ditched Blacksburg for Texas A&M, Virginia Tech nabbed Wofford coach Mike Young. Three years later, it’s a Wofford Hoops reunion as Young and former Terriers players Keve Aluma and Storm Murphy are three of the key cogs in Tech’s ACC title run and second NCAA Tournament appearance in a row. Texas hasn’t been able to score all year and their stellar defense won’t be enough to overcome a balanced VT team that’s surging. Hokies all the way.
(4) Illinois vs. (13) Chattanooga | 6:50 p.m.
WINNER: Exciting Basketball. No matter how this game starts, I assure you it will end in mind-boggling fashion. Illinois has all the talent in the world but only manages to play in close games. Meanwhile, Chattanooga is a very solid mid-major team with the rare athleticism among lower seeds to hang with the Illini. Mocs point guard Malachi Smith is one of the best guards in the country and stands broad at 6-foot-4 and 205 pounds. Shooting guard David Jean-Baptiste is a high-level shot-maker and big man Silvio De Sousa spent a few years at Kansas as a top-40 player out of high school. Chattanooga has the dudes to keep up with Illinois and the Illini will let them. Going to be the most exciting game of the day I think.
(2) Duke vs. (15) Cal-State Fullerton
WINNER: Coach K. If you thought the final regular season game with Mike Krzyzewski was over the top, prepare yourself for a comprehensive worship of him over these next few weeks, starting with the Blue Devils game against CSU-Fullerton. Duke oughta blow them out, which likely means an entire second half’s worth of genuflection for Coach K. They say you should give people their flowers while they can still smell them. Well, Coach K is making sure to sniff every last one.
(6) LSU vs. (11) Iowa State
WINNER: Defense. Iowa State and LSU are two of the best defenses in the NCAA and each rank 90th or lower in offensive efficiency, per Bart Torvik. Both of these programs also started off the season hot in non-conference and were both ranked in the top-15 of the AP Poll in January. Well, their offenses fell off a cliff. This is not a game between two teams trending upwards. The opposite, actually. Expect an ugly one.
(1) Arizona vs. (16) Wright State | 7:27 p.m.
WINNER: Twin Towers. Wright State took down Peter Kiss and Bryant in the First Four and that’s where their NCAA tourney journey will end. They have a solid backcourt but their frontcourt features nobody over 6-foot-9 while Arizona starts 14-feet worth of elite bigs. Azuolas Tubelis and Christian Kook combine for 26.6 points and 13.5 rebounds per game for the Western Wildcats. Tubelis is the skilled scorer in the post while Koloko is the lengthier rim protector and defender, averaging 2.7 blocks per game. ‘Zona’s twin towers will overwhelm Wright State.
(5) Houston vs. (12) UAB | 9:20 p.m.
WINNER: Metrics. You’ll hear all about the metrics, analytics, and stats behind Houston. They rank in the top five of every major college hoops analytics site with top-10 units on offense and defense. Despite a rather lackluster resume and losing two of their top three guards back in December, Kelvin Sampson’s guys haven’t dropped the ball. Sure, they’re a long shot to repeat in the Final Four. But the Cougars are built to beat teams exactly like UAB. They’ll struggle against power conference teams but will take care of business vs. the Blazers. Numbers ain’t lying this time.
(7) Michigan State vs. (10) Davidson | 9:40 p.m.
WINNER: Foster Loyer. No, that’s not your local banker. Foster Loyer is Davidson’s leading scorer at 16.3 points per game, mostly on the back of his 44.5% three-point shooting. A spectacular point guard, right? Not good enough for Tom Izzo apparently. Loyer served as a loyal backup for the Spartans for three years and was slated to finally start as a senior. But Izzo brought in a transfer to take his spot, so Loyer bolted to Davidson. Now, he’s posting better numbers than any Spartan on a Davidson team I believe will beat Michigan State.
(3) Wisconsin vs. (14) Colgate | 9:50 p.m.
WINNER: Guys who look like this:
Approximately 80% of the starters in the Wisconsin-Colgate game look like this fella. Wisconsin’s roster is essentially Johnny Davis plus a bunch of unathletic dudes who make a few threes. Colgate taught its lacrosse team how to shoot threes like Stephen Curry. If the toothpaste company knocks down enough threes, they certainly can win.
(8) Seton Hall vs. (9) TCU | 9:57 p.m.
WINNER: Jamie Dixon. Once upon a time, Jamie Dixon was more or less forced out after a successful run at Pittsburgh. Onto new pastures for Dixon, who now has TCU of all teams in the Big Dance and favored to win a first-round matchup. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh hasn’t finished with a winning record in six years since Dixon’s departure. The Panthers suffered two years of Kevin Stallings and just ended a 11-21 campaign in Jeff Capel’s fourth season. Dixon and the Horned Frogs further twist the knife for Pitt with a win against Seton Hall.
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