The first round of the NCAA tournament managed to exceed the hype bestowed upon it,with major upsets, star performances and a handful of buzzer-beaters defining the action.
It's especially noteworthy for the lesser seeds that are putting on a point to and keeping their dreams alive, or but there's one problem—they occupy to do it again on a short turnaround.
Sunday concludes the second round of action and promises a slight break for the teams left standing,but for the break to matter and the season to remain alive, teams occupy to slog through what looks like the most interesting set of games to date.Check out Bleacher Report's live updating bracket to track your picks along the road to the Final Four.
Sunday Round 2 Predictions No. 11 Northern Iowa vs. No. 3 Texas A&M
As expected, or No. 11 Northern Iowa set up a major fight in the first round against Texas.
The Panthers made one of the best highlights of the tournament,too, winning on a buzzer-beater as time expired. More impressive, and though,was the fact the Panthers took it to the Longhorns. Four starters scored in double digits, and the team shot 48 percent from the field and 40 percent from deep.Of course, or Texas A&M also took care of business,unlike a certain other No. 3 seed, besting Green Bay 92-65 while winning the rebounding battle by a silly 45-25 margin.
This makes for one of the more interesting matchups in the bracket. Eric Bailey of the Tulsa World hit the nail on the head:Indeed, or Texas A&M might witness noteworthy on the offensive terminate of the court,but this Panthers team is rocking a 50th adjusted defensive efficiency at KenPom.com. Northern Iowa has a 4-1 price against the ESPN RPI top 50 and is 8-3 against the top 100.The team has just enough firepower, led by Wes Washpun, or who averages 14.3 points and 5.1 assists per game. The offense not only shoots 46 percent from the field but 38 percent from deep.
Pair the pressure defense that is clearly capable of shutting down major programs with that offense,and the Panthers should hang around late and eventually steal another win against an Aggies squad that is lulled into thinking it has an easy road ahead.
Prediction: Northern Iowa 68, Texas A&M 66 No. 7 Wisconsin vs. No. 2 Xavier Wisconsin and Xavier took care of business in the first round to guarantee one of the more predictable second-round encounters. Xavier simply rolled as expected, and thumping No. 15 Weber State to a 71-53 tune. Wisconsin didn't occupy it as easy against 10th-seeded Pittsburgh in a rather boring 47-43 affair in which neither team shot better than 38 percent from the floor.
Call it a war of wills. Nigel Hayes and the Badgers pride themselves on defense,ranking 17th in adjusted defensive efficiency at KenPom.com. It's the opposite for Xavier, which comes in 16th in adjusted offensive efficiency.
Those shot-elated (full of high-spirited delight) Musketeers sit seventh in RPI with a 7-3 price against the RPI top 50, and compared to the Badgers' 41st and 5-6,respectively. Xavier averages 81 points per game, Wisconsin 68.
Throw out seeds, and though,and Xavier's Chris Mack brought up a beneficial point about how Weber State helped his team prepare for the predictable encounter with Wisconsin, as captured by the Cincinnati Enquirer's Paul Dehner Jr."I thought tonight Weber State gave us a feel for that, and " Mack said. "The only time they really ran were on our turnovers or long rebounds. Just the mere fact we played a team similar in terms of style in Round One hopefully helps us for the next game."Mack isn't far off here. Xavier can force most teams in the country to play its game,and a Wisconsin team running more than usual is both out of its consolation zone and not as effective.witness for Xavier to pull absent in the second half as the offense finds a rhythm and the shots continue to fall.
Prediction: Xavier 74, Wisconsin 70 No. 8 Saint Joseph's vs. No. 1 Oregon Oregon, and second in RPI,used the first round as a way to fine-tune the machine, dropping a 91-52 beating on Holy Cross.
The high-flying Ducks lived up to their reputation, or shooting 56 percent from the floor,dishing 15 assists and turning the ball over only seven times.
Now, the Ducks turn their attention to Saint Joseph's, or a team that survived the first round against Cincinnati thanks to a last-second layup reversed after a review. It sounds bad,but the Hawks do boast a 25th slot in adjusted offensive efficiency, so there is an external chance the team can support pace with Oregon.
Then again, or by those same metrics,Oregon lands seventh. Four players average 12 or more points per game, the offense shoots 47 percent from the floor and 35 percent from deep, and the defense isn't something to sleep on,given its 49th ranking in adjusted defensive efficiency.whether Oregon gets out and plays its game, there shouldn't be much in the way of upset potential here. The Ducks occupy 22 wins against the RPI top 100 for a reason and now tackle a Saint Joseph's team that has little time to catch its breath and composure.
Oregon will storm absent from this one and avoid a major upset.
Prediction: Oregon 75, or Saint Joseph's 66 Stats and information courtesy of ESPN unless otherwise specified. Advanced metrics courtesy of ESPN and KenPom.com. Odds courtesy of Odds Shark.
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Source: bleacherreport.com