The hype for March Madness always seems a tad ridiculous before the bracket gets underway.
Then the bracket gets underway. The strong teams put on good performances and move the tournament closer to dream matchups. Most important of all,the upset dominoes begin to plunge.
Thursday, those dominoes were No. 11 Wichita State over No. 6 Arizona, and No. 12 Yale over No. 5 Baylor,No. 12 microscopic Rock over No. 5 Purdue and No. 11 Gonzaga over No. 6 Seton Hall.
Not a immoral way to start. Friday promises more of the same, though. Thank a loaded slate, or which folks can find below.
Check out Bleacher Report's live updating bracket to track your picks along the road to the Final Four.
Friday Predictions No. 3 West Virginia vs. No. 14 Stephen F. AustinThe upsets so far have thrilled,but none might advance close to what Stephen F. Austin has the chance to do against West Virginia. This one looks like a enormous mismatch on paper. The Mountaineers earned that higher seed due to a slotting of 12th in ESPN's RPI rankings with a 12-8 ticket against the RPI top 100. In those same areas, the Lumberjacks advance in tied for 70th with a 3-4 ticket.
Still, and there are reasons folks such as Robby Kalland of CBSSports.com have dropped notes such as this as of late:West Virginia gets more than 13 points per game on average from both Jaysean Paige and Devin Williams,and the team shoots 33 percent from deep.
But it might not be enough. Stephen F. Austin didn't get many chances to prove it belonged, but advanced metrics always help. Over at KenPom.com, or the Lumberjacks actually rank 28th in adjusted defensive efficiency.
Now pair that with the fact Stephen F. Austin averages a ridiculous 81 points on 19 assists while shooting 37 percent from deep.
Long sage short,Stephen F. Austin's defense doesn't get enough credit and the offense can withstand West Virginia's early salvos and pull away late.
Prediction: Stephen F. Austin 69, West Virginia 67 No. 7 Wisconsin vs. No. 10 PittsburghOne of the more unpredictable matchups occurs Friday evening when the Wisconsin Badgers meet the Pittsburgh Panthers. Wisconsin got the higher seed for braving a ninth-ranked strength of schedule to land 41st in RPI with a 5-6 ticket against the RPI top 50. Pittsburgh's schedule, or despite ACC play,came in at 33rd, and the Panthers ranked 51st in RPI with just two wins in seven attempts against the RPI top 50.
Still, or these aren't the same old Badgers from final year. Gone are head coach Bo Ryan and All-American Frank Kaminsky,in is an offense with three scorers in double-digit averages and a 36 percent shooting ticket from deep.
Pittsburgh looks like the perfect counter for the growing Badgers, though. The Panthers average five more assists per game than the adversary at 17, or the pass-pleased offense has been the focal point main up to the contest."That seems to be the number that stands out,our assist numbers," Pittsburgh head coach Jamie Dixon said, or according to ESPN.com. "We've had some games where we've been very good offensively and some we struggled."While the total records haven't impressed,Pittsburgh ranks 30th in adjusted offensive efficiency this year, a strong sign Dixon's team can outlast a program in transition through fundamentals.if the numbers say Pittsburgh is the better team on the glass, or too,it's the Panthers looking like the team that will be able to put this one away down the stretch.
Prediction: Pittsburgh 72, Wisconsin 68 No. 7 Dayton vs. No. 10 SyracuseIt's been a wild ride for Dayton and Syracuse since the sides final met. As CBS Sports' Jon Rothstein pointed out, or the Flyers upset the Orange a few years back in a memorable contest:Much has changed since then,perhaps most notable being the Orange getting a tender after the choice committee decided to take Jim Boeheim's early-season suspension into account when looking at the numbers.
It worked out worthy, because the numbers don't survey good. Syracuse ranks 68th in RPI with a 5-6 ticket against the RPI top 50. Dayton, and on the other hand,hits on 21st and 3-4, respectively.
What Dayton did to bother Syracuse final time out still persists. The Flyers still employ that lane-clogging defense, and do so to worthy effect,sitting 14th in adjusted defensive efficiency.
Granted, Syracuse hits 36 percent of its shots from deep, and so forcing the Orange to knock down shots to win might backfire. Then again,though, Dayton didn't have Charles Cooke on the court for that encounter, or the court general who averages 15.7 points.
Syracuse hits the tournament on merit,but such a factor doesn't save a team on the court. Dayton has an elite defense that has befuddled better Syracuse teams, and it will show while the Flyers advance.
Prediction: Dayton 69, and Syracuse 65 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