East Region: Washington, D.C.
1 Duke (31-5)*ACC Champion* vs. 4 Virginia Tech (26-8)
-Friday 9:39 PM CBS
–Line: Duke -7.5
-Total: (144.5)
DUKE in Columbia, SC:
- First Round: 85-62 over (16) N.Dakota State
- Second Round: 77-76 over (9) UCF
VT in San Jose, CA:
- First Round: 66-52 over (13) St. Louis
- Second Round: 67-58 (12) Liberty
Past Meetings:
- 2/26: 77-72 VT (Duke w/o Zion)
Predicted Outcome in DDIV bracket:
- 1 Duke over 4 VT
Prediction:
Duke 87
Virginia Tech 69
3 LSU (28-6) vs. 2 Michigan State *Big Ten Champion* (30-6)
-Friday 7:09 CBS
-Line: MSU -6
-Total: (148.5)
LSU in Jacksonville, FL:
- First Round: 79-74 over (14) Yale
- Second Round: 69-67 over (6) Maryland
MSU in Des Moines, Iowa:
- First Round: 76-65 over (15) Bradley
- Second Round: 70-50 over (10) Minnesota
Predicted Outcome in DDIV Bracket:
- 2 Michigan State over 3 LSU
Prediction:
Michigan State 77
LSU 67
West Region: Anaheim, CA
1 Gonzaga (32-3) vs. 4 Florida State*ACC Runner-Up*(29-7)
-Thursday 7:09 CBS
-Line: Gonzaga -6.5
-Total: (147.5)
Zags in Salt Lake City, UT:
- First Round: 87-49 over (16) Farleigh Dickinson
- Second Round: 83-71 over (9) Baylor
FSU in Hartford, CT:
- First Round: 76-69 over (13) Vermont
- Second Round: 90-62 over (12) Murray State
Last Season in Sweet 16 in LA, CA:
- FSU over 4 Zags 75-60
Prediction in DDIV Bracket: FSU over Zags
Prediction:
Gonzaga 66
Florida State 72
3 Texas Tech (28-6) vs. 2 Michigan*Big Ten Runner-Up, Returning National Champion*(30-6)
-Thursday 9:39 CBS
-Line: Michigan -1.5
Total: (126.5)
TTU in Tulsa, OK
- First Round: 72-57 over (14) Northern Kentucky
- Second Round: 78-58 over (6) Buffalo
MICH in Des Moines, IA
- First Round: 74-55 over (15) Montana
- Second Round: 64-49 over (10) Florida
Points Allowed Per Game
- Texas Tech: 59.2 (3rd in NCAA)
- Michigan: 58.2 (2nd in NCAA)
Prediction in DDIV Bracket: 2 Michigan over 3 Texas Tech
Prediction:
Michigan 80
Texas Tech 67
Note: Top Half of DDIV Bracket 100% so far!
South Region: Louisville, KY
1 Virginia (31-3) vs. 12 Oregon *Pac-12 Tournament Champion*(25-12)
–Thursday 9:57 TBS
-Line: Virginia -8.5
-Total: (119)
UVA in Columbia, SC:
- First Round: 71-56 over (16) Gardner-Webb
- Second Round: 63-51 over (9) Oklahoma
ORE in San Jose, CA:
- First Round: 72-54 over (5) Wisconsin
- Second Round: 73-54 over (12) UC-Irvine
Points Allowed Per Game:
- Virginia: 55.0 (best in NCAA)
- Oregon: 62.5 (11th in NCAA)
Prediction in DDIV Bracket:
- 1 Virginia over 12 Oregon
Prediction:
Virginia 47
Oregon 59
Reasons for Changing Pick: My feelings that Virginia will choke are confirmed. A nice win over Oklahoma in the second Round. After seeing #1 overall seed Virginia fall in the first round in 2018 has left a sour taste in my mouth. I feel strongly that this is not a championship team. They deserved the #1 seed in this region, but I never saw them as a faithful final four pick. I see Oregon as a very, talented, experienced, strong squad that is just too hot right now for the VA Cavaliers to overcome in Louisville Thursday night. No one does late night like a Pac-12 Champion. Oregon is my new “Cinderella.” I’m on board. I think Virginia’s path gets cut short one round shorter than I’d initially thought.
3 Purdue (25-9) vs. 2 Tennessee (31-5) *SEC Runner-Up*
-Thursday 7:29 TBS
-Line: Tennessee -1.5
Total: (146.5)
PUR in Hartford, CT:
- First Round: 61-48 over (14) Old Dominion
- Second Round: 87-61 over (6) Villanova
TENN in Columbus, OH
- First Round: 77-70 over (15) Colgate
- Second Round: 83-77 (OT) over (10) Iowa
Predicted Outcome in DDIV Bracket:
- 7 Cincinnati over 3 Purdue
Prediction:
Tennessee 74
Purdue 83
Note: 7th-seeded Cincinnati was upset in the first round by 10th seeded Iowa 79-72. Thus, my south region was already busted in the first round. Thankfully, the rest of my bracket has held up pretty well. Cincinnati was a red-hot team coming off an American Athletic Conference championship over the highly-ranked Houston Cougars. I liked that Cincinnati was playing de facto home games all the way to the final 4 in Columbus and Louisville. I chose them to win won I would consider a weak region. Unfortunately for my sake, Iowa proved to be tougher than Cincinnati on Thursday, March 22 in Columbus. Iowa also put up a valiant comeback effort to send Tennessee to overtime in the second round. I feel that Purdue has emerged as the favorite in the region. They look very strong on both ends of the floor. I am also a big Carsen Edwards fan. I would like to see him sniping shots in the NBA one day. Boiler up! I think Purdue wins the South Region.
Midwest Region: Kansas City, MO
1 North Carolina (29-6) vs. 5 Auburn*SEC Champion*(28-9)
–Friday 7:29 TBS
-Line: UNC -4.5
-Total (161.5)
UNC is in Columbus, OH:
- First Round: 88-73 over (16) Iona
- Second Round: 81-59 (9) Washington
AUB in Salt Lake City, UT:
- First Round: 78-77 over (12) New Mexico State
- Second Round: 89-75 over (4) Kansas
Predicted outcome in DDIV Bracket
- 5 Auburn over 1 UNC
Prediction:
UNC 78
Auburn 84
This pick has been and still is very difficult for me. I am very high on both of these teams. Coming off dominant SEC Tournament performance from the 5th seed, I saw Auburn as a real threat to bust the Midwest bracket. North Carolina is clearly one of the best teams in the country. Upsetting this team is a tall task for everyone. And if Auburn is able to pull it off, it would certainly show that they belonged in the top tier of teams all along. I thought they deserved a 3 or 4 seed. They were disrespected in my mind. But they have answered the call. A stingy New Mexico State team took them to the very wire in round 1. Did this worry me? Not at all. That team seemed to have a ton of heart…and talent too! Many of these mid-major schools in the tournament with lower seeds have had outstanding seasons and are extremely respectable to all top level schools. And Auburn may not have been their sharpest mentally in this game, but their shooting may bail them out of not playing perfect even against UNC. And they survived that scare from the Aggies. Regardless of the fact that they gave them a chance, Auburn lived to see another day. A lot of pressure had to have been let off for the Tigers after being that close to being knocked out in the first round by the WAC tournament champion. They certainly looked loser and more in-sync against Kansas. They have to play better defense against the Tar Heels. And UNC is great, but I think Auburn plays sharp and their shooting prevails in the end.
3 Houston (33-3) vs. 2 Kentucky (29-6)
-Friday 9:59, TBS
-Line: Kentucky -2.5
-Total: (135.5)
UH in Columbus, OH:
- First Round: 84-55 over (14) Georgia State
- Second Round: 74-59 over (11) Ohio State
UK in Jacksonville, FL:
- First Round: 79-44 over (15) Abilene Christian
- Second Round: 62-56 over (7) Wofford
DDIV Bracket Prediction:
- 2 Kentucky over 11 Ohio State
Prediction:
Kentucky 58
Houston 66
Reasons for changing pick: Ohio State showed toughness in gritting out a quality tight win over the 6th-seeded Cyclones of Iowa State. I’ve been telling folks they could! I thought they even could beat Houston! But it was clear that Houston was superior and showed how hot they can get from the outside as well. Houston is the real deal and I doubted them. Never was a big fan of Kentucky’s offense. They turn it over too much to beat a team like Houston, or North Carolina, or Auburn. Houston is strong on both ends.
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