The Round of Sixty Four
Bold denotes team selected to advance
Duke vs North Dakota State: Duke was an obvious choice here. If this were football, I would have made North Dakota State my decision. It’s not, but let’s be honest, if Zion Williamson was a tight end for Duke, that could even change the conversation. One team has Zion on the roster and the other doesn’t. Duke wins, 85-62.
Virginia Commonwealth University vs University of Central Florida: UCF was my first upset pick that I decided on when I selected teams to represent my bracket. This was the first NCAA Tournament win for UCF and I chose them because they have a player with the real name of Tacko Fall. Any real version of a name close to “taco” is a winner. Also, the guy makes other basketball players look like they are of average height. UCF wins, 73-58.
Mississippi State vs Liberty: I realized after submitting my March Madness bracket that I picked every team that was the twelfth seed. I really didn’t have much of a reason to pick Liberty here, but I did when just comparing points scored versus points against on this match up. Liberty made me believe. This was also the first NCAA Tournament win for a school. Caleb Homesley scored 30 points, 22 of which came in the second half alone. Liberty wins, 80-76.
Virginia Tech vs Saint Louis: I rolled with the favorite here. However, this was the first win in twelve years for VT in NCAA Tournament play. VT mostly the entire game behind Nickeil Alexander-Walker and his 20 points. VT wins, 66-52.
Maryland vs Belmont: Another favorite that I selected, but it was the first one that I almost regret. I have a small family bias with Maryland since that is the college team that my father supports. Besides that, my hands are untied. Belmont would have gotten the upset win too without the defensive play at the final stages of the game from Darryl Morsell. Maryland survived Belmont, 79-77.
Louisiana State University vs Yale: There was never a doubt in my eyes that LSU was going to win this game. Yale did make the game a lot more interesting for my comfort, however. This game came down to free throws in the final seconds of the game from Skylar Mays. LSU survived Yale, 79-74.
Louisville vs Minnesota: This was the first official game to kick off March Madness 2019 and the first loss I took my bracket. From game one, my instinct failed me. No perfect bracket over here. I really thought that I wouldn’t have too much to worry about with Louisville in the first round. That’s a hard pass. Louisville was even up 24 points on Minnesota, then lost. Minnesota’s Gale Kalscheur erased a 24 point deficit with his team to win by a margin of 10. Minnesota wins, 86-76.
Michigan State vs Bradley: This was a pick that I felt was a lock. MSU has a good basketball program against an unproven Bradley in NCAA Tournament play. Cassius Winston scored 26 points and MSU got the win, 76-65.
Virginia vs Gardner-Webb: In every possible match up between these two schools, I am picking Virginia. The simple reasoning is that I don’t know a single thing about Gardner-Webb. Virginia advances, 71-56, even though Gardner-Webb led a decent portion of this game.
Ole Miss vs Oklahoma: Oklahoma was all over Ole Miss the entire game. There wasn’t a moment when they weren’t in the driver’s seat. Rashard Odomes and Christian James accounted for 40 of Oklahoma’s points against Ole Miss. Oklahoma wins, 95-72.
Oregon vs Wisconsin: I go 2-2 with my twelfth seed picks as Oregon got the upset win against Wisconsin, 72-54. Payton Pritchard scored 19 points. Once again, if there was any “science” I found between upset picks in my March Madness bracket, it was the twelfth seed based on points for and points against comparisons. Oregon made me feel as much of a genius that Chip Kelly was once called in college sports, except I’m aware that I benefit from a crap shoot selection process.
Kansas State vs UC Irvine: Another pick where a school gets their first NCAA Tournament win in history. Outside of the twelfth seed science that I explained, there are a generous amount of picks I had selected who were just flat out upsets. Again, this is my instinct speaking for me this year. UC Irvine was a special pick and Evan Leonard sparked the run to get his school the win, 70-64.
Villanova vs Saint Mary’s: This is where I turned my back on my previous brackets. I told you that I am a glutton for punishment. Villanova won the championship in brackets I’ve completed before, but this season, they just didn’t impress me. I didn’t think that Saint Mary’s was a far cry away from winning, but they did not. Phil Booth scored 20 points and closed out Saint Mary’s, 61-57.
Purdue vs Old Dominion: This was a game that I made a comfortable pick on. Purdue led most of this game as well. Carsen Edwards scored 26 points and Purdue won 61-48.
Cincinnati vs Iowa: This game was more of a toss-up in my opinion. Cincinnati had a slow fading lead in the second half and Iowa showed they were able to capitalize. Luka Garza scored 20 points in a rally over Cincinnati, 79-72.
Tennessee vs Colgate: I know about Tennessee sports programs. I don’t know a thing about Colgate in particular. Tennessee was the easy pick for me here, however, it wasn’t a certainty. Like Gardner-Webb, the unknown led in this game. Tennessee regained the lead and held on to win behind Admiral Schofield’s 19 points, 77-70.
Gonzaga vs Fairleigh Dickinson: I had the same feeling here that I did when I picked Duke to win their game. I don’t know anything about Fairleigh Dickinson. I know that Gonzaga is usually great at college basketball. Boom, a decision made. Gonzaga torched Fairleigh Dickinson, 87-49.
Syracuse vs Baylor: I made a decision that really could have went either way. Syracuse is one of the college basketball teams that I was raised to know that they are stellar. However, comparing the teams, I ultimately felt that Baylor had a defensive advantage. Baylor exploited Syracuse’s defense and connected with three-point opportunities to a 78-69 win.
Marquette vs Murray State: Upon looking at just the teams playing, I would have originally selected Marquette, but I didn’t. Once again, my twelfth seed science worked and I’m 3-3 as Murray State got the upset win. Ja Morant may be the player that I look at as the story of March Madness not named Zion Williamson. He had a triple-double in Murray State’s 83-64 win.
Florida State vs Vermont: Vermont played hard against FSU, but the 50% average from three-point range wasn’t enough to get by. Mfiondu Kabengele had a double-double as FSU separated from Vermont to win, 76-69.
Buffalo vs Arizona State: Buffalo went off on Arizona State in what I thought was going to be a closer game. Buffalo gained an early first-half lead and never looked back en route to a win, 91-74.
Texas Tech vs Northern Kentucky: This game was another comfortable pick for me. No way that I wasn’t taking Texas Tech here. Jarrett Culver had 29 points and Texas Tech never looked back after regaining their lead in the first half to win, 72-57.
Nevada vs Florida: I was wrong here. I’m sure that people didn’t think Florida was going to be an upset win. I didn’t think Nevada was going to run away with the game either, but I did pick them to win this game. Florida seemed to be in control for the thick of the game, but Nevada almost made the comeback. Florida held off Nevada however, 70-61.
Michigan vs Montana: This was an easy pick. I was going Michigan here, not a doubt. Michigan had a healthy lead the entire game as Charles Matthews’ stat line showed a double-double. Michigan wins, 74-55.
North Carolina vs Iona: I’ll put it this way…”Iona know if anyone picked North Carolina to lose.” I don’t think anyone did. Is that dad joke bad enough? Probably. To be fair, Iona did lead North Carolina at half. North Carolina reclaimed that lead and the win, 88-73.
Utah State vs Washington: Yeah, I probably should have picked Washington to win this game. Guess who has two thumbs and decided not to! Me, the answer is me. Noah Dickerson records a double-double. Washington gets their first NCAA Tournament win in eight years, 78-61.
Auburn vs New Mexico State: This is a part of my twelfth seed science I described earlier on, but this is my heart breaker for the round of sixty-four. I’m 3-4 in my twelfth seed theory with Auburn surviving New Mexico State, 78-77. Terrell Brown missed two of three free throws that cost New Mexico State the game. Like I said…heart breaker.
Kansas vs Northeastern: This was another one of those instinctual upset picks that tends to sneak into my bracket. Shouldn’t have done that. Kansas is a powerhouse in college basketball and I knew that. I decided to go against the grain in a “but what if I’m right” feeling. I wasn’t. Not even close. Dedric Lawson had a double-double as Kansas dominated the second half and won, 87-53.
Iowa State vs Ohio State: I went with Iowa State because when I think of a tough, athletic college, Iowa State remains a constant. I almost nailed that pick as well, but Ohio State marginally pulled away to a 62-59 victory.
Houston vs Georgia State: I decided not to get too big for my britches on this pick. Houston seemed comfortable and I made my decision. Houston got the lead and never lost it to an 84-55 win.
Wofford vs Seton Hall: Okay, so Wofford was going to be my story of March Madness. I was elated to see that Wofford got the win against Seton Hall. Fletcher Magee set the Division I record for three-pointers and accounted for 24 points in Wofford’s 84-68 win.
Kentucky vs Abilene Christian: Kentucky was my final easy pick of the round of sixty-four. Kentucky destroyed Abilene Christian the entire game, start to finish to a 79-44 win.
Keeping score, in the round of sixty-four, I went 22-10. It could have been a lot worse, but I’ll take that as a win in such a big field going off of my gut instincts and ignoring reason in some games. My lone observation is that West Virginia University didn’t make the NCAA Tournament this year. Rightfully so, they had a bad season. Let’s dig a little bit deeper into the break of the March Madness tournament so far, the round of thirty-two.
