(Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images)
College basketball was at its finest today when the madness of March kicked off at 12 pm Eastern time. There were no surprises on the first day of the NCAA tournament. However, there were a few close calls.
The best days of the tourney are always the first four days, and today was no exception. Nova had the biggest scare of the day when American opened a 14-point lead late in the second half. Memphis was down by six with four minutes left, and Gonzaga was down by 11. However, the better team won all three games.
The most anticipated game for me was UCLA vs. VCU. I have personally seen VCU play this year and was very aware of how they play and what they do. I picked them to beat Duke a few years ago, and I watched in joy as Eric Maynor singlehandedly beat J.J. Redick's team. I picked them to beat UCLA this year, and had they made a few free throws down at the end of the game, they would have won.
The game that might have surprised people today is the Western Kentucky vs. Illinois game. However, it was no surprise to me because I picked them last year and I picked them this year. Illinois was one of the most overrated teams in this tourney, along with Duke and UNC.
As Friday's games are hours away from starting, here are a few predictions. I think tomorrow will go as planned with only a few major upsets. I think Utah St. will stun a lot of people when they edge out Marquette behind their three-point shooting and post presence.
Look for Wisconsin to upset Florida St. However, that should not be considered an upset because Wisconsin is the better team. The only other upset of the day will be Temple over a highly overrated Arizona St. team.
Looking further in the Tourney, look for West Virginia to storm through the West Region into the Final Four, going through Wake to make it. Look for Utah St. to move into the Sweet 16, beating Mizzou to get there.
In a huge stunner, look for an underrated Tennessee team to stun the nation when they beat Pitt in the second round and then Xavier. Maybe the biggest stunner of them all will be when LSU beats UNC in the second round, only to get blown out by Gonzaga.
Look for Syracuse to beat Oklahoma and face Gonzaga to go to the Final Four, where Gonzaga's length will prove too much for the Orange.
Final four: Gonzaga, UConn, West Virginia, and Nova, where UConn and Gonzaga will face off in the finals as a rematch of the overtime thriller a few months ago!
Let's not be so fast to hand UNC the title. With Ty Lawson's toe injury, his coming back to the lineup will cost them a shot at the title, while Psycho T will have nothing to combat LSU's length inside. So when only two No. 1s remain on Monday (UConn and Louisville), don't be shocked!
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