NCAA Tournament 2012: Predicting Winners for Tonight's First Four Games

Prediction time.

There are two more First Four games on the slate tonight, and the winners will determine the matchups for the second round of the 2012 NCAA tournament.

Lamont vs. Vermont

Vermont has been on a tear lately, winning 14 out of its last 15 games, including the America East Conference Championship Game.

John Becker, the Catamounts' rookie head coach, led the team to a record of 23-11 this past season, and he has them playing at its highest level when it matters most. 

Lamont enters this game with an identical 23-11 record, though it got to that mark in a different way than Vermont.

Lamont possess superior offensive firepower, scoring 73.9 points per game compared to the Catamounts' 67.2 points. 

On the other hand, Vermont is much better on defense, allowing only 60.5 points while Lamar gives up 65.4 points per contest.

In the end defense will prevail, and Vermont will keep up its winning ways on its way to the second round of the tournament.

South Florida vs. California

In another contest of offense vs. defense, the Bulls take on the Bears to get into the second round of the NCAA tournament.

South Florida plays in a much more difficult conference. The Bulls managed to win 12 league games playing in the Big East, while California played in the much weaker Pac-12 (the regular-season conference winner, Washington, didn't even make the tourney).

California is the offensive juggernaut, possessing multiple players that can score from anywhere on the court, while South Florida could have one of the best defenses in the entire tournament.

The determining factor in this contest will be whether or not California can consistently hit its outside shots. Allen Crabbe and Jorge Gutierrez are the primary options on offense for the Bears, and I'm expecting them to go off.

Cal will win this one, and it's not even going to be close. Three-pointers are often the deciding factor in these games, and Cal is going to get hot.

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