NCAA Brackets 2016: Upset Picks for Each Region

Upsets provide the adrenaline rush that makes the NCAA tournament memorable.

Once the first weekend of the tournament gets underway, the drumbeat of games that start early in the day and go late into the night is like a heartbeat for the tournament.

Suddenly, an upset will take place and the tournament moves at warp speed, as all the ramifications of that upset are analyzed, relived, highlighted and replayed.

While there have been many memorable upsets in previous years, and its fairly easy to predict that there will be more of them this year, predicting where they will occur is most challenging.

Defending national champion Duke has not had its best year, yet the Blue Devils remain in everybody's cross hairs.

The Blue Devils are the No. 4 seed in the West region, and they will be playing 13th-seeded North Carolina-Wilmington in the first round in Providence, Rhode Island.

The Blue Devils are 9.5-point favorites according to OddsShark, and that number should open some eyes. Normally, this elite program from the powerful Atlantic Coast Conference would be favorites of 15 points or more in their opening-round game. A 9.5-point line indicates that the Blue Devils are vulnerable.

Duke (23-10) features a powerful trio of Grayson Allen, Brandon Ingram and Luke Kennard leading the way, and all three can score. But Duke does not always play the same kind of defense that fans are used to seeing.

On the other side, North Carolina-Wilmington is a sharp team that has gotten hot at the right time. The Seahawks have won 16 of their last 18 games, and head coach Kevin Keatts will have his team prepared for the Blue Devils. Chris Flemmings is averaging 16.1 points per game, and he can fill it up.

Look for North Carolina-Wilmington to jump out early, survive several Duke surges, and advance to the Round of 32.

Seventh-seeded Iowa will find itself in big trouble against 10th-seeded Temple in the South region.

The Hawkeyes appear to have peaked way too soon this season. Iowa had some impressive victories early on, and it swept the season series against Michigan State with victories in late December and mid-January.

However, after the Hawkeyes started the Big Ten portion of their schedule by winning 10 of the first 11 games, they lost five of their last seven and then flamed out in their opening Big Ten tournament game against a struggling Illinois team.

The Hawkeyes have a pair of talented players in Jarrod Uthoff (18.9 points per game) and Peter Jok (16.2 points per game), but that will not be enough against Temple.

The Owls won 10 of their last 13 games, and they are led by 6'5" guard Quenton DeCosey, who averages 15.6 points per game and can score when the game is on the line.

Temple is playing excellent basketball at this time of the year, and the Owls will get the win as 6.5-point underdogs.

We are not going to ignore the infamous 5-12 line that has brought about so many upsets in the past. While we expect fifth-seeded Maryland to get the best of 12th-seeded South Dakota State, along with the same results for Indiana over Chattanooga and Purdue over Arkansas-Little Rock, look for 12th-seeded Yale to shock fifth-seeded Baylor.

Many observers believe that Baylor has one of the most talented lineups in the tournament, while the Bulldogs are simply not equipped to compete as a result of playing softer competition in the Ivy League. However, Ivy League representatives regularly leave it all on the court in the NCAA tournament.

Yale comes into the tournament having won 17 of its last 18 games, and the Bulldogs have a pair of dependable scorers in Makai Mason and Justin Sears, who are both averaging 15.8 points per game.

The Bears have lost four of their last six games, but they will look at Yale as a small obstacle to be brushed aside. Head coach Scott Drew will say all the right things to his players to keep them prepared, but they won't take the Bulldogs seriously.

Taurean Prince is averaging 15.5 points per game, and he will attempt to turn it on in the final 10 minutes. However, by that time, Yale will have the crowd in Providence convinced that they will see an upset.

Baylor is a six-point favorite in the game, but Yale will get the win and the cover.

---

Sign up and play Bleacher Report's Bracket Challenge now for a chance to win the Ultimate Sports Trip to four events of your choice.  And click here for B/R's Printable Bracket.