
NCAA Bracket 2016: Updated Schedule and Predictions After Wednesday's First Four
The First Four is officially over after Holy Cross defeated Southern and Michigan took down Tulsa on Wednesday night. Holy Cross and Michigan join Florida Gulf Coast and Wichita State as the First Four winners, and they'll round out the first-round bracket of 64 teams beginning on Thursday.
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Here is the updated bracket of first-round games after Wednesday's First Four games:
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The full schedule for Thursday can be found here.
Predictions
Three of these four teams are going to meet an unfortunate fate in the first round. Holy Cross, a team that's won 15 games all year, will face No. 1 seed Oregon in Spokane. Michigan, who went 6-of-25 from three against Tulsa, faces No. 6 Notre Dame and one of the best offenses in the country. Florida Gulf Coast, while a physical team, meets No. 1 North Carolina and star forward Brice Johnson in Raleigh.
But then there's Wichita State, who is taking on an Arizona team that's had its worst season since 2011-2012, when it won 23 games and didn't make the NCAA tournament. At 25-8 this year, that's just a testament to how good the program's been over the past few years.
Wichita State's backcourt, though, could be an absolute nightmare for the Wildcats. Ron Baker and Fred VanVleet are capable of taking over any game, and they showed that on Tuesday night against Vanderbilt.
With the game tied 30-30 at halftime against Vanderbilt, Baker and VanVleet combined for the Shockers' first 15 points of the half and sparked a Wichita State 16-0 run. Wichita State outscored Vanderbilt 40-20 in the second half of that game to win by 20.
Its defense flexed its muscles on Tuesday night as well when it held Vanderbilt—a team that averaged close to 76 points per game this season—to just 50.
The Shockers will have just as stiff a test against Arizona. ESPN Stats & Info showed how the two teams stack up:
Wichita State is a team that forces its opponents to play its style by controlling the pace with its defense and efficient offense. That kind of play is frustrating to the opposition, and Arizona will certainly be exposed to that in the first round.
Wichita State will be too much for Arizona to handle.
Prediction: No. 16 Holy Cross falls to No. 1 Oregon; No. 11 Michigan falls to No. 6 Notre Dame; No. 16 Florida Gulf Coast falls to North Carolina; and No. 11 Wichita State upsets No. 6 Arizona
Stats courtesy of Sports-Reference.com.



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