Notre Dame vs. Washington State (-2, 133 ½)
Game time: 6:40 p.m. ET
Washington State had a scare Thursday when it found itself tied with Winthrop 29-29 at the half. Winthrop was smaller and less talented, but due to turnovers, it managed to keep the game close.
Wazzou cleaned that up in the second half when the Cougars took over about halfway through that period. The key here is Wazzou started slowing down the play and executing. When the Cougs are at their best, they love to use all of the clock and hit their shots in the last few seconds of the 35.
Wazzou can hit the three ball or work the ball in low on the post with Aron Baynes, who will be a tough matchup. Baynes had 19 against Winthrop along with eight boards.
It could be a battle of wills with the Irish because they love to jack up the score and get into high tempo affairs. Luke Harangody is always a problem in the paint and just about everybody on Notre Dame can shoot the three-pointer.
Notre Dame played well to get by George Mason. Unlike many of the other mid-majors, George Mason doesn’t lack a ton of size and had the talent to hang with some of the bigger schools if it played well. Unfortunately for George Mason, it ran into some cold shooting against a Notre Dame squad that was playing unusually tough defense.
This is a tough matchup to call and could come down to the wire. If Washington State can dictate the pace early, I like its chances. The key for Notre Dame is to hit the three-ball early and try to build to get WSU out of its slower-paced, half-court comfort zone.
Pick: Notre Dame +2
Marquette vs. Stanford (-2 ½, 132 ½)
Game time: 6:45 p.m. ET
Hopefully Stanford enjoyed its game in Round 1 against Cornell. Judging by the way the Cardinal kept celebrating dunks despite a 20-plus point lead, I think they did.
It won’t be as fun for Stanford from here on in after a game against the Ivy League school that looked like NBAers playing middle school kids. Stanford just had way too much, including size, for Cornell.
If the Cardinal don’t forget about that game, they could get stung by Marquette.
Marquette doesn’t have the size that Stanford has with its seven-footers like the Lopez twins, yet somehow the Golden Eagles are a great offensive rebounding team. They always seem to be in the right position and frustrate you madly with put-back points.
The Eagles play great help defense and do a formidable job of limiting bigger opponents in the paint by double and triple teaming. They also like to switch up looks on defense to keep you on your toes.
The other thing Marquette can do is hit the trey from all over the floor if you let it. Guard play will be huge for Stanford for this reason and also so it can hang with Marquette’s transition game. Jerel McNeal leads the way as one of four Golden Eagles who average double digits in points per game.
Pick: Stanford -2 ½
UNLV vs. Kansas (-13 ½, 136)
Game time: 6:50 p.m. ET
This is a matchup of two teams who rolled in the first round and it could be a tougher matchup than you think.
The No. 1 seed Kansas, dusted off Portland State, though the Jayhawks kept it close enough to the 22-point spread in the second half to keep Kansas bettors nervous.
They’ll now face a UNLV squad that lives up to its Runnin’ Rebels name if its first game is any indicator. The Rebs loved grabbing the ball off defensive boards and racing up floor like their shoes are on fire. They caught a speedy Kent State team on its heals more than once and jumped out to a 31-10 lead at the half.
Wink Adams might just be one of the best point guards in the tournament. He can dish with the best of them, score with both hands and his ball control makes UNLV a dangerous squad for the potential upset. He scored 17 against Kent State.
The Rebs won’t have the size advantage they had over Kent State on Saturday, however. They had way too many uncontested rebounds and they were fortunate a nervous Kent State squad came out shooting blanks at 20 percent on field goals and 0-for-7 on three-pointers.
Kansas, on the other hand, shot the lights out against Portland State with over 50 percent field goal shooting and 12-of-25 three-point shooting.
The Jayhawks jumped to the lead early and were able to use plenty of subs to stay fresh. By now you know about Joe Crawford, Mario Chalmers, Darrel Arthur and the rest of this team’s talent so I won’t go into too much more detail.
Pick: UNLV +13 ½
Pittsburgh vs. Michigan State (+2 ½, 131 ½)
Game time: 9:10 p.m. ET
Pitt continued where it left off from the Big East tournament, winning and covering another spread. This time, however, the Panthers did it against a much less talented Oral Roberts team that didn’t play with a whole lot of heart.
Levance Fields was fantastic for Pitt once again, controlling the offense with great playmaking and chipping in with 23 points and seven assists. Pitt can run the floor and is comfortable playing the inside game or the outside game, so the Panthers will be tough.
The biggest improvement from Pitt lately is its defense. The Panthers are making it tough for opponents to score easy buckets on them and when you miss, you have to deal with Sam Young, DeJuan Blair and some decent rebounding guards on the glass. There is a reason Bob Knight chose these guys to win it all.
Michigan State easily handled Temple, but the Owls were a mismatched team. They looked nervous and confused early on as the Spartans switched constantly on defense and Temple clanked one three-pointer after another.
Sparty used its size advantage at both ends of the floor, using screens and rolls to create easy buckets. They won’t have that luxury against a much bigger and more composed Pitt squad that can play far better man-to-man defense.
A big concern here for Michigan State is one that coach Tom Izzo had coming into the tourney: inconsistency.
The Spartans started the game slowly, resulting in a low-scoring first half that played under. They also had an ugly stretch of sloppy play in the second half in which they kept coughing up the ball and allowed Temple to dream of hopes of a comeback before Izzo called a timeout and MSU regrouped.
Pitt plays a full 40 minutes and has talent off the bench, so Michigan State can’t afford the same letdowns against this Big East opponent.
Pick: Pittsburgh -2 ½
Texas A&M vs. UCLA (-10 ½, 125)
Game time: 9:15 p.m. ET
A&M was the first lower seed of the tournament to beat a higher seed when it nipped BYU 67-65. The Aggies played a tough game though and squeaked it out at the end, so they could be tired on Saturday.
Josh Carter had his biggest game of the season with 26 points and Bryan Davis and Joseph Jones had huge games in the paint. Davis and Jones will need to be just as sharp Saturday because UCLA has all kinds of size.
UCLA made quick work of 16-seed Mississippi Valley State in the first round in a 70-29 win. The most impressive number might be the Bruins’ 20 assists in that game, which shows you the depth this team has. The Bruins are a talent-loaded team with super freshman Kevin Love leading the way.
Everywhere you turn the Pac-10 champions are tough to beat on the floor.
Pick: Texas A&M +10 1/2
Raji |