WVU vs. Duke (-3 ½, 147)
Game time: 2:10 p.m.
When Gerald Henderson sliced through the lane and dropped a layup with 11 seconds to go against Belmont, Dukie lovers everywhere breathed a sigh of relief while the Cinderella lovers of the world sagged in disappointment.
We nearly had a monstrous upset that would go down in history but even the support of country star Vince Gill couldn’t help these boys from Tennessee.
Belmont put up a fearless effort against the 2-seeded Blue Devils and made timely threes to keep this one close. It was not to be, though if Duke doesn’t get its three-point shooting going, it might not last past the second round.
Not only did Duke go 6-for-21 from downtown, but there was another big concern: the Blue Devils ran out of gas at the end of this game. They started making bad turnovers and shots were falling short of the rim due to tired legs. It also showed on defense when Alex Renfroe repeatedly marched through the lane and made shots.
West Virginia is a high scoring squad that can hurt you with the three-ball if you can’t respond. The Mountaineers finally had someone other than Joe Alexander step up against Arizona. Alex Ruoff scored 21 and Da’Sean Butler had 19.
West Virginia should see more pressure on the outside from Duke, but I have to wonder for how long if those legs get tired again in the second half.
Pick: Duke -3 ½
Kansas State vs. Wisconsin (-4 ½, 131)
Game time: 4:20 p.m.
Kansas State is going to be a tough team to beat. The Wildcats showed that in their win over USC Thursday.
They are a tough rebounding team at both ends of the floor and they are full of talent with guys like Michael Beasley. Bill Walker also stepped up for the Cats in the first half especially while Beasley was being closely guarded. Walker finished with 22 and Beasley had 23.
From the get-go it looked like K-State wanted this one more than USC. They were on the floor for balls, stealing offensive rebounds and playing intense defense. USC couldn’t match the tenacity and it never really felt like the Trojans threatened.
Wisconsin is a better defensive team and unlike USC, it doesn’t rank worst in its conference in offensive boards. The Badgers started slowly in their Round 1 matchup against CS Fullerton, but regrouped in the second half to become the tough-nosed defensive squad we’ve seen all season.
This should be a great matchup with two squads playing tight defense right now.
Pick: Kansas State +4 ½
Purdue vs. Xavier (-3, 130)
Game time: 4:40 p.m. ET
Even though Xavier beat Georgia by 11 points, don’t let the score fool you. The Musketeers had to claw from behind in the second half and they only extended the lead to double digits at the end of the game on garbage time free throws.
They could show signs of tired legs against Purdue. The refs let these teams play and Georgia was a gritty opponent that made Xavier dive all over the floor for loose balls and play tough defense. The Musketeers had to earn everything they got.
Xavier is an athletic team inside and it has a speedy transition game where the club loves to grab rebounds off defensive boards and race you up floor for a bucket. Purdue should match up well with the Musketeers there, but Xavier poses some other problems.
Josh Duncan is a 6-foot-9 forward with great dribbling and shooting skills who is painfully tough to guard. Burell is also a force on defense as the A-10 defensive player of the year and anchors a speedy defense that can close on you in a hurry.
If you’re thinking this young Purdue squad might be intimidated though, forget it. The Boilers looked more like a senior-laden team than the one that started four freshmen in its opener against Baylor.
Purdue came out firing, shooting 50 percent in the first half and it had Baylor scrambling. The Boilers were scoring all over the court, nailing treys and beating Baylor inside.
The biggest difference against Xavier though, will be its size. Baylor is a guard-heavy team that Purdue clearly overmatched in the paint and in overall size. Xavier doesn’t give up that edge and Purdue won’t enjoy many easy deuces inside nor the advantage on the boards it had against Baylor.
The Boilers might have the advantage when it comes to freshness. They jumped out to a huge lead on the Bears early and were able to sub in plenty throughout the game to keep legs fresh.
They’ll need those legs on defense against Xavier. A big key will be not allowing Xavier to get into a run-and-gun situation.
In the Musketeers’ two losses to St. Joe’s recently, both were low-scoring affairs. Georgia also played fantastic D against Xavier in the first half in the Round 1 matchup when the Dawgs led by double digits at the half.
Pick: Xavier
Raji |