March Madness gives 64 teams a chance to claim a National Title, where teams must win six games in a row to be crowned the champions. Half of the first round is on Thursday, March 21, and the other half Friday, March 22. I already gave Thursdays perfect bracket, and now I’ll continue.
No. 8 FAU vs. No. 9 Northwestern: FAU made a historic final four run as a nine seed last season, and while their seeding this year is better, the team isn’t as good. Despite FAU being a little over ranked, I think they beat out Northwestern and move onto round two.
No.3 Baylor vs No.14 Colgate: Colgate has always been a good three-point shooting team, but Baylor was able to handle a good three-point shooting team last year in UC Santa Barbara, and they will win once more. Baylor to the round of 32.
No. 5 San Diego State vs. No. 12 UAB: Lots of people are picking this game to be a close one, but San Diego State’s top 10 defense will be able to shut down the Blazers and move onto the second round.
No. 2 Marquette vs. No. 15 Western Kentucky: Marquette is on serious upset watch, as Western Kentucky plays extremely fast. While it doesn’t always seem to work out, Marquette is a fairly neutral team, so there’s a possibly they can overwhelm the two seed. However, Marquette will win this game.
No. 1 UConn vs No. 16 Stetson: The defending champs and No. 1 overall team in the tournament will start off with an easy matchup against the ASUN conference champs Stetson, where it will be a cakewalk for UConn. They move on to the next round.
No. 6 Clemson vs. No. 11 New Mexico: New Mexico won the Mountain West Tournament, and are extremely under ranked, as is the whole Mountain West. Give me New Mexico to upset Clemson and go to the round of 32.
No. 4 Auburn vs. No. 13 Yale: Auburn this year really resembles the 2019 team that made the final four, and Yale won’t be able to compete. Ivy League schools hit the books, not baskets. Auburn moves on.
No. 7 Florida vs. No. 10 Colorado/Boise State: This scenario is difficult for me. Depending on who wins the play-in game, my result changes. If Colorado wins against Boise State, they will also beat Florida and move onto the round of 32. If Boise State is to beat Colorado, the playstyle of Florida will throw BSU off and the Gators will pick up the win.
No. 8 Nebraska vs. No. 9 Texas A&M: Nebraska’s Athletic Director just left the school for Texas A&M, so funny enough, they face each other in round one. Nebraska will show that they are the better team, and expect a good game from Keisei Tominaga, and the Cornhuskers advance.
No. 4 Duke vs. No. 13 Vermont: Tough luck for Vermont, as they are one of the lower teams in many categories, and they play Duke. Anything can happen during March Madness, but the Blue Devils will win by a good margin and advance.
No. 1 Purdue vs. No. 16 Montana State/Grambling: Purdue doesn’t even know their opponent yet, as the two teams are playing in the first four, a play-in game for some of the bottom teams. Regardless of who wins that, Purdue will get over their massive upset loss to 16 seeded Farleigh Dickinson last season and move on.
No. 4 Alabama vs. No. 13 Charleston: I really like the extremely fast paced offense of Alabama, who led the nation in points per game during the regular season. They will run Charleston off the court and move onto the round of 32.
No. 1 Houston vs. No. 16 Longwood: Houston is the best defense in the country, the best turnover team in the country, and the second highest ranked team overall. Longwood doesn’t stand a chance against the Cougars. Houston moves on.
No. 5 Wisconsin vs. No. 12 James Madison: Wisconsin is coming off a loss against Illinois in the Big Ten championship, but also beat Purdue in their conference semifinal. James Madison is a 30-win team with potential. JMU has the advantage in the turnover battle, and their high tempo will be able to beat Wisconsin and upset the Badgers.
No. 8 Utah State vs. No. 9 TCU: This matchup might be one of the best of the first round, and in March, TCU’s fast paced, streaky playstyle won’t last long. Utah State wins a close one and advances.
No. 5 Saint Mary’s vs. No. 12 Grand Canyon: 12 seeds seem to give lots of five-seeded teams some trouble. Although I like the way Grand Canyon plays, Saint Mary’s has a great defensive roster that also excels in slowing down the pace of the game, taking teams off course. This one is close. Give me Saint Mary’s to the second round.
The unpredictability of March Madness can lead to almost anything happening in the first round. Make sure to tune into the second day of the first round on Friday, March 22 at as early as 9:15 a.m. pacific time.
Bryce Norwood can be reached at arg[email protected]
GP kam
Better than the previous on ( 11 of 16). You did good. Keep the coming