The No. 7 Creighton Bluejays barely escaped their round 2 matchup against Cincinnati with a four-point win, and their reward is a battle with the second-seeded Duke Blue Devils. Duke is coming off a 12-point victory over the Albany Great Danes.
The No. 1 Gonzaga Bulldogs and the No. 9 Wichita State Shockers each took down their round 2 opponents on Thursday, and now they’re set to face off in Salt Lake City in round 3.
The No. 3 Marquette Golden Eagles barely avoided being on the wrong end of a Cinderella story Thursday night. They survived a close Round 2 contest, and now they’ll have to face a former Cinderella in the No. 6 Butler Bulldogs.
The No. 12 Oregon Ducks pulled a classic 12-5 upset in round 2, but now they’ll have to face a team that a lot of people have pegged to make a deep run far into the tournament. The St. Louis Billikens are ranked No. 4 in the Midwest Region, and their 20-point win over the New Mexico State Aggies was one of the more convincing wins Thursday.
NCAA Tourney – Midwest Bracket
No. 12 Oregon Ducks (27-8, 12-6 Pac-12) vs. No. 4 St. Louis Billikens (28-6, 13-3 A 10)
Saturday, March 23, 2013
7:10 PM ET
San Jose, CA
Spread: St. Louis -3.5 at WagerWeb
ML: Oregon (155), St. Louis (-175)
OU: 123.5
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The Oregon Ducks entered the NCAA Tournament with something to prove. They believed—along with most of the general media—that they deserved to be a higher seed than the 12-spot they were given. They went into round 2 with a chip on their shoulder, and they emerged victorious against No. 5 Oklahoma State.
One of the reasons this team is ranked a 12 seed and not higher is that they lost a bit of momentum during the season when guard Dominic Artis went down with an injury.
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The team didn’t look the same without him, and while he was back on the court in time of the tournament, people questioned how good his conditioning and mechanics would be.
If Oregon proved anything against Oklahoma State, it’s that Artis is fine. The guard pushed the tempo all game long, and that’s something he’ll look to do again on Saturday.
Along with pushing the tempo, Oregon has the size and toughness to force turnovers on defense. They have a great tandem inside in Arsalan Kazemi and Tony Woods, and the two of them will create extra opportunities, leading to fast-break situations.
The St. Louis Billikens have size, but their bigs are more equipped to play on the perimeter than they are in the post. This is a dangerous way to live life in the tournament, but it’s also a great way to avoid the low-post presence of the Ducks. [ad-6571516]
One of the benefits of playing the bigs outside is that it opens up lanes for cutters and isolation sets. This team can get into the paint with its guards for that reason, and against an Oregon team that plays a lot of man-to-man, keeping Kazemi and Woods away from the basket will be the plan of attack.
Despite staying away from the paint on offense, St. Louis’ bigs won’t be afraid to use their size defensively. This group knows how to attack the ball, and when it comes down to it, their big guys will make Oregon’s offense—one that struggles from the outside—uncomfortable.
The Ducks were able to rattle the backcourt of Oklahoma State, but they’ll have trouble doing the same thing against the Billikens. St. Louis is projected to go deep into the tournament for a reason, and that reason is their precision and patience on offense.
If Oregon has trouble interrupting the flow of the Billikens’ ball movement, St. Louis should be moving on.
Prediction: St. Louis 69 – Oregon 60
The No. 11 Minnesota Golden Gophers will take on the No. 6 UCLA Bruins in the second round of the NCAA Tournament’s South Region. Despite their seedings, the Gophers are favored coming into this matchup by three points.
The No. 10 Oklahoma Sooners and the No. 7 San Diego State Aztecs will face off Friday night in a second round matchup in the South Region. The winner will move on to face the winner between No. 2 Georgetown and No. 15 Florida Gulf Coast.
The No. 10 Colorado Buffaloes and the No. 7 Fighting Illini are set to face off Friday, March 22 in a second round matchup in the East Region. Tipoff is scheduled for 4:40 PM ET, and it can be viewed on TNT.
The No. 12 California Golden Bears and the No. 5 UNLV Rebels are set to face off Thursday night in their first matchup of the NCAA Tournament. Will this be a classic case of a 12 seed taking down a 5 in the second round?
The No. 11 Belmont Bruins and the No. 6 Arizona Wildcats will face off in a second-round matchup in Salt Lake City Thursday night. The winner will advance in the West Region to take on the winner of No. 3 New Mexico vs. No. 14 Harvard.
The No. 12 Oregon Ducks and the No. 5 Oklahoma State Cowboys both received a bit of bad news on Selection Sunday. Oregon was hoping for a seed higher than 12, while the Cowboys were hoping for an opponent more resembling a lower seed. Oregon’s placement is unfortunate for both teams, but it will create for one of the more exciting Round 2 matchups in the tournament.
The Gonzaga Bulldogs earned the No. 1 seed in the West region, and they’re set to take on the No. 16 Southern University Jaguars. Everybody is waiting for the day when a 16 seed finally takes down a No. 1, but you’re not likely to see that happen in this particular matchup.
The Saint Mary’s Gaels and the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders are set to face off Tuesday night in the play-in game that will decide the No. 11 seed of the Midwest Region. The winner will go on to play the No. 6 Memphis Tigers in Round 2 of the NCAA Tournament.
March Madness is here baby and everyone is filling out there brackets to see if Lady Luck is on their side. It is never easy to pick the 4 region winners of the NCAA Tournament, but I will give you my take on who I think will be heading to the Final 4.
This year’s Final Four field is set as the No. 2 Kansas Jayhawks and the No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes meet for only the ninth time in their history but for the second time this season in the second NCAA Tournament semifinal on Saturday in New Orleans.
The Massachusetts Minutemen are a high scoring team out of the Atlantic 10. They made a push at the end of the season to qualify for the Big Dance but fell short in the A-10 Tournament, losing to juggernaut St. Bonaventure.
The Washington Huskies will make their second trip of the year to the Big Apple on Tuesday, where they will hope to have better results when they take on the No. 6 seeded Minnesota Golden Gophers for a chance to play either Stanford or UMass in Thursday’s NIT championship game.
