2006 NCAA Tournament: Round 1, Day 2

Your bracket busted yet? Well, mine isn’t. Mostly because all the teams I have going far start play today. So I got one day to enjoy everyone else in my various pools (1 office, 1 friends pools…10 bucks each if you were curious) having their brackets crumble before mine suffers a similar fate. Or maybe not. Like I’ve said before, I’ve correctly predicted the champion the last seven years in a row. Usually that is good enough to win a pool. But we’ll see, a lot of basketball to be played. My record for yesterday’s games was 12-4 and you can see my progress in my locked bracket HERE. On ESPN's scoring system, I received 120 points out of 160. Now to Friday’s games.

Washington DC Region

Philadelphia, PA
Wachovia Center
#16 Albany (21-10) vs. #1 Connecticut (27-3)
As you saw yesterday, I have UConn winning it all. That really shouldn’t have come as a surprise to anyone. And as you also saw yesterday, I’m not going to waste time on 1 vs. 16 games. There isn’t much of a point.
Pick: Connecticut 89, Albany 60

#9 Alabama-Birmingham (24-6) vs. #8 Kentucky (21-12)
This game was one of the more memorable contests from two years ago. UAB, a nine seed, shocked the top-seeded Wildcats. If I remember correctly, I had Kentucky leaving in the third round that year, but almost went with them going out to UAB. Mike Anderson (the Blazer coach, not the newest addition to the junior college outfit in Baltimore) plays the kind of aggressive and up-tempo style I love to watch. Kentucky’s guards, Rajon Rondo, Joe Crawford and Patrick Sparks, have all kind of problems hanging on to the basketball. That should spell doom against the Runnin’ Blazers. The only thing that could hurt UAB is if they force too many shots. Every once and awhile in transition is OK, but Birmingham has a tendency to force too many at times. Look, any team with a guy named Squeaky is a must pick for me.
Pick: UAB 81, Kentucky 78

Dayton, OH
University of Dayton Arena
#14 Murray State (24-6) vs. #3 North Carolina (22-7)
The key for the Racers, and all upcoming UNC opponents, is to stop Tyler Hansbrough. Can Wes Miller, Reyshawn Terry and David Noel hit 3’s? Of course. But I’d rather put the ball in their hands instead of letting Hansbrough run lay-up drills all afternoon. The Racers only have one player taller than 6’7” and it’s average center Pearson Griffin. However, Murray State uses a 2-3 and an unusual 1-3-1 zone defensively, and it paid off. The Racers are one of the better defensive teams, in terms of both scoring and shooting percentage, in the country. The one problem for State is the lack of scoring – only one player averages 10 points a game (Shawn Witherspoon at 10.8 ppg). The Racers do have one player familiar with the ACC; UVA’s former thug Keith Jenifer. You remember, the kid who started fights with Juan Dixon, Steve Blake, Gary Williams, a team trainer and the towel boy. The Racers may win a steel cage match, but not a basketball game.
Pick: North Carolina 80, Murray State 58

#11 George Mason (23-7) vs. #6 Michigan State (22-11)
Speaking of thugs, one player that won’t be on the floor is Mason’s suspended guard Tony Skinn. Skinn, taking a page from the Chris Paul school of fighting, sucker-punched a Hofstra player in the groin in the Patriots CAA quarterfinal loss. He is suspended for one game. And as much as I would love to see a Keith Jenifer-Tony Skinn grudge match in the second round, it isn’t going to happen. I hope.
Pick: Michigan State 74, George Mason 62

Minneapolis Region

Philadelphia, PA
Wachovia Center
#16 Monmouth (19-14) vs. #1 Villanova (24-3)
Villanova gets two gifts this weekend. First, they were ridiculously allowed to play in the Wachovia Center, a building they played three home games in during the regular season (Any more home games there and the NCAA wouldn’t have allowed them to play there. Still, this is a practice that the NCAA shouldn’t allow. If you play a home game at an arena, you shouldn’t be playing there in the NCAA’s). Second, they and their fanbase get to cheer against their rival, and my champion pick, UConn in Philadelphia. Monmouth, for their part, looked pretty good in the 10 minutes I watched them on Tuesday against Hampton. Villanova isn’t Hampton.
Pick: Villanova 85, Monmouth 54

#9 Wisconsin (19-11) vs. #8 Arizona (19-12)
Fact: Arizona has never won a tournament game when they’ve been given anything worse than a five seed. Fact: I don’t care, Wisconsin lost to North Dakota State a month ago. Wisconsin’s 19-11 record, complete with a loss to a fringe D-1 team, shouldn’t be in the NCAA’s.
Pick: Arizona 70, Wisconsin 58

Dayton, OH
University of Dayton Arena
#15 Davidson (20-10) vs. Ohio State (25-5)
Like I said yesterday, in February, I named my four sleeper Final Four picks coming into this tournament. Three of them (OSU, Oklahoma and Boston College) were placed in the same region. So I’ve had to pick which one I like the best (as you can see from the locked bracket, it wasn’t OSU). With only Terence Dials inside, the Buckeyes are too reliant on the outside shot. It’s good to be guard heavy in March, but not to the degree that ‘Nova and OSU are. One bad shooting night, even to a team like Davidson, means that the Buckeyes go home earlier than anticipated. Davidson’s got some decent inside play this year from Ian Johnson and Tommy Sander. They’ll cancel out Dials. Which means the Buckeyes will have to shoot well outside. And they’ve struggled to do so at times this season. If a 15 seed is going to win this year, Davidson will be the team. I won’t pick it, but it wouldn’t surprise me. I think OSU will be able to get to Minneapolis, but anything after that is up in the air, just like their three-point shots.
Pick: Ohio State 67, Davidson 52

#10 Northern Iowa (23-9) vs. #7 Georgetown (21-8)
Yuck, another MVC team. If your name isn’t Wichita State, I don’t want to hear from you. Both of these teams peaked about a month ago, and both have been in somewhat of a freefall. The Hoyas can blame part of that on their tough conference. What can the Panthers blame it on other than poor shooting and poor playing?
Pick: Georgetown 63, Northern Iowa 54

Atlanta Region

Auburn Hills, MI
Palace at Auburn Hills
#14 Northwestern State (25-7) vs. #3 Iowa (25-8)
At first glance, most would assume this wouldn’t be much of a game. And it may not be. But NSU is from the Southland Conference. Southland winners are usually saddled with 16 seeds and trips to the play-in-game. But NSU did enough to earn a 14 seed. Why? They’ve beaten Oklahoma State in Stillwater. They lost to Iowa State in double-overtime. They have a 10-man rotation. Rarely does a small school employ that much depth without losing much on the court. They’ve also won 15 of 16. I think the Demons make it interesting. I don’t have a lot of stock in Big 10 teams other than Illinois and OSU. The Hawkeyes slide by, but it will be tight.
Pick: Iowa 69, Northwestern State 64

#11 Southern Illinois (22-10) vs. #6 West Virginia (20-10)
Two questions here. First, you thought it was embarrassing for Wisconsin to lose to North Dakota State? Well, SIU lost to D-2 school Anchorage-Alaska this season. Second, you thought I had no respect for Northern Iowa? Well, I have less for Southern Illinois. The hicks advance.
Pick: West Virginia 76, Southern Illinois 59

Dallas, TX
American Airlines Center
#15 Pennsylvania (20-8) vs. #2 Texas (27-6)
The Quakers have one player taller than 6’6”. It’s going to be interesting to see how Penn plans to stop LaMarcus Aldridge. I think it’s safe to say that Aldridge will better his 16 points and 9 rebounds per game.
Pick: Texas 78, Pennsylvania 55

#10 North Carolina State (21-9) vs. #7 California (20-10)
An interesting matchup featuring two coaches that should have been fired a long time ago. There are only 11 coaches from BCS conference schools that have been at the same place longer than 10 years. Herb Sendek and Ben Braun are two of them (Jim Boeheim, Jim Calhoun, Ratface, Gary Williams, Tom Izzo, Lute Olsen, Kelvin Sampson, Tubby Smith and Colorado’s Ricardo Patton). Other than Patton, only Sendek and Braun haven’t earned their tenures. And Patton at least produced Chauncey Billups. Sendek should have been canned a long time ago. Losing here, which would be the fifth straight loss for State, would almost certainly do the trick. You have to figure that Cal is going to struggle against the Princeton offense for at least a half, but Herby will find a way to screw it up…he always does.
Pick: California 72, NC State 66

Oakland Region

Dallas, TX
American Airlines Center
#16 Oral Roberts (21-11) vs. #1 Memphis (30-3)
Why do I keep hearing that ORU is going to win this game? I’m not even going to dignify this crap with a response to the idiots that think the Eagles can beat Memphis. They have a couple of nice players in Caleb Green and Larry Owens, but it’s not going to happen.
Pick: Memphis 84, Oral Roberts 66

#9 Bucknell (26-4) vs. #8 Arkansas (22-9)
I think it’s safe to say that basically everyone outside of Arkansas and this site have penciled Bucknell into the second round. But the Hogs are playing real well right now. And I think the Bison are more of a fluke than people are expecting. Sure, their win over Kansas last year was great and equally unexpected. Bucknell doesn’t have a player that can keep up with Ronnie Brewer. The Razorbacks have been playing solid basketball for the past month to make their push for an at-large bid, and I like them to win one game against the vastly overseeded Bison. Bucknell’s 15 minutes are up.
Pick: Arkansas 68, Bucknell 57

Auburn Hills, MI
Palace at Auburn Hills
#13 Bradley (20-10) vs. #4 Kansas (25-7)
Like Seton Hall, Bradley’s inclusion in the field of 65 is a disgrace. After the Braves lose here, they should become the new poster boys for any future selection committee considering taking a mid-major team that placed sixth in their conference. I’ve seen them play twice. Not only did they not look good at all, but also played a completely bland and boring brand of basketball while stinking up the joint. The Braves best player is 7’0” center Patrick O’Bryant. He was suspended for eight games early in the year for taking money from a booster. Here’s the sad part. The committee considered his suspension as the reason that Bradley struggled in the early going (against poor competition by the way). His suspension actually helped Bradley make the tourney. If O’Bryant had been playing in losses to Drake and Loyola-Chicago, BU wouldn’t have even been considered. The committee saw that the Braves got hot in February, figured O’Bryant had to be the reason, and allowed BU into the NCAA’s based on one month’s performance. A criminal act should not allow a team into the field of 65. It should keep them out. I don’t root for Kansas often, but I will be here.
Pick: Kansas 67, Bradley 49

#12 Kent State (25-8) vs. #5 Pittsburgh (24-7)
I still think the Panthers are frauds. But this Oakland region was so tough to pick with no clear-cut prevailing team, that in the first version of my brackets, I had Pitt in the Final Four. Needless to say, that error was corrected quickly. Pitt is going to run into trouble in this game. Kent State has had seven different players lead them in scoring. So like Pitt, they’re deep. Like Pitt, the team has a lot of experience. The Flashes even shoot the ball better than Pitt. If it wasn’t for the overwhelming advantage the Panthers possess inside with Aaron Gray and Levon Kendall, I would have gone with KSU. Maybe the Golden Flashes have a 2002 run in them.
Pick: Pittsburgh 65, Kent State 63