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NCAA Tournament Roundtable: Can NBA Guys Predict March Madness?

By Michael Saenz

Mar 10, 2017; Brooklyn, NY, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels guard Joel Berry II (2) controls the ball against Duke Blue Devils guard Frank Jackson (15) during the first half of an ACC Conference Tournament game at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 10, 2017; Brooklyn, NY, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels guard Joel Berry II (2) controls the ball against Duke Blue Devils guard Frank Jackson (15) during the first half of an ACC Conference Tournament game at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mar 15, 2017; Orlando, FL, USA; North Carolina-Wilmington Seahawks guard JaQuel Richmond (right) reacts with guard Jordon Talley (4) during practice prior to the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Amway Center. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 15, 2017; Orlando, FL, USA; North Carolina-Wilmington Seahawks guard JaQuel Richmond (right) reacts with guard Jordon Talley (4) during practice prior to the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Amway Center. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /

Pick a few first-round upsets

Michael Saenz, Editor: UNC W over Virginia – The Cavaliers play the most boring style of play in all the NCAA. Marquette over South Carolina – ehh, not really an upset. But it counts. Nevada over Iowa State. Iona over Oregon – The Ducks lost one of their best players to injury recently; this is the perfect recipe for madness. Middle Tennessee State over Minnesota – don’t know much about either team, but this sounds right. Wichita State over Dayton – this is a pretty easy one.

Dylan Huberman, Contributor: EAST: Marquette (10) over South Carolina (7). WEST: Vanderbilt (9) over Northwestern (8), Princeton (12) over Notre Dame (5), Xavier (11) over Maryland (6), Florida Gulf Coast (14) over Florida State (3). MIDWEST: Nevada (12) over Iowa State (5), Rhode Island (11) over Creighton (6). SOUTH: Seton Hall (9) over Arkansas (8), Middle Tennessee (12) over Minnesota (5), Wichita State (10) over Dayton (7).

Mason McFee, Contributor: UNC-Wilmington (12) over Virginia (5) – This pick is not because 12 seeds have had an inexplicable trend of knocking off 5 seeds the past few years. It’s not even because I’m that confident in UNC-Wilmington…. it’s because of my lack of confidence in Virginia.

Virginia plays at a snail’s pace, and while it houses some of the most underrated players in college basketball (namely London Perrantes and Marial Shayok), this team struggles to score at a frighteningly consistent rate. While this team has had a great run the past couple of years, I don’t think they’re going to make it very far.

Oklahoma State (10) over Michigan (7) – While I’m not sure how many of you reading this will classify it as an upset, Michigan did just win the Big 10 Tourney after their plane crashed when they were already the underdogs. Despite all this, I have watched Jawun Evans play way too many times, and there have been plenty of games where just takes over. Oklahoma State’s record may not show it (20-12), but Evans is the real deal and I think we’re in for an entertaining matchup between Derrick Walton and Jawun Evans.

John Pontin, Contributor: My first round upset picks are fairly standard, nothing too crazy: USC (if they advance) over SMU, Marquette over South Carolina, Vanderbilt over Northwestern, Xavier over Maryland, VCU over St. Mary’s, Michigan State over Miami, Rhode Island over Creighton, Seton Hall over Arkansas, Middle Tennessee over Minnesota, and Wichita State over Dayton.

Tony Webb, Contributor: East Tennessee State over Florida, Middle Tennessee over Minnesota, Xavier over Maryland and Kansas State over Cincinnati.

Jonathan Macri, Contributor: Florida Gulf Coast University over Florida State. This is the third time the Eagles have gone dancing in the last five years, and they won games in each of the previous two appearances, including a memorable Sweet 16 run in 2013. Last year they destroyed Fairleigh Dickinson 96-65 in the play-in game before losing a tough one to eventual runner-up UNC 83-67.

This team started off the season 1-3 with a rough non-conference slate, but has gone 25-4 since then, including winning its last 7. They also have some experience playing FSU, losing to them by only 5 in the first round of the 2014 NIT. Speaking of FSU, they’ve sputtered down the stretch, going 7-6 in their last 13 games since topping out as the sixth ranked team in the country.

Onie Dator, Contributor: I have two upsets coming from the Midwest Regional Bracket. First, #12 Nevada will beat #5 Iowa St. The other upset that I have is #13 Vermont will beat #4 Purdue. Nevada has had a solid season under coach Eric Musselman. They are just better than a #12 seed, honestly. Marcus Marshall, Cameron Oliver, Jordan Caroline and D.J. Fenner all had solid seasons. If they put it all together, they will be difficult to overcome.

Vermont is another team that is way better than their ranking. The Catamounts rely on team play a lot, which makes them very unpredictable and hard to scout. Purdue should not take them for granted at all.

Nick Gonzalez, Contributor: Nevada over Iowa State – Can’t contain Cameron Oliver who was in my “5 Under The Radar” article. Nevada also has a higher RPI raking.

Ryan Piers, Contributor: In the battle of mid majors, (10) Wichita State beats (7) Dayton, (12) Middle Tennessee over (5) Minnesota, (14) FGCU over Florida State. (12) UNC Wilmington Over (5) Virginia

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