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Ballsy 2010 Tournament Predictions | Round Two

By Robert Murray

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I’ll be honest, Round One was pretty boring, as I kept the upsets to a minimum.I got one 13-seed advancing (Murray State), one 12-seed, New Mexico State upending Michigan State, but I do have all four No 10 seeds sweeping the first-round. Impossible, right? Yeah, it is, but it’s too late to take it back now.

HERE’S HOW IT WILL ARRIVE:

EAST REGIONAL

(1) Kentucky over (8) Texas
When was the last time two teams who were once ranked No 1 in the country played each other in the second round of the tournament? The Longhorns could rediscover the magic that made them No 1 and they could give the young Wildcats a run for their money, but they won’t. There is a reason why they’ve fallen to a No 8 seed.

(4) Wisconsin over (5) Temple
Beware of the Owls, unless your the Badgers. Then don’t worry about them. Both teams feature great senior point guards (Ryan Brooks for Temple and Trevon Hughes for Wisconsin), but I like big guys who can drain the long ball (that would make a great title for gay porn).

(3) New Mexico over (6) Marquette
I’m going to drop my East Coast bias just for this one moment and pick New Mexico, even though I’ve never actually seen them play this year (except in highlights). Why? Because I live to do crazy things like this.

(2) West Virginia over (10) Missouri
Did you know that it is legal in West Virginia for a male to have sex with an animal as long as it does not exceed 40 lbs? Did you know that roadkill can be taken home for dinner? Did you know it was also illegal to snore on a train in that state. God bless the Internet.

SOUTH REGIONAL

(1) Duke over (8) California
Do you remember the team that stopped the Duke Blue Devils from a three-peat back in the 90’s? I do, it was the Cal Bears. Too bad they still don’t have Jason Kidd. Speaking of Jasoon Kidd, does his kid still have that huge head? Just curious.

(5) Texas A&M over (13) Siena
Two names you might might to get familiar with, Donald Sloan and B.J. Holmes. Both live and die on the three-line and both are ready for a trip back to Texas and the Sweet 16.

(3) Baylor over (6) Notre Dame
The Irish are hot, but the Bears have the best zone outside of Syracuse. Against the Syracuse zone, the Irish lost by 13. Look for LaceDarius Dunn and Tweety (yes that’s his first team) Carter to have a field day against the Irish in a battle between the two best conferences in the nation.

(2) Villanova over (10) St. Mary’s
The Wildcats have zero size to deal with Omar Samham, but St. Mary’s doesn’t have the back court to deal with Reynolds. I’ve always never had a Bed side shotgun and that makes me depress.

MIDWEST REGIONAL

(1) Kansas over (9) North Iowa
Don’t underestimate North Iowa. They are no cupcake. This should be a great game and you’ll be on your feet cheering for North Iowa. A whole nation will be rooting for the dog, but then the experience and talent will rise just in time for the Jayhawks and you’ll feel cheated, just like I do when I watch ABC’s Lost.

(4) Maryland over (12) New Mexico State
It’s one thing to beat a struggling Michigan State team, but something tells me that Greivis Vasquez is going to have an amazing first weekend. Of course he could also turn the ball over 10 times, which would cause some Terp fan to burn a couch. Will someone please think of the couches!

(3) Georgetown over (6) Tennessee
My personal favorite second round match up. Monroe vs. the senior Chism. Freeman vs. Smith. This one is going to be a battle, but the Volunteers showed me something when they got blown out by Kentucky in the SEC Tournament…it wasn’t pretty. In kind of reminded me of Caddyshack II.

(2) Ohio State over (10) Georgia Tech
Favors vs Turner. Two 2010 lottery picks. You can’t ask for anything more, unless you ask for money. I would love more money. Anyhow, advantage Turner who doesn’t need to rely on others to get him the ball to produce.  Sorry Yellow Jackets, nothing is stopping the Buckeye train.

WEST REGIONAL

(8) Gonzaga over (1) Syracuse (1) Syracuse over (8) Gonzaga
A month ago I would have never picked the Bulldogs here. Never. With Arinze Onuaku’s injury though, Gonzaga has the size inside to handle the zone and clean up on the boards. Like Asian porn sites, I’ve been burned by Gonzaga before, but I’m picking the upset here. The first No 1 goes down.
Sorry, so sorry. I’ve never changed my mind the next day since I started doing this, but I just had to. I was over-thinking Syracuse’s health concerns. Most people who do predictions pick their final four and then work their way towards that. When I do these predictions, I do one round per day and I never think ahead. This way I surprise myself at my results. This prediction though, I was completely unhappy with it and it had to be changed. Again, sorry. It won’t happen again.

(13) Murray State over (5) Butler
The Racers can bring five guys to the table who can score, while Butler was seeded too high at five. Some shocking mid-major has to crack the Sweet 16, why not Murray State? Seriously, I’m asking….why not Murray State?

(6) Xavier over (3) Pittsburgh
The Panthers have been overachieving all season long. Props to them, but that run has to end sometime. Xavier always has a habit of getting to the final 16. It’s there thing.

(2) Kansas State over (10) Florida
The NCAA Tournament is all about guard play and the Wildcats have two of the best, Clemente and Pullen. The Gators also have a pair of solid guards, but as a team they shoot around 31% from three. Not good enough.

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