NCAA Basketball - South Region First Round Picks

#15 Robert Morris Colonials vs. #2 Villanova Wildcats

One this is for sure, Villanova is not the same team that lost to UNC in last year’s Final Four semi-finals. They are still a very talented and explosive group of athletes, but they haven’t been able to turn that talent into a team effort of late.

Coming in as the No. 2 seed in the South, they’re going to need to figure it out rather quickly. The 15th-seeded Robert Morris are feeling pretty good that the Wildcats have lost five of its last seven games, but don’t stand to put up much of a fight in this one, unless the Wildcats really drop the ball.

The Cats just can’t find the right mix, as their last four loses coincide with significant line-up changes that saw coach Jay Wright replace guard Corey Stokes with Mouphtaou Yarou. Wright’s moves will go without questioning, but it is his job to put the best line-up on the floor every night, and it doesn’t appear he’s found that mix on the eve of the national tournament. And if the unthinkable should happen, and the Wildcats fall to Robert Morris, the blame will fall heavily on coach Wright’s shoulders.

Still, what Villanova has in Wright is a coach who has guided the Wildcats to six consecutive NCAA Tournaments, so the question marks may just be in the print and not on the court. With three remarkably talented guards and a crop of athletes that rivals any team in the country, the Colonials could be in for a long first round matchup.

The Colonials realize they don’t have much hope of winning, but this is their second appearance in a row in the national championship after winning another Northeast Conference tournament. They don’t have anything to lose and will play like that. Unfortunately, the Wildcats are going to use this as a statement game and will have this one over by the first half.

Take Villanova to cover the -18 spread.

#11 Old Dominion Monarchs vs. #6 Notre Dame Fighting Irish

In my opinion, Old Dominion has a legitimate shot at a first round upset here. They came out of the Colonial Athletic Conference with a 26-8 overall record, and beat a very good William & Mary team 60-53 to secure their berth in the tournament. They also walked into Georgetown and beat the Hoyas in their own building, a real feather in the cap of the Monarchs’ hat.

The Fighting Irish, true to their name, had to claw their way through this year after losing their best player and leading scorer, Luke Harangody, to a knee injury on February 11th. Harangody would miss five games and the Irish were fading fast without him. That’s when coach Mike Brey stepped in and stopped the bleeding. Rather than run the same offense, he figured that since his go-to guy was out, they needed to install a more deliberate system. Well, the Irish thrived and made their way all the way to the semi-finals of the Big East tournament.

What the loss of Harangody did was make this an all around better basketball team. Although he’s back in the line-up, the 6-foot-8-inch senior isn’t at 100% and is limited to about 25 minutes a game. But with his team playing so well around him, he can just play his game and not worry about carrying this team.

I see them using the same team approach to get past the pesky Monarchs.

Take Notre Dame at -3.