NCAA National Championship – West Region Round One Picks for Thursday
by Ian James
#7 BYU Cougars vs. #10 Florida Gators
The Florida Gators (21-12), and the Brigham Young Cougars (29-5) will get the NCAA National Championship tournament going at 12:30 PM EST on Thursday from the Ford Center in Oklahoma City, OK.
This is an interesting matchup, and one that could be an early upset in the tournament. The Gators are on their way back to the level of play that saw them win back-to-back national championships in 2006 and '07. They’re missing the emotional leadership of Joakim Noah, but they’ve seen solid development from junior forward Chandler Parsons and the strong play of freshman guard Kenny Boynton Jr. and redshirt junior center Vernon Macklin.
BYU put together a solid season and have a crisp offense in place that can compete with anyone in the country. They finished second in the Mountain West Conference, which has four teams represented in this tournament, speaking volumes of the level of play in the MWC. BYU was near the top of the nation in several offensive categories including second in scoring (83 PPG), third in three-point field-goal percentage (.419) and first in free-throw percentage (.786). What that tells you is this team is well coached and executes with precision.
BYU may surprise some teams this year. Take them at -5 to get past Florida.
#2 Kansas State Wildcats vs. #15 North Texas Mean Green
The Kansas State basketball program has been on a steady rise over the past few years. They are coming off one of the best seasons in school history with a school-record for wins in the regular season (26), and enter the tournament as a No. 2 seed their highest rank ever.
The only problem with that is that Wildcats better not pay too much attention to the headlines as they might fall victim to their own ego. It’s hard not to feel good about yourselves, especially when the President picks you to go to the Final Four. North Texas knows that almost everyone in the country is expecting them to be just a stepping stone, but the Mean Green will come to play.
Look for them to give Kansas State a scare and keep this one close. Take North Texas and the points (+16).
#12 UTEP Miners vs. #5 Butler Bulldogs
Butler has been impressing people for some time now, and their national profile has grown over their last few year years. With their name appearing on national rankings and their consistent winning, compiling the nation's longest winning streak during a perfect run through the Horizon League, the Bulldogs are one of those dark horse teams that could make some noise.
The only problem is that UTEP is a really solid basketball teams that if taken lightly, will run all over you. Their powerful starting lineup is led by C-USA player of the year, Randy Culpepper, who has a strong cast of athletes to compliment him.
UTEP also put together a pretty impressive streak, winning 16-games in a row, yet they didn’t get much respect coming into the tournament, and that’s something they’re going to use as motivation in Thursday’s showdown with Butler.
This is going to be one of the better games of the first round, with Butler (-2) edging the Miners.
#13 Murray State Racers vs. #4 Vanderbilt Commodores
Vandy will be looking to put aside a sloppy end to the season and get back to the form that saw them have their best SEC season in 17 years. OVC champion Murray State is their first round opponent, and like many small schools, they pose a tough first-round test because they’ve got nothing to lose, and often play that way. The Racers have balanced scoring and some speed in the back court, with being the guy you’ll want to keep an eye on. Aska is averaging around 10-points a game and will be the offensive catalyst.
If the Commodores want to put this one out of reach early, they’ll have to take advantage of their size. Center A.J. Ogilvy will be getting the ball a ton early on and it will open things up for their perimeter game.
Take Vanderbilt at -3.
