NCAA Second Round Saturday Picks

Yet once more, lines are provided by PinnacleSports.com “for entertainment purposes only.”

Duke (-3.5) vs. West Virginia: People love to bet against Duke, so I’m sure Vegas knew what they were doing in creating this line. We all now know that Duke narrowly escaped the upset bid by Belmont in the first round. Duke is almost certainly destined to play better in this game. But WVU has a lot of the same offensive elements that Belmont was using to give Duke fits — outside game, good passing and ability to clear the lane and play outside the paint. Duke is quite a different opponent for WVU than Arizona, and I think they will have to lean a lot more on Joe Alexander in this game than in the first round. While you can’t underestimate the chances of Duke getting a extra call or twenty their way, I just like the karma that will surround WVU in this nationally televised game. Of course I’m taking WVU as the first team to punch its ticket to the Sweet Sixteen. WVU 84, Duke 79.

Wisconsin (-4.5) vs. Kansas State: Wisconsin should win this game easily on paper, but I think Beasley and Walker will give the Badgers fits. I really didn’t expect KSU to beat USC, but now that they have I think they’re prime for the upset of Wisconsin. KSU 70, Wisconsin 65.

Xavier (-3.5) vs. Purdue: I think the Muskies will have an easier time with Purdue than they did with Georgia. Xavier 84, Purdue 68.

Washington State (-2.5) vs. Notre Dame: This is a very evenly matched game of a 4 and 5 seed who won very impressively in the first round. A four-seed isn’t usually considered a sleeper, but with Washington State pretty much out of the consienceness of most fans and media, I think WSU is a team that could make a deep run. Washington State 61, Notre Dame 55.

Stanford (-3) vs. Marquette: Post play or guard play? The old adage says that guard play wins in the tournament. Marquette 82, Stanford 77.

Kansas (-13.5) vs. UNLV: I’m surprised the line is this high after UNLV destroyed Kent State in the first round, but Kansas has shown nothing but championship-quality basketball for the last several weeks. Kansas 85, UNLV 76.

UCLA (-10) vs. Texas A&M: You know, if an Aggie came across a Bruin in the woods…UCLA 96, Texas A&M 82.

Pitt (-2) vs. Michigan State: The Spartans are a lot more of a challenge than Oral Roberts. Michigan State 76, Pitt 62.

Tags: Bracket, March Madness, NCAA tournament, Predictions, second round