Georgetown dominated Belmont from start to finish to advance to the “third round” for the first time in three tries. North Carolina State, meanwhile, cashed in on being given a chance to dance. NC State looks really good right now. They scrapped their way into a bid, and now they dominated San Diego State in the last 25 minutes of their “second round” game. I said Georgetown wouldn’t get by Belmont, the second time I ever picked a 14 seed to win, and I learned a lot about this Hoya team. They looked better than I had saw all season, Belmont struggled to get shots up and the Hoyas didn’t give the Bruins a chance on the inside. This game, as well as the Florida State/Cinci game, will be the best match-up of the day. Expect a tight one. 

Scoring prediction- NC State 74-Georgetown 72

The Irish haven’t been playing too hot lately, but Xavier has finally seem to recover from the aftermath of the fight with Xavier. Look for Tu Holloway to continue playing well. 

Score Prediction- Xavier 65- Notre Dame 55

I have nothing to say about these 2-15 games anymore. I’d love to pick Detroit but it’s not going to happen unless Eli Holman says so. I will say this, if you told me two different two seeds would lose today, I’d have bet money it Kansas was one of them. Not because of Kansas(I have them winning it all) but because Detroit seemed to be the best 15 seed. 

Score prediction: Kansas 85- Detroit 72

South Florida plays their second game in three days against the Temple Owls, who advanced to the “third round” last year in a last second victory of Penn State. Temple has three upperclass guards to watch; Ramone Moore, Khalif Wyatt, and Juan Fernandez, who hit the game winner against Penn State last year. We’ll see how they match-up against the stellar defense of South Florida. We’ll see how the pace is played, as it’s always important with a team like South Florida that wants to slow it down. Like most of the games tonight, expect a good game. 

Score prediction: South Florida 55- Temple 51

Robbie Hummel gets one more chance to make a run in the NCAA Tournament. For as well known of a name he is, he hasn’t gotten a lot of publicity for his resurgence after two ACL injuries. He’ll matchup against a balanced St. Mary’s team that is led by WCC player of the year Matt Dellavedova. I’m expecting a big game out of Hummel and/or Dellavedova. I expect one of these two players will take over the game, if not both. I suspect this will be one of the better games of the night. 

Score prediction- Purdue 69- St. Mary’s 63