By: Sal Pellone
Let's face it, all we care about is picking the underdog. Yes, picking the right Final Four and Champion is fun, but that's not why we fill out brackets. We want to be the only one to pick the school that nobody else believed in or even knew about in the first place. We want to be apart of the one percent of people that picked some obscure school with a nickname like the
Mocs. Sports fans crave upsets. Grab your pen, I present to you my first round upsets...
(14) Stephen F. Austin over (3) West Virginia
I'm coming out guns blazing, no cupcakes. The Lumberjacks out of Nacogdoches, Texas are no fresh blood to the tournament. This is their third straight year dancing. They are led by senior forward Thomas Walkup, who's having his best year yet, leading the team in almost every statistical category from points to steals. Yes, they play in the Southland, which isn't the greatest conference, but the Lumberjacks are rolling into the dance on a 20-game win streak. They have no easy task, though. Bob Huggins' Mountaineers are one of the only teams in the tournament that are going give full court pressure all game. And they cause a ton of turnovers for opponents. Against Oklahoma in the Big 12 tournament, this pressure-heavy defense forced 21 turnovers and held leading scorer Buddy Hield to a measly 6 points. Eventually, Thomas Walkup and the Lumberjacks will find leaks in this defense, as they only average 12 turnovers per game and are second in the nation in assists. Get to know Stephen F. Austin and Thomas Walkup, this team can potentially make a Sweet 16 run.
(11) Northern Iowa over (5) Texas
You'll best remember the Panthers from 2010, when they upset 1 seed Kansas and made it to the Sweet 16. Northern Iowa has the ability to do so once again. They've proven so with big wins over Stephen F. Austin, then number 1 North Carolina, then number 5 Iowa State, and 2 wins over Wichita State. The Panthers of Cedar Falls, Iowa, lost some shaky games against no-name teams, but the games against big time opponents were won convincingly. Senior guard Wes Washpun is the name to keep an eye on in this upset. He is the leading scorer of the team, dropping 21 against UNC, 28 against Iowa State, and recently 20 against a defensive-minded Wichita State. What really stands out is their defense, though. Ranked 11th in the nation for points allowed, they hold opponents to an average 62 points per game. They should keep Texas, ranked 222nd in the nation in points per game, to a minimal margin. Texas coach Shaka Smart was usually the one doing the upsetting when he was at VCU. Now, it's time for him to get a taste of his own medicine.
(14) Green Bay over (3) Texas A&M
Many experts are looking at Texas A&M going deep in this tournament. I don't blame them. The Aggies have a well-rounded team from head to toe and just lost a close one to Kentucky for the SEC title. However, is the SEC really that tough of a conference? I'm not sold on it since the SEC only produced three teams into the tourney, one being Vanderbilt in the First Four. Do not get ahead of yourselves Texas A&M, you have to get by Green Bay first, and they can score. I mean SCORE. The Phoenix scored the most points in the entire nation all season. They average the most points out of all 68 teams in the tournament at 84.2 a game. Expect a big outcome from senior guard and leading scorer Carrington Love. If you watch some replays of Texas A&M they can get lackadaisical at times, Green Bay's potent scoring attack will eat this alive.
(12) South Dakota State over (5) Maryland
The Jackrabbits are led by senior guard tandem Deondre Parks and George Marshall and freshman center Mike Daum. All three account for 44 of the average 76 points per game. So they are kind of a big deal. South Dakota State has done fairly well against teams that are in this tournament, beating Florida Gulf Coast, Weber State, and Middle Tennessee State. It doesn't say much about them, but it shows promise. Maryland on the other hand, 25-8 on the year, can be deceiving. The Terps have struggled of late, dropping five of their last eight games, which leads me to believe this can be an early exit for guard Melo Trimble. You never want to enter this tournament cold.
(12) Yale over (5) Baylor
There's something so intriguing with Ivy League schools in the tournament. Yale is having one of the best seasons in school history and it's being overshadowed by a
sexual misconduct case. Captain Jack Montague was kicked off the team in early February for accusations; that didn't stop the Bulldogs from winning, only falling once in conference play all season. The Bulldogs are a bunch of bulldogs on defense, ranked 12th in the nation in points allowed. Baylor, another team entering the tournament cold, went 2-4 in their last six games. They are loaded with stretch forwards who have dominated all season, but Yale can match that with senior forwards Justin Sears and Brandon Sherrod. The future CEOs will rally around the loss of their captain, like they have done all season.
Minor Upsets
(9) Butler over (8) Texas Tech
When Butler's on, they are on. They are shooting a solid .387 from behind the arc, led by Kris Dunham shooting a hot .428 from three. I can see the Bulldogs advancing to another Sweet 16.
(9) Providence over (8) USC
The Friars are led by NBA-ready Kris Dunn and he doesn't even lead the team in scoring. Forward Ben Bentil leads the team with an average 21 points per game. USC has been horrible of late, 3-7 of their last 10.
(9) Connecticut over (8) Colorado
UCONN sneaks in from another conference championship, I've heard this one before. Kevin Ollie has the Huskies bound to make another run, yet again.
I almost pulled the trigger, but couldn't
(16) Hampton over (1) Virginia
I really really really want to say Hampton over Virginia, but Virginia will pull this game out close. That Hampton team that lost to Kentucky by 23 last year, really didn't lose that bad, especially coming from an undefeated Wildcats team. The Pirates thrive from tearing down boards, ranked 7th in the nation averaging 41 per game. Where does Virginia get killed the most? Yup, on the boards, ranked 329th in nation for rebounds per game. With the Cavaliers' slow-the-game-down tempo, it could keep Hampton lurking around deep into the game. I'm not saying Hampton wins, but I'm just going to keep this right here.
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