With the first round entirely in the book, we look to Saturday and the Round of 32. Eight teams will punch their ticket to the Sweet 16 on Saturday and we’re letting you know how we expect those games to go. Here are all the picks you need for March Madness First Round picks for Saturday, March 22nd. Come check them out
Saturday’s games will get started just after noon with underdog McNeese St. squaring off with Purdue. They’ll carry through the night action, which tips off on the west coast at 9:40 EST, and features UCLA and Tennessee vying for that Sweet 16 spot.
March Madness Second Round Picks: Saturday, March 22nd
(12) McNeese St. vs (4) Purdue 12:10 p.m.
McNeese St.’s upset of Clemson, along with the viral antics of their team manager, have turned them into the nation’s darlings. Everybody wants their story to continue – and as a result we see the line looking pretty close for a 12 vs 4 matchup. However, I just can’t imagine their offense being able to keep pace with Purdue, who posted a top ten offensive ranking during the regular season. I think the fun ends here and we see the favorites cover.
Pick: Purdue -6.5 (-102)
(10) Arkansas vs (2) St. John’s 2:40 p.m.
It’s the speed of St. John’s that I just can’t imagine Arkansas maintaining. Rick Pitino has them playing perhaps better than any team in the league when it comes to pushing the ball consistently. While John Calipari is probably the right guy to plan for a counter to that, I just don’t think he’s got the talent that can keep up. The Red Storm cover here after sweating it out early.
Pick: St. John’s -6.5 (-118)
(5) Michigan vs (4) Texas A&M 5:15 p.m.
Michigan faltered down the stretch of their game on Thursday and very nearly gave away the game to plucky underdog UC San Diego. That’s kind of been how they’ve played all season. Their recent win over Maryland saw them jump out of the shoot only to give a bunch of that lead back and win by one. I’m not sure playing just one half will lead them to a win here, but it should keep them close enough to cover.
Pick: Michigan +2.5 (-105)
(11) Drake vs (3) Texas tech 6:10 p.m.
Texas Tech is another offensive juggernaut trying to make their way through March Madness’ Second Round. They have a way of getting hot and not cooling off. While I enjoy what Drake did in the first round, they are just so slow paced. They rank dead last in terms of tempo of the 364 Division I teams. If they fall behind, I don’t think they’ll be able to get themselves back in the game.
Pick: Texas Tech -6.5 (-118)
(9) Creighton vs (1) Auburn 7:10 p.m.
Perhaps this isn’t a upset that I’m predicting for Wednesday, but it is a spread that I think is particularly manageable. Creighton managed to run over a Louisville team that the advanced metrics liked a lot. Their 15-point win was not all that much bigger than Auburn’s 20-point affair with Alabama St. – who was one of the very worst teams in the tournament.
Pick: Creighton +9.5 (-115)
(6) BYU vs (3) Wisconsin 7:45 p.m.
Everybody lauded Wisconsin as one of the very best offenses in the Big 10. They certainly showed it in the First Round. However, they may have just run into a team that shoots as well as they do. More importantly, when BYU can’t get their deep ball to fall, they have an impeccable ability to get to the line. It’s those 28 free throws that they took in their first matchup that I think could be the difference here – and that’s if they aren’t hot anyways.
Pick: BYU +1 (-110)
(8) Gonzaga vs (1) Houston 8:40 p.m.
Gonzaga sort of had a lackluster regular season. However, by KenPom’s rankings, they were the least lucky team in NCAA amongst teams that finished at least two games over .500. They turned that luck around in an absolute trouncing of Georgia in the first round. Houston’s defense has been good, but that shouldn’t matter if Gonzaga shoots and passes the way they did on Thursday.
Pick: Gonzaga +5.5 (-112)
(7) UCLA vs (2) Tennessee 9:40 p.m.
UCLA’s blowout in the first round likely got this line a bit closer to even. However, it’s not really fair to compare how they shot against a pretty poor Utah St. defense and think that’ll still apply to Tennessee. The Volunteers really have that ability to lock things down and make you take shots you don’t want. That should separate things in this one.
Pick: Tennessee -5.5 (-105)
And for even more March Madness’ Second Round picks, be sure to listen to The College Experience. They are dropping episodes with picks to every single game of the tournament as well.
