Take a look at that West bracket in this years NCAA Basketball Betting march madness tourney. Even if Missouri showed they do have a decent game away from home, that powerhouse is just stacked against them. What many would call two No. 1 seeds in UConn and Memphis, Wake Forest and Marquette. Good luck. Mizzou will cruise past Cornell in the first round, but look for them to get upset in round two and fall short of the sweet 16.
You want other upsets? Here you go.
Arizona over Utah. This isn’t like nascar betting, Arizona probably shouldn’t even be in the tournament (apologies to St. Mary’s, Kentucky, others). They were really pushing on that bubble after the early loss in the Pac-10 tournament to Arizona State, but surprisingly most experts only pin them as a 10% underdog to Utah right now. I like Arizona’s game. Did respect for the Pac 10 help their tourney case? Possibly, but now that they’re in I think they’ll make the most of it.
Duke done by the sweet 16: Whomever it is they face, I don’t see Duke as an Elite-8 team this year. . Singler hasn’t proven that he’s strong enough down low, and if Henderson doesn’t have a good scoring game, they’re in real trouble.
Sienna over Louisville: My crazy prediction of the tournament. Sienna squeaks by Ohio State and then shocks the snooker betting world by advancing to the sweet 16. Sienna is the biggest mid-major threat in the country beside Butler, and are going to the sweet 16. Don’t be surprised, either, when they get national attention like Davidson did last year. You heard it here first.
In fact, as I’m looking through the bracket, I might end up picking more upsets than not in the first couple rounds, but that’s just how the talent of this year’s teams plays out. I still can’t pick a likely winner.
No. 11 seed VCU over No. 6 seed UCLA. This one’s in Philly on Thursday.
Maryland over Cal: Another little bubble team that could. Like Arizona, Maryland, a tourney powerhouse as recently as a few years ago, makes it in and takes on seven-seeded California. This one goes down in Kansas City.
Here’s another “upset” for you. Marquette handles Utah State. It’s an upset because I see a hell of a lot of people at the best online sportsbooks taking a chance on “shaking things up” in this spot and putting Utah State through. Wrong call. Marquette wins here, beats Missouri, and then…that might be it. But they’re not exiting in the first round.
And a couple more for first-rounders you to chew on. USC is going to beat Boston College, and Northern Iowa is going over Purdue.