Friday's Picks

Another 16 games to enjoy today. Here are my picks for the teams that I think will score more points than their opponents.

3-Syracuse vs 14 Stephen F. Austin
I picked Syracuse but I actually thought about taking the Lumberjacks. Cuse should win but if they don't it is fine with me as I have them losing in the second round anyway.

8- Tennessee vs 9- Oklahoma St.
Coin toss to see who gets to lose to Pitt. in the second round. The Vols win the toss so I'll take them.

6- Marquette vs 11- Utah St.
Utah St. is one of my sleepers as this team shot 50% from the floor during the season. That's not a nice 10 game stretch - we are talking 34 games. I think they will slow the pace of the game down and make a lot of threes to upset the Golden Eagles.

3- Kansas vs 14- North Dakota St.
Good job by ND St. making the tourney in their first seasons as a D-1 team. Their reward is a 26 point loss to Kansas.

6- Arizona St. vs 11-Temple
I think Arizona St. is going to ride the back of James Harden pretty far in this tourney.

1- Pitt. vs 16-E. Tennessee St.
Pitt. in a 'big shocker.'

6- West Virginia vs 11- Dayton
I know the Big East is a lot better than the A-10 but it seems like every year the A-10 has a double digit seeded team that pulls off an upset and I think Dayton is that team this year.

3- Missouri vs 14- Cornell
Ivy League teams always seem to make things interesting. I think Cornell will hang with the Tigers but in the end Mizzou has too much talent to lose.

5- Utah vs 12-Arizona
Here is my 12 over a 5 pick as everyone has to have one. I know Arizona didn't deserve to be in over St. Marys but now that they are, I feel as though they could win a game or two. Nic Wise, Chase Budinger, and Jordan Hill were suppose to be doing great things at Zona but thanks to Lute Olson leaving things haven't really worked out as planned. That could change if they pull off and upset or two in the tourney.

1- Louisville vs 16-Morehead St.
Cards by a lot.

7- BC vs 10- USC
USC has been playing really well the last few weeks including winning the Pac 10 tourney and Tim Floyd vs Al Skinner is a big mismatch so take the Trojans.

4-Xavier vs 13- Portland St.
I think this is going to be a real good game with Xavier holding on for a hard earned W.

4-Wake Forest vs 13- Cleveland St.
This is another popular upset pick but I don't see it happening so I'm taking Wake.

8-Ohio St. vs 9- Siena
Buckeyes win with a huge game from Evan Turner.

2- Michigan St. vs 15- Robert Morris
I really like Michigan St. as they are one of my Final Four teams which seems to surprise people even though they are a 2 seed. I would make a joke about that fact they are playing one man but I used that joke in 2006 when the Spartans faced George Mason in the first round and that didn't turn out well for me.

5- Florida St. vs 12- Wisconsin
Florida St. gets overlooked in the ACC because they aren't a traditional basketball school like UNC or Duke. I think Toney Douglas is very underrated, maybe not in ACC country, but I think the rest of America will know his name by the time the sweet 16 rolls around.

Enjoy today's games and I'll have Saturday's second round picks late tonight or tomorrow morning.