NCAA Tournament 2012: Iowa State vs. UConn, Indiana vs. New Mexico State, Ohio State vs. Loyola, and UNLV vs. Colorado
By Jason Lisk
#8 Iowa State vs. #9 Connecticut, 9:20 in Louisville (TBS): Royce White is the key to this game. Will he be engaged the whole time he is on the floor? He plays a point forward that will translate well to the NBA, and while Alex Oriakhi and Andre Dummond have a height advantage on them, he will draw them out to free up shooters. Iowa State is a much better shooting team, while the Huskies rely on offensive boards (like seemingly, a lot of Big East teams). The Cyclones are pretty good at limiting opponents on the offensive glass, and that will be their defensive key.
The Line: Connecticut by 2. The Pick: the line has shifted in Connecticut’s favor. I like Iowa State and Royce White to continuously run sets where he takes the ball outside in half court sets, pulls the big men out, and creates. Iowa State +2
#4 Indiana vs. #13 New Mexico State, 9:45 in Portland (CBS). New Mexico State brings the all-name team: Christian Kabongo, Wendell McKines, Hernst Laroche, Bandja Sy and Tshilidzi Nephawe. I bet they all make fun of freshman guard Daniel Mullings. Indiana is one of the best three point shooting teams in the country, opened up by Cody Zeller inside, and one of the best offenses. Their defense is more suspect, and New Mexico State must get after them in the paint, despite the size of Indiana, to pull the upset.
The Line: Indiana by 6.5. The Pick: Crazy stuff happens in the West after dark, but I’m not sure if it happens here. Indiana -6.5
#2 Ohio State vs. #15 Loyola-Maryland, 9:50 in Pittsburgh (TNT). Loyola coach Jimmy Patsos should put on a show here, so let’s hope this somehow stays close enough to be relevant. Loyola is not a great shooting team, and relies on getting rebounds. I’m not sure that’s going to work in this matchup, where Ohio State is one of the best rebounding teams in the country.
The Line: Ohio State by 17. The Pick: Ohio State has too much. Loyola may keep it close for a bit, but the Buckeyes pull away. Ohio State -17.
#6 UNLV vs. #11 Colorado, 9:57 in Albuquerque (TruTV). Pac-12 pride, or what’s left of it, is on the line here as Cal already looked dreadful last night. Colorado played their way in at the Pac-12 tournament, and now must deal with Chace Stanback and the UNLV front line.
The Line: UNLV by 5.5. The Pick: Do we trust the Pac-12 at all here? No, but I’ll take the points and regret it later. Colorado +5.5.