NCAA Tournament 2012: Marquette vs. BYU, Wisconsin vs. Montana, Plus Syracuse Goes Without Melo vs. UNC-Asheville
By Jason Lisk
#4 Wisconsin vs. #13 Montana, 2:10 in Albuquerque (TNT): Wisconsin, the Ken Pomeroy darlings, enter the tournament as a heavy favorite. They will play their typical slow style, and if Montana can hit shots and play along to limit possessions, they can stay in the game. Montana has some size to compete against Wisconsin’s front line, in 7-footer Derek Selvig, and forward Mathias Ward. I think the key here to Montana staying in is whether they can force some turnovers, something Wisconsin rarely does.
The Line: Wisconsin by 9. The Pick. I think Wisconsin wins, but that’s a lot of points. Montana +9
#3 Marquette vs. #14 BYU, 2:45 in Louisville (CBS). This should be another fun one, and on Tuesday, BYU found out they couldn’t run at a frenetic pace with Iona, and went zone and slowed it down, and relied on Davies and Hartsock. How will they play this one? Offensively, the key is whether they can get Davies going, but I’m concerned about how they will match up with Jae Crowder when Marquette has the ball.
The Line: Marquette by 6. The Pick: BYU certainly can compete here, but I think the early turnaround time and Marquette’s style eventually pulls away. Marquette -6.
#1 Syracuse vs. #16 UNC-Asheville, 3:10 in Pittsburgh (TruTV), It’s a 1/16 game, but the #1 just lost their interior presence. They should still have enough against a pretty good #16 seed, but one that is severely undersized. Syracuse should have enough.
The Line: Syracuse by 15.5. The Pick: UNC-Asheville +15.5
[photo via US Presswire]