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2016 NCAA Tournament Picks – West Bracket
By Walter Cherepinsky – @walterfootball
NCAA Tournament Picks: West Bracket First Round
No. 1 Oregon vs. No. 16 Holy Cross
I’m going to list Holy Cross as the No. 16 winner for Bill Simmons, who reads this site (or at least he did at one point). Oregon’s going to win this game, though. Sorry, Bill.
2016 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 1 Oregon
No. 8 St. Joseph’s vs. No. 9 Cincinnati
Of all the eight and nine seeds in this tournament, aside from Connecticut, these are the two best teams. They’re pretty close, but the Bearcats are slightly superior. Their head coach, Mick Cronin, has enjoyed more success in the NCAA Tournament as well, so I’m going with th No. 9 seed to move on.
2016 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 9 Cincinnati
No. 5 Baylor vs. No. 12 Yale
Here’s my 12-5 upset. Baylor is the weakest No. 5 seed, while Yale is the strongest No. 12 seed. In fact, these teams are close to even. I have a feeling that the Big XII teams are going down hard in this tournament. The conference has been so hyped by ESPN, which usually means bad things for it, prompting the clueless people on TV to look dumbfounded, trying to figure out what happened.
2016 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 12 Yale
No. 4 Duke vs. No. 13 UNC-Wilmington
It can’t be a coincidence that Duke is in the easiest bracket, and it happens to be battling the weakest of the No. 13 seeds, right? I mean the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee would never pull favors for Duke, knowing that its fans will travel, buy tickets and provide lots of revenue, right? UNC-Wilmington sucks, and the overrated and overseeded Blue Devils will move on, unfortunately.
2016 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 4 Duke
No. 6 Texas vs. No. 11 Northern Iowa
It greatly saddens me that Rick Barnes is no longer coaching Texas. Fading the Longhorns used to be one of my favorite pastimes in March. Alas, that’s no longer an option, as Shaka Smart actually knows what he’s doing. Northern Iowa is the weakest of the 11-seeds.
2016 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 6 Texas
No. 3 Texas A&M vs. No. 14 Wisconsin-Green Bay
I’ll discuss this later, but it’s ridiculous that Texas A&M is a No. 3 seed after losing the SEC Championship to Kentucky, which is a No. 4 seed. The Aggies are still a solid team though, and I don’t anticipate them having much of an issue with Wisconsin-Green Bay.
2016 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 3 Texas A&M
No. 7 Oregon State vs. No. 10 VCU
Oregon State is so bad that the team should be a No. 15 seed, which is a spot reserved for bad teams that won their low-major conference tournaments. VCU, on the other hand, is a much better team. Shaka Smart is no longer coaching the Rams, but they should be good enough for one upset win thie March.
2016 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 10 VCU
No. 2 Oklahoma vs. No. 15 CS-Bakersfield
CS-Bakersfield made history when the team hit a game-winning three in its conference championship. It was the Roadrunners’ first trip to the tournament. History will be made here as well, as CS-Bakersfield will lose its first tournament game in school history.
2016 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 2 Oklahoma
NCAA Tournament Picks: West Bracket Second Round
No. 1 Oregon vs. No. 9 Cincinnati
The winner of the Saint Joe’s-Cincinnati matchup is kind of screwed, as both teams are asked to travel three time zones and play in Spokane, Wash. That gives Oregon a huge advantage – not like the Ducks really needed it.
2016 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 1 Oregon
No. 4 Duke vs. No. 12 Yale
Once you get past the allure of the big Duke name, and Coach K, and that douche who makes all of those cheap shots, and you just look at the rosters of these two teams, you see that this is a very evenly matched game. I had the urge to take Yale in an upset, but then I realized how upset I’ll be that the Blue Devils will be getting all of the calls, as the NCAA will want them in the Sweet 16 to sell tickets in Anaheim. It’s a shame, because Yale could easily prevail if all of the conditions were fair.
2016 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 4 Duke
No. 3 Texas A&M vs. No. 6 Texas
I was about to comment on how weird it is to have a Texas A&M-Texas matchup in the second round, but I quickly remembered that the two schools aren’t in the same conference anymore. At any rate, these teams aren’t very far apart, as the Aggies are a bit overseeded because the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee released the bracket before the SEC Championship concluded, which is completely ridiculous. Meanwhile, Texas is coached by Shaka Smart, who has a great tournament track record, so I’m going to take the upset here.
2016 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 6 Texas
No. 2 Oklahoma vs. No. 10 VCU
Speaking of Shaka Smart, he is no longer coaching VCU, as I mentioned in the first-round picks. Thus, it’s unreasonable to expect the Rams to make another deep run. Besides, Oklahoma is just so much better.
2016 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 2 Oklahoma
NCAA Tournament Picks: West Bracket Sweet 16
No. 1 Oregon vs. No. 4 Duke
Fortunately, Duke’s run ends here. I say fortunately because the Blue Devils are overseeded and overrated, and I would pick them to lose in the first round if the NCAA didn’t intentionally give them a cake walk into the Sweet 16. However, Oregon is much better and will have the advantage of playing in its own time zone. The Blue Devils have to fly across the country to play this game, which will be too much to overcome.
2016 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 1 Oregon
No. 2 Oklahoma vs. No. 6 Texas
Hey, look, Texas is playing an actual Big XII opponent this time. That’s cool. Shaka Smart always poses a threat in the NCAA Tournament, but Oklahoma and Buddy Hield will be too much to overcome. The Sooners are the better team and it’s not really close. The Longhorns actually won the previous matchup, but I chalk that up as Oklahoma being distracted after being a week removed from winning in West Virginia.
2016 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 2 Oklahoma
NCAA Tournament Picks: West Bracket Elite Eight
No. 1 Oregon vs. No. 2 Oklahoma
I have chalk here in the West region, but will that continue into the Final Four? Well, I’m tempted to pick the Ducks because I love Dana Altman as a coach, but I just can’t. Oregon is not a true No. 1 seed. The team has been miscast and really should be on the three line as the ninth-best team in the country. Oklahoma is No. 6, meaning the Sooners are the better team in this matchup. Oklahoma also has Buddy Hield, arguably the best player in college basketball, so in a game in which the two squads are closely matched, I’ll want the top athlete on the court on my side.
2016 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 2 Oklahoma
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