32 NCAA Tournament First Round Quick Takes
Posted by Matt Eisenberg on March 15th, 2018With the NCAA Tournament now just a few hours from opening tip, here are 32 quick takes for the 32 First Round games today and tomorrow.
How Will the Loss of DeAndre Hunter Affect Virginia? (USA Today Images)
- Virginia vs. UMBC: UMBC’s offense finished the season with an adjusted offensive efficiency ranking outside of the top 200 — good luck against Virginia!
- Creighton vs. Kansas State: Look for Creighton’s transition offense to test Kansas State’s porous transition defense here.
- Kentucky vs. Davidson: Wildcats vs. Wildcats — Davidson was only one of two teams this season to shoot better than 55 percent on two-point attempts against Virginia. Will Kentucky be focused for the entire 40 minutes of this one?
- Arizona vs. Buffalo: Arizona ranks fourth nationally in points per possession in post-up situations while Buffalo comes into this game ranked outside of the top 250 in the same metric — definitely not the right formula to stop Mr. Ayton.
- Miami (FL) vs. Loyola-Chicago: To beat Miami (FL), Loyola-Chicago will need to replicate its defensive performance of forcing Florida to shoot 2-of-19 behind the arc.
- Tennessee vs. Wright State: If Wright State big man Loudon Love stays out of foul trouble, he could grab enough rebounds against the Volunteers to give Wright State a reasonable chance at an upset.
- Nevada vs. Texas: Nevada’s plethora of 6’7″ players will try to stretch out the Texas defense, but will that be enough to neutralize the Mo Bamba effect?
- Cincinnati vs. Georgia State: While D’Marcus Simonds is playing the R.J. Hunter role for this version of Georgia State, do not expect to see Cincinnati play the role of Baylor.
- Villanova vs. Radford: Villanova by how many?
- Virginia Tech vs. Alabama: Let’s all enjoy Collin Sexton for as long as we can, because he’s a man on a mission.
- West Virginia vs. Murray State: The matchup between Murray State’s Jonathan Clark and West Virginia’s Jevon Carter will dictate if the Racers can stay close.
- Wichita State vs. Marshall: While Marshall’s Jon Elmore might be the best player few have heard of, Wichita State’s combination of Shaq Morris and Darral Willis, Jr. will be way more than the Herd can handle down low.
- Florida vs. St. Bonaventure: Florida’s Chris Chiozza will be tested by Jaylen Adams in a battle of very strong guard play.
- Texas Tech vs. Stephen F. Austin: Texas Tech has lost five of its last seven games; could that give Stephen F. Austin the extra bit of confidence it might need to keep things close?
- Arkansas vs. Butler: The gambling experts in the desert have Butler as only one of two worse-seeded teams favored in its opening round game.
- Purdue vs. Cal State Fullerton: Big West teams have scored 62 or fewer points in four of their last five NCAA Tournament games, which is unlikely to be enough against Purdue.
- Kansas vs. Penn: Penn held Villanova to a season-low offensive rebounding rate and still lost by 28 points — Kansas has no need to rush Udoka Azubuike back for this game.
- Seton Hall vs. NC State: This matchup features two teams that have struggled to play defense on the road all season — whichever team gets more late-game stops will win.
- Clemson vs New Mexico State: In a game featuring two strong defenses, New Mexico State’s rebounding ability led by Jemerrio Jones’ 13.2 boards per game could be a vital difference-maker.
- Auburn vs. Charleston: Auburn’s three-point defense was shaky down the stretch, and they are facing Charleston’s Grant Riller, who shot 47 percent from behind the arc in CAA play.
- TCU vs. Syracuse: While much of the talk has been on how Syracuse did not belong in the tournament, the Orange could cause problems for a TCU team that faltered some in conference play after the loss of guard Jaylen Fisher.
- Michigan State vs. Bucknell: While the nation already knows who Miles Bridges is, could Bucknell’s Zach Thomas steal the show?
- Rhode Island vs. Oklahoma: Oklahoma has lost 10 consecutive road games, making a tough matchup against a savvy Rhode Island team even tougher.
- Duke vs. Iona: Iona is a highly-inefficient defensive team that struggles to rebound the ball; in other words, Duke and Marvin Bagley are not the ideal matchup for the Gaels.
- Xavier vs. Texas Southern: Texas Southern started the year with 13 consecutive road games including games against Gonzaga, Syracuse, and Kansas, so if anything else, they should be very comfortable going up against a better team on the road.
- Missouri vs. Florida State: There is likely no greater NCAA Tournament wildcard than what Michael Porter will be able to give Missouri this weekend.
- Ohio State vs. South Dakota State: Last year South Dakota State players other than Mike Daum shot 8-of-26 from inside the arc, but a repeat performance like that will make an upset of Ohio State beyond difficult.
- Gonzaga vs. UNC Greensboro: While not quite Chapel Hill, Gonzaga looks to avenge its loss to the Tar Heels with a game against a different North Carolina school.
- Houston vs. San Diego State: Opponents have lived at the free throw line against Houston for much of the year, so this could haunt the Cougars in what should very much be a tight game.
- Michigan vs. Montana: After running the table at Madison Square Garden nearly two weeks ago, will the long layoff adversely affect what has been a very hot Michigan team over the past month?
- Texas A&M vs. Providence: Providence has struggled when it has been on the wrong side of the turnover battle, but the Friars come into this game with an opportunity to take advantage of a Texas A&M team that has turned the ball over at a higher than average rate.
- North Carolina vs. Lipscomb: The average KenPom ranking of Lipscomb’s Atlantic Sun opponents’ was #279, so North Carolina is not quite the same caliber opponent that the Bisons have been dealing with the past few months.
