NCAA second round has some potential upsets



After two days of play in the NCAA men's basketball tournament, the second-round games are set. And there are some very nice matchups, and some very dangerous ones that could result in upsets.

Here are the match-ups that I find intriguing:

1. All four in the East: 1. Villanova-8. Wisconsin, 5. Virginia-4. Florida, 11. USC-3. Baylor, and 7. South Carolina-2. Duke.

Possible upsets? Wisconsin will have to play well, but they could give the Wildcats a real battle. South Carolina may also give Duke a real battle in a 2-7 matchup. Those are both potential upsets.

In the West, pesky Northwestern (8) could give top-seeded Gonzaga a battle, but with the Zags' size, I doubt that it will be an upset.

Notre Dame (5) and the WVU Mountaineers (4) could go either way, and from a sentimental point, I would love to see 11th seeded Xavier knock off third-seeded Florida State. I doubt it, though.

In the South, I would not be surprised to see sixth-seeded Cincinnati give No. 3 UCLA a battle, but do not see an upset there. While Wichita State (10) has some very talented athletes, I still cannot see them upsetting second-seeded Kentucky. The game could be close, however.

In the Midwest, the seventh-seeded Michigan vs. Louisville (2) battle is interesting since the Wolverines have been on a roll since their plane slid off that runway. Still, the Cardinals have more talent, but it should be close.

Some say that Tom Izzo's Michigan State's Spartans (9) could knock off top-seeded Kansas. Izzo is a great coach, but he has a talent deficit there.

Iowa State and Purdue could be a great 4-5 clash.

The teams that should be the most worried? Villanova and Duke.

Yet, who knows? They could both be blowouts. That is what makes March Madness so interesting.

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