2011 March Madness Second Round Upset Best Bets
They don’t call it March Madness for nothing. With the brackets released, you’ve had time to get your initial observations out of the way and now it’s time to start talking upsets, so you can will your office bracket pool and make some major money. Here is a quick look at the second round games that are most vulnerable for upsets.
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Below are our March Madness betting tips for teams that could blow up your bracket on the first Thursday and Friday of the tournament that you should steer clear from at all costs.
East Region
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#11 Marquette over #6 Xavier
It is well established that the Big East is the best conference in the nation this year. As a result I have a hard time not seeing their lower seeded teams as being very dangerous opponents. In terms of Marquette this is a splendid perimeter oriented teams with a variety of scoring options. What makes them so tough is that they are great in the mid-range game and recover well on missed shots. Xavier had a a marvellous season too with just one loss in Atlantic 10 play but they are overly reliant on their freshman point guard Tu Holloway, who admittedly has been superb almost all season. The primary exception a 5 point game against fellow Big East member Cincinnati. The Big East is tough and even though Marquette roster is not filled with thugs they will play more physical than what Xavier and Holloway are used…so watch out Musketeer fans
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#9 Villanova over #8 George Mason
Villanova’s struggles of late are very well documented but I still think that they are capable of beating and possibly even blowing out George Mason, who really was unfairly placed here (both for their first round matchup and potential second rounder against Ohio State). Say what you will about the Wildcats but they still have more talent than the Patriots at most positions and more importantly have great guard depth and experience. This is an 8 vs 9 game so there will be no shockers either way but I feel comfortable saying that if Villanova plays their game they will win easily. In some ways this one on the coach, Jay Wright, who hasn’t been able to find any answers to their struggles down the stretch.
Southeast Region
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#9 Old Dominion over #8 Butler
Old Dominion is one of the most physical teams in the country. They make it tough for you to score inside and rebound very well. I think they will completely eliminate Matt Howard for Butler which puts an awful lot of pressure on Shelvin Mack and the other perimeter players. Also, ODU has a lot of experience in their roster and the Colonial is way better then than Horizon this year. I think this another gross case of mis-seeding. ODU should have been a 7 (or higher) somewhere in the bracket.
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#11 Gonzaga over #6 St. Johns
My other selection for the Southeast is a fade of St. Johns in their opener. This program made a remarkable return to relevance this year with some very impressive victories. But I think they might be spent at this point and losing one of their most versatile players in DJ Kennedy won’t help. The Bulldogs of Gonzaga are battle tested and one of the hottest teams entering the tournament with 9 wins in the row. This isn’t the best Zags team we have seen of late but they are good enough to open things up with a win.
Southwest
#11 USC/VCU vs #6 Georgetown
I think there is a very good chance that both of the first four winners will win their opening games which means they might need to look at this format and slotting a little more closely in the future. The Hoyas get the winner of USC vs VCU, two teams I think should have been ushered into the tournament ahead of say Penn State or Georgia. Both can present problems for a Hoya team that has struggled lately and isn’t sure what they are going to get from returning PG Chris Wright. I think the biggest factor though is that whoever they face will have had a wonderful warm up opportunity against a good quality opponent while Georgetown is trying to do a 180 and start winning now. Lets call it for USC.
West
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#11 Missouri vs #6 Cincinnati
You have to be on top of the teams whose seeding reflects only their most recent play to pick out some potential upsets. Mizzou was in the 3-5 seed range for most of the season but late struggles have dropped them significantly. This is an experienced and deep team facing a team in the Bearcats, who even though they are Big East tough, haven’t been to the dance in a while and helped themselves big time this season with scheduling. Missouri can be difficult to prepare for and if they can get the pace they want they are hard to keep up with. Cincy struggles to score and definitely won’t run away from the Tigers.
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#9 Tennessee vs #8 Michigan
Tennessee is an enigma but I am not convinced that Michigan deserves to be in the Tourney either. For this one I again go back to early season expectations. Tennessee was pegged to be a pretty good team, a shoe-in for postseason play, that never really got their season going in the right direction despite some lofty nonconference wins. On the other side is Michigan, a team not much was expected of who benefitted from the decline of the middle of the Big Ten (Illinois, Minnesota and Michigan State) as much as anything else. Some really like their backcourt but I think it is overrated and they don’t have anyone to compete well up front with Vols forward Tobias Harris. I like Tennessee to be able to set the pace and win easily.
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