Here we go....Saturday's picks...

After a day of surprises….we have 32!!

Friday was definitely “freaky” for some of the higher seeded teams in this season’s NCAA Tournament. Overall I had a relatively good 10-6 picking record that saw San Diego State, Missouri, Memphis, Duke, Michigan, St. Mary’s, Temple and Notre Dame lose to lower seeded teams.

I’m back for more so here we go with Saturday’s picks:

East Region:

Kansas State (8) vs. Syracuse (1)

Syracuse may survive one more round before crashing…they beat K-State by 7

Gonzaga (7) vs. Ohio State (2)

Ohio State by 5

Vanderbilt (5) vs. Wisconsin (4)

Vandy by 4

West Region:

Murray State (5) vs. Marquette (4)

Marquette by 8

New Mexico (5) vs. Louisville (4)

New Mexico by 2

South Region:

VCU (12) vs. Indiana (4)

Why not…VCU by 8

Iowa State (8) vs. Kentucky (1)

Not yet Kentucky but soon…Kentucky by 12

Colorado (11) vs. Baylor (3)

Baylor by 14

Ok…see you tomorrow!!

NCAA Friday games....

Round of 64…Day 2

Now the action is heavy with the full field of the 2012 NCAA Basketball tournament seeing action. After Thursday’s games I had a 12-4 record…putting me at 12-8 overall factoring in the First Four games.

Friday sees a few heavyweights in action and I am looking for a better record as my ACC teams see action.

East Region:

Texas (11) vs. Cincinnati (6)

Cincy by 5

St. Bonaventure (14) vs. Florida State (3)

FSU by 9

Midwest Region:

NC State (11) vs. San Diego State (6)

Not a big upset but NC State by 7

Alabama (9) vs. Creighton (8)

‘Bama by 4

Belmont (14) vs. Georgetown (3)

Georgetown by 12

Vermont vs. North Carolina (1)

Carolina by 21

Ohio (13) vs. Michigan (4)

Upset alert!! Ohio by 6

Purdue (10) vs. St. Mary’s (7)

St. Mary’s by 8

South Florida (12) vs. Temple (5)

Temple by 13

Detroit (15) vs. Kansas (2)

Kansas by 17

West Region:

Norfolk State (15) vs. Missouri (2)

Missouri by 15

Virginia (10) vs. Florida (7)

Mild upset…UVa by 3

St. Louis (9) vs. Memphis (8)

St. Louis by 1

LIU-Brooklyn (16) vs. Michigan State (1)

Mich. St. by 24

South Region:

Lehigh (15) vs. Duke (2)

Duke by 17

Xavier (10) vs. Notre Dame (7)

Xavier by 5

Back with more after tomorrow’s games….

NCAA dill bracket tips off!!!

NCAA 2012 Regional Games begin!!!

The 2012 NCAA tournament kicks off with regional action from the East, South and West regionals on Thursday (Friday morning Aussie time).

So far I am glad I don’t get paid per correct pick as I went 0fer in the First Four play in games!! Hopefully my luck will change now that the main bracket is set….you can see my picks for my Yahoo bracket here or my ESPN one here. They vary slightly due to the current situation with the Syracuse team. In one I have Vanderbilt joining Baylor, North Carolina and Marquette in the Final Four with Carolina beating Baylor for the title. In the other I have Florida State instead of Vandy but the same result for the final.

Ok…let’s jump in and pick ‘em!!

Thursday’s Games

West Region:

Weirdly the early games are from the West regional in Louisville Kentucky.

Colorado State (11) vs. Murray State (6)

Murray State by 12

Davidson (13) vs. Louisville (4)

First upset!! Davidson by 7

BYU (14) vs. Marquette (3)

BYU played in to get bounced out by 14

Long Beach State (12) vs. New Mexico (5)

New Mexico by 4

East Region:

Southern Miss (9) vs. Kansas State (8)

Kansas State by 3

Montana (13) vs. Wisconsin (4)

Wisconsin by 16

UNC-Asheville (16) vs. Syracuse (1)

Syracuse by 17

Harvard (12) vs. Vanderbilt (5)

Vandy by 11

West Virginia (10) vs. Gonzaga (7)

Gonzaga by 3

Loyola, MD (15) vs. Ohio State (2)

Ohio State by 22

South Region:

W. Kentucky (16) vs. Kentucky (1)

Kentucky by 30

VCU (12) vs. Wichita State (5)

VCU pulls the their firs upset this year by 6

South Dakota State (14) vs. Baylor (3)

Baylor by 22

UConn (9) vs. Iowa State (8)

UConn by 9

New Mexico State (13) vs. Indiana (4)

New Mexico State by 3 in a minor upset

Colorado (11) vs. UNLV (6)

UNLV by 10

Ok…I’m 0-4 so far….back with more tomorrow….

Day Two NCAA 2012...

First Four…Day 2

I did not start off my predictions for the 2012 NCAA Tourney with the best form, going 0-2 in the first days games. So I am looking for a better result in Wednesday’s games (Thursday AM Aussie time).

Vermont (23-11) vs. Lamar (23-11)

These two are pretty evenly matched but Lamar played a slightly tougher schedule and has a Knight at the helm….Pat Knight, son of Bobby coaches the Cardinals.

In the end I’ll tip the Cardinals for the win.

South Florida (20-13) vs. California (24-9)

Cal limps into this one after losing three of the last four while South Florida has dropped two of their last three.

I do not expect either of these teams to go far in the main bracket and as for this game….I’ll say Cal by 10-15...

Tomorrow I’ll be back with picks for the full first days of action in the main bracket….til then…get ready for some long days!!!

NCAA play in games....

Let’s Play(In) NCAA Style

The time is upon us…the 2012 NCAA tournament gets underway Tuesday (Wed AM Aussie time) when Western Kentucky tangles with Mississippi Valley State and Brigham Young faces off against Iona.

Western Kentucky (15-18) vs. Mississippi Valley State (21-12)

Western Kentucky pulled a surprise in the Sun Belt conference tourney winning it with a losing record while Miss. Valley State has won 20 of their last 21 games and swept through the SWAC regular season and tournament.

Look for the delta Devils to get a first up tourney win.

BYU (25-8) vs. Iona (25-7)

BYU’s record is deceiving, though without “Jimmer” and after downgrading to the West Coast Conference, the Cougars did not have things go their way as easily as first thought.

Iona gained an at-large bid in spite of losing the MAAC final against Fairfield and will be a tough foe for BYU.

No run for the Cougars this year, Iona in a close one.

I will be back with me first round picks tomorrow…enjoy the games….

WNBL.com.au: Dandenong Rangers crowned 2011/12 WNBL Championship with emphatic win over Bulleen

WNBL.com.au: Dandenong Rangers crowned 2011/12 WNBL Championship with emphatic win over Bulleen

WNBL.com.au: Olaf Lange’s Grand Final preview

WNBL.com.au: Olaf Lange’s Grand Final preview

WNBL.com.au: Full house for Grand Final

WNBL.com.au: Full house for Grand Final

WNBL Final today...

WNBL Showcase Sunday

The 2011-2012 WNBL season culminates today in Melbourne when the Dandenong Rangers face off against the Bulleen Boomers. The action kicks off at 3pm and will be televised nationally on the ABC network.

Expect a close on as the biggest margin in the three Bulleen wins this season was 10 points.

The all Victorian affair is sold out and the crowd will be raucous. Prediction wise, I will pick Bulleen in another close one.

Sorry this is a short one but other commitments have kept me from blogging much lately but you can find other grand final related articles linked on my bolg soon.