Bracket Help: The First Four

Life isn't ordinary in Dayton.

One of the lovely things about our extended bracket is we get four extra games!!! YAY!?

Nein.  But hey, they are important anyways!  Let's do it!

12 California Golden Bears (24-9, 13-5)

vs. 12 South Florida Bulls (20-13, 12-6)

Winner plays 5 Temple.

Robby:  This game is really intriguing.  The Bears like to move the ball around a lot, and when that's disrupted they tend to struggle on offense.  The Bulls' strong point is on defense.  They like to slow the game down and their entire gameplan is predicated on keeping you from scoring.  If the Bulls are able to dictate the pace, I don't see Cal being able to grind one out.  Take South Florida.

14 BYU Cougars (25-8, 12-4)

vs. 14 Iona Gaels (25-7, 15-3)

Winner plays 3 Marquette.

Robby:  These teams play very similar styles of basketball.  They both like to push the tempo, score a lot of points, and are very efficient both passing and shooting.  This game may come down to mentality.  Both were bubble teams and it depends on how their focus is.  Are they just happy to be in, or are they dialed in and focused?  Go with Iona in your brackets.

16 Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils (21-12, 17-1)

vs. 16 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (15-18, 7-9)

Winner plays 1 Kentucky

Robby:  This game comes down to momentum, in my opinion.  Neither team holds a real advantage, and both are terrible at shooting the ball.  Western Kentucky has been on fire recently under their interim coach, meanwhile, the Delta Devils escaped a very ferocious SWAC Tournament.  Hilltoppers.

16 Lamar Cardinals (23-11, 11-5)

vs. 16 Vermont Catamounts (23-11, 13-3)

Winner plays 1 North Carolina

Robby:  Lamar is an interesting story.  Coach Pat Knight a couple weeks back threw his seniors completely under the bus in a press conference regarding their play.  They've since won 6 games in a row and have all the momentum coming into this game.  Vermont is a team with the coaching experience advantage in the tournament.  It all comes down to mentality.  If Lamar keeps playing as they have of late, pushing the tempo and cleaning up on the boards, they'll win this one in Dayton.  Take the Cardinals.