Yesterday on Steve Believes, I made predictions for the first half of the Second Round matchups. And as to how I did with those predictions, well I went 5-3, with incorrect predictions for the following: Maryland, Murray State and Villanova.
And now that they’re settled, it’s time to make my predictions for Day 2 of the Second Round of the 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.
The matchups are listed via the bullet points below and are each accompanied by a brief yet detailed description:
- #10 Iowa Hawkeyes Vs. #2 Tennessee Volunteers-Iowa pulled off an upset in the First Round, as they eliminated Cincinnati. And given how shaky that Tennessee has looked, they could very well author another upset. It’ll be a close game, but I think Tennessee ekes one out to advance to the Sweet 16.
- #9 Washington Huskies Vs. #1 North Carolina Tarheels-At this point last year, North Carolina got throttled by Texas A&M. They will use that as fuel to advance this time around.
- #9 UCF Knights Vs. #1 Duke Blue Devils-Two years ago, Duke lost in this round against South Carolina. However, that won’t happen this time around.
- #6 Buffalo Bulls Vs. #3 Texas Tech Red Raiders-Buffalo got to this round last year after upsetting Arizona. However, it will endure a Second Round exit for the second consecutive year.
- #12 Liberty Flames Vs. #4 Virginia Tech Hokies-As tempting as it is to pick Liberty in an upset, I just can’t go against Virginia Tech in this one. They’re that good.
- #9 Oklahoma Sooners Vs. #1 Virginia Cavaliers-Virginia hasn’t been to the Sweet 16 since 2016. However, that two-year drought will come to an end.
- #11 Ohio State Buckeyes Vs. #3 Houston Cougars-Houston has been one of the best teams all year. Ohio State has been one of the best teams of late, whereas Houston hasn’t been, despite their First Round victory against Georgia State. So with Houston’s struggles being said, I like Ohio State in an upset.
- #13 UC Irvine Anteaters Vs. #12 Oregon Ducks-Oregon followed up their impressive PAC-12 Conference Tournament championship win with an upset of Wisconsin. Look for them to follow up that upset with a win right here.
Well, that’s it for today’s edition of Steve Believes: The 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. Tune in on Thursday, as I will make my predictions for Day 1 of the Sweet 16 matchups. So until then, so long everybody!