Yesterday on Steve Believes, I made predictions for the first half of the Sweet 16 matchups. And as to how I did with those predictions, well I went 3-1, with the lone incorrect prediction being Michigan.
And now that they’re settled, it’s time to make my predictions for Day 2 of the Sweet 16 Round for 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:
- #3 LSU Tigers Vs. #2 Michigan State Spartans-Yale and Maryland gave LSU all that they could handle thus far in this tournament. However, they won’t get so lucky against a Michigan State team that found its grove with a 70-50 victory against Minnesota in the Second Round.
- #5 Auburn Tigers Vs. #1 North Carolina Tarheels-Auburn survived against New Mexico State, and then defeated a Kansas team that looked mortal without Udoka Azubuike and Lagerald Vick. However, they won’t have such luck against North Carolina.
- #4 Virginia Tech Hokies Vs. #1 Duke Blue Devils-Thus far, I have number ones all advancing to the Elite Eight, except right here. That’s right, I got Duke going down against Virginia Tech, simply because of the ACC familiarity. Plus, Duke won a game that they should have lost against UCF and that will catch up to them.
- #3 Houston Cougars Vs. #2 Kentucky Wildcats-Houston hasn’t been this deep in the tournament since the days of Phi Slama Jama. As for Kentucky, this is the eighth season in the John Calipari era that they have advanced to at least the Sweet 16. They are 6-1 at this point of the tournament, with that one loss coming against Kansas State last season. However, a “2” won’t go in that loss column.
Well, that’s it for today’s edition of Steve Believes: The 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. Tune in tomorrow, as I will make my predictions for Day 1 of the Elite 8 matchups. So until then, so long everybody!