By: Brennan Timberlake
Virginia (33-3) vs. Auburn (30-9) 6:09 P.M. CBS
The Cavilers are the last one seed left in the tournament and they face off against the SEC champions who are playing in their first ever final four. It’s safe to say that Virginia is looking for redemption after last year being the first one seed to ever lose in the first round.
Auburn is coming into this final four as the highest seed left in the tournament at the five. Although this can be discouraging for Tiger fans out there that doesn’t mean anything because they have had a very impressive run in this tournament. Bruce Pearl has coached his team in consecutive wins against NCAA powerhouses Kansas, North Carolina and Kentucky. I really think they have a chance to pull off this upset because they are 28th in the nation in scoring and their duo in Bryce Brown and Jared Harper is going to be hard to stop. They both had over twenty points in their win over the Wildcats.
The Cavilers have had two very close calls in their last two games against Purdue and Oregon. I see Auburn taking advantage of their momentum of this twelve-game win streak and pulling off this upset.
My prediction for the score is 74-65 in favor of the Auburn Tigers.
Michigan State (32-6) vs. Texas Tech (30-6) 8:49 P.M. CBS
Both teams are coming off upsets against number one seeds in this tournament. Cassius Winston has been huge for the Spartans this year. The Big Ten player of the year showed up and handled a Duke squad that many saw as championship favorites. On the other side Texas Tech’s star Jarrett Culver is averaging over 21 points in this year’s tournament. I find this game to be more intriguing than the other matchup because both teams have potential first round draft picks going head to head.
This will be Tom Izzo’s eight final four appearance and he is chasing after his second national championship. The Red Raiders have the number one defense in the country and Michigan State may have their hands full in Minneapolis. With this being said the Spartans still have the more balanced team. When Culver is not on the floor Texas Tech may struggle to put up points in this game.
My prediction for this game is Michigan State pulling ahead and winning this game late in the second half. I think it’s going to be a low scoring defensive battle, but the Spartans are going to win 52-43.
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