Triple Option

By Michael Maynard

March 21, 2019 @10:35 PM CT

Last year for Voyager I did a very in depth preview of every team. That was very lengthy, and this year I’m going to condense previews to rank each of the 16 games today by how entertaining they should be. I’ll come back tomorrow with another set.

1. #5 Marquette vs. #12 Murray State (Hartford, 3:30 CT, TBS): Ja Morant vs Markus Howard. What more to say than arguably the two best point guards in the country matching up in the first round.
2. #7 Nevada vs. #10 Florida (Des Moines, 5:50 CT, TNT): I love Nevada. I also love Florida. I basically made two brackets so I could have Nevada go to the Elite 8 in one and Florida in the other. Nevada finally gets a legitimate test, and Florida gets a chance to beat a quality team.
3. #7 Louisville vs. #10 Minnesota (Des Moines, 11:15 CT, CBS): The “Pitino Bowl” opens up bracket play as Richard Pitino faces his dad’s old team. What a way to start.
4. #3 LSU vs. #14 Yale (Jacksonville, 11:40 CT, truTV): LSU is still living in limbo after suspending Will Wade in the “Strong Ass Offer Scandal.” With now a few weeks in the Tony Bedford era, we get to see if LSU can work through the adversity. A trendy upset hick, Yale tries to repeat on their 2015 12-5 defeat of Baylor.
5. #8 Syracuse vs. #9 Baylor (Salt Lake City, 8:57 CT, truTV): The caboose of today’s game features the only 8-9 matchup of the day. Syracuse plays their zone and many teams struggle to beat it, but now they’re without Frank Howard, coincidentally [?] after the Zion tripping-gate. The story of Baylor is they’re led by Yale transfer Makai Mason who beat them in that aforementioned upset.
6. #7 Wofford vs. #10 Seton Hall (Jacksonville, 8:40 CT, CBS): Wofford hasn’t lost since 2018, and seeks to become the first SoCon team since Steph Curry and Davidson to win a tournament game. Fletcher McGee vs. Myles Powell isn’t Morant-Howard but will be another electric showdown.
7. #6 Maryland vs. #11 Belmont (Jacksonville, 2:10 CT, truTV): Every year exactly one play-in team wins a first round game. Belmont has some momentum with Tuesday’s win in Dayton,and the Dylan Windler Bruin squad has proved capable of competing with the big schools. Meanwhile Maryland is talented again with Bruno Fernando and Anthony Cowan Jr, but Mark Turgeon Maryland teams have not enjoyed success to the date in the tournament.
8. #5 Auburn vs. #12 New Mexico State (Salt Lake City, 12:30 CT, TNT): New Mexico State makes the tournament every year but has not pulled off a win yet. The 30-win Aggies head to Salty Lake City to face an Auburn team hot off an SEC crown.
9. #3 Purdue vs. #14 Old Dominion (Hartford, 8:50 CT, TBS): C-USA teams have won four consecutive first round matchups. Old Dominion is a solid defensive team that will make Purdue pay if Carsen Edwards is off.
10. #4 Kansas vs. #13 Northeastern (Salt Lake City, 3:00 CT, TNT): Kansas is not very good, and in their lowest seed in years are prone to upset buzz in Northeastern.
11. #2 Michigan State vs. #15 Bradley (Des Moines, 1:45 CT, CBS): I mentioned the C-USA stat in ODU. The Missouri Valley has won seven straight first-round matchups, dating back to the Doug McDermott days. Their lowest seed in that timeline comes today with the Bradley Braves, who face an MSU team fresh off the Big Ten title sweep. I wonder what happened the last time a 2-seed Michigan State fresh off a Big Ten title faced a 15-seed.
12. #4 Florida State vs. #13 Vermont (Hartford, 1:00 CT, TBS): This has upset potential, but Florida State is a reigning Elite 8 team facing a less athletic and talented Vermont team, so this just as easily could be a blowout. But as I love upsets I had to throw the Catamounts in one of my brackets figuring they lose to Marquette anyway.
13. #2 Michigan vs. #15 Montana (Des Moines, 8:20 CT, TNT): Revenge game from last year. I expect a similar result.
14. #1 Gonzaga vs. #16 Fairleigh Dickinson (Salt Lake City, 6:27 CT, truTV): Gonzaga is a fun team to watch which is why this game is ranked higher than the last two. It’s won’t be much of a contest.
15. #2 Kentucky vs. #15 Abilene Christian (Jacksonville, 6:10 CT, CBS): PJ Washington is now out, Kentucky still should win. Tyler Herro may get hot and for that time this game might be exciting.
16. #6 Villanova vs. #11 St. Mary’s (Hartford, 6:20 CT, TBS): I love referencing the Cheez-It Bowl, and we might get one here. The national champs will slow down with the Gaels in what certainly will not live up too the electricity of higher games on the list.