Here are the predicted outcomes for this weekend’s games. The only upset is Washington over North Carolina by a slim half point. Can the veteran Husky squad beat the young Tar Heels? Otherwise, Kansas and Pittsburgh look like the most likely 1 seed to go down this round, although they are predicted to win by 4.9 over Illinois and 6.5 over Butler respectively. Last year, Kansas looked sluggish in a first round win over Lehigh and then went down to Northern Iowa in the second round. This year, Boston University was only down 4 at the half to Kansas. As for Pittsburgh versus Butler, it won’t be a pretty game, as both teams are well known for grinding out wins defensively. Butler has not had the greatest season, and guard Shelvin Mack looks like he lost his jumper in the off season, but the Bulldogs still gutted out the win against Old Dominion on Thursday.
Richmond will beat Morehead State by 3.0
San Diego State will beat Temple by 5.5
Connecticut will beat Cincinnati by 1.9
Kentucky will beat West Virginia by 3.0
Florida will beat UCLA by 2.9
Pittsburgh will beat Butler by 6.5
Brigham Young will beat Gonzaga by 4.9
Wisconsin will beat Kansas State by 4.1
Purdue will beat VCU by 7.9
Kansas will beat Illinois by 4.9
Notre Dame will beat Florida State by 5.2
Texas will beat Arizona by 4.9
Duke will beat Michigan by 7.1
Syracuse will beat Marquette by 1.5
Ohio State will beat George Mason by 8.2
Washington will beat North Carolina by 0.5
Predictions were 16 of 29 against the line in the first round for a 55% winning percentage.