UTEP Offers the Best Chance of a 12-5 Upset

Sports Interaction’s Al Dannity is a bit of a traditionalist when it comes to asking Cinderella to the Big Dance, he likes to find her in the familiar #5 vs #12 seed match-up.

UTEP to dump Bulldogs
The #12 seed UTEP Miners won it all back in 1966 and face a Butler team which hasn’t played a tough game in months. The Bulldogs went unbeaten in the Horizon League regular season and conference tournament. While Butler’s 20 game win streak coming into the tournament is impressive, it still points to a lack of challenges in league play. It’s a cliché to say there’s always a 12-5 upset but the numbers don’t lie and of the four ties out there this is the one where the sports book action might favor the underdog. UTEP were dominant in under-rated Conference USA during the regular season and will still be dancing come the weekend.

Spartans to breeze past NMSU
While this game will probably arouse College Basketball betting interest, it offers much less chance of a shock. Michigan State will brush aside the challenge of WAC tournament champions New Mexico State. A so-so record against the RPI Top 50 dropped the Spartans down to a #5 seed but this is still a team capable of going to Indianapolis if it gets a little help along the way, providing good value at +1800 to go on and win the 2010 NCAA tournament. The Spartans go a lot deeper than Kalin Lucas, with a bench that contributes real time and numbers. Expect Tom Izzo to make plenty of substitutions, keeping State fresh and tiring out the Aggies, as they march into the second round.

Aggies to squeeze the other Aggies
There are three sets of Aggies in the 12-5 group and two of them face off here. Utah State, a #12 seed, got an at-large bid due to its impressive showing in the WAC regular season but had a road-record, particularly in non-conference play, that hardly inspired confidence. Texas A&M was another that dominated at home but was less than stellar on the road. Utah State has a geographic advantage with this game being played in Spokane but A&M has a substantial talent edge, with senior Donald Sloan offering the kind of scoring threat State wouldn’t have seen in the WAC. A&M may have to work for this one but they’ll pull through.

Temple faces big test from Big Red
Never dismiss a program on the rise, that’s the lesson Temple’s players better learn quickly this week. The Atlantic 10 and Big 5 champions are a deserved #5 seed having beaten teams much stronger than #12 seed Cornell this season. The Ivy League champions deserve respect here however as they have shown no fear when facing big names this season. The Big Red narrowly lost at overall #1 seed Kansas and beat St John’s on the road. This is Cornell’s third straight trip to the Big Dance and it’s there best chance of winning a game since that run began. Unfortunately for Cornell, the Owls have shown in recent days that they don’t take games off and this will be no exception, Temple to win.

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