New Mexico to Upset Kentucky in the East

Can Kentucky’s young squad handle the East or will their lack of experience cost them? Sports Interaction’s Al Dannity thinks it’ll be tight either way.

Short on Shocks
Looking at the eight first round match-ups in the East, it’s chalk most of the way with only three games where the underdog has a shot, never mind being favored. The first of these is a battle of the sliders. Texas simply isn’t a good enough team to merit an #8 seed. The Longhorns lost 9 of their last 16 games but #9 Wake Forest has looked just as poor lately losing 5 of 6. This is the one game Texas can win in March and will avoid the upset. The 12-5 upset is a possibility but highly unlikely. Cornell is probably under-seeded at #12 but so is Temple at a #5 seed. The Owls have a Sweet Sixteen caliber team and will pull through.

There is one upset to call here. Pac-10 tournament champions Washington have rallied of late and will catch #6 seed Marquette cold in the first round to win some respect back for the West coast. Outside of this one don’t go looking for too many upsets in the East when checking out the NCAA Basketball betting lines.

The Serious Sixteen
The lack of surprises should continue through round two with the top three seeds, and possibly the top four if Wisconsin can hold off Temple, making the Sweet Sixteen. The winner of the Badgers-Owls tie faces Kentucky and both are capable of causing a shock. Temple can push the Wildcats harder than the Badgers, especially with a geographic advantage of playing in Syracuse, but I still fancy Kentucky to pull through and make it to the Elite Eight.

There they will meet New Mexico. Coach Steve Alford has not the greatest history in the tournament having made the second round only once and losing in the first round twice as coach of Iowa, including a shock loss as a#3 seed to Northwestern State. History won’t repeat itself this time and the Lobos should have no trouble setting up a tie with West Virginia. The #2 seed Mountaineers have looked good in the Big East all season but far from invincible. In Darington Hobson New Mexico have a weapon that can outscore and outrebound WVU and that will be the difference.

No title-run for Coach Cal
Kentucky has more players with NBA potential than any other team in this region, possibly in the whole tournament. What they lack is experience and all the talent in the world won’t be enough when facing a battle-hardened New Mexico team. Alford’s poor tournament resume aside, the Lobos have everything needed to make the Final Four. They have the experience, with three upperclassmen as starters. New Mexico can score both inside and outside, and they are a good rebounding team. This is where the #1 Wildcats will finally meet their match in 2010, and the Lobos will book their trip to Indy.

For all the College Basketball odds on the first weekend of March Madness check out Sports Interaction’s sports book.