NCAA Tournament upset predictions: These are the first-round March Madness upsets to watch
It happens every year. Selection Sunday comes and goes and suddenly, the pressure is on to pick your March Madness bracket.
You agonize over which first-round upsets to pick. Will it be Georgetown over Colorado? Or will Winthrop take down Villanova?
And then, inevitably, you always pick the one that doesn't happen.
Our experts are here to help. We asked five of our college basketball gurus from across the USA TODAY Network to pick the entire NCAA Tournament bracket and this list below is made up of every first-round upset they picked.
Need more analysis? We've got you covered:
CAPSULES FOR EVERY TEAM: East | Midwest | South | West
PRINTABLE BRACKETS: Get yours to make your NCAA Tournament picks!
START UP YOUR POOL: Create a pool, invite your friends and dominate the bracket. Sign up here!
COMMITTEE MISSED A FEW: What the NCAA Tournament committee got wrong on Selection Sunday
No. 12 seed UC-Santa Barbara is a popular pick among USA TODAY Sports' college basketball experts to pull an upset in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. (Photo: Sam Morris, Getty Images)
Dan Wolken, USA TODAY Sports columnist
West:
No. 12 UC Santa Barbara over No. 5 Creighton
East:
No. 9 St. Bonaventure over No. 8 LSU
No. 11 Michigan State/UCLA over No. 6 BYU
South:
No. 9 Wisconsin over No. 8 North Carolina
No. 12 Winthrop over No. 5 Villanova
No. 13 North Texas over No. 4 Purdue
No. 10 Virginia Tech over No. 7 Florida
Midwest:
No. 9 Georgia Tech over No. 8 Loyola-Chicago
No. 10 Rutgers over No. 7 Clemson
See Dan Wolken's full March Madness bracket predictions here.
***
Scott Gleeson, USA TODAY Sports reporter
West:
No. 12 UC Santa Barbara over No. 5 Creighton
No. 11 Wichita State over No. 6 Southern California
No. 10 VCU over No. 7 Oregon
East:
No. 11 Michigan State over No. 6 BYU
South:
No. 12 Winthrop over No. 5 Villanova
No. 13 North Texas over No. 4 Purdue
No. 14 Colgate over No. 3 Arkansas
Midwest:
No. 14 Morehead State over No. 3 West Virginia
No. 10 Rutgers over No. 7 Clemson
See Scott Gleeson's full March Madness bracket predictions here.
***
Gregg Doyel, Indianapolis Star sports columnist
West:
No. 12 UC Santa Barbara over No. 5 Creighton
No. 11 Wichita State/Drake over No. 6 Southern California
East:
No. 9 St. Bonaventure over No. 8 LSU
No. 12 Georgetown over No. 5 Colorado
No. 10 Maryland over No. 7 Connecticut
South:
No. 9 Wisconsin over No. 8 North Carolina
No. 10 Virginia Tech over No. 7 Florida
Midwest:
No. 9 Georgia Tech over No. 8 Loyola-Chicago
No. 12 Oregon State over No. 5 Tennessee
No. 10 Rutgers over No. 7 Clemson
See Gregg Doyel's full March Madness bracket predictions here.
***
Keith Jenkins, Cincinnati Enquirer sports reporter
West:
No. 9 Missouri over No. 8 Oklahoma
No. 11 Wichita State/Drake over No. 6 Southern California
East:
No. 12 Georgetown over No. 5 Colorado
No. 11 Michigan State/UCLA over No. 6 BYU
No. 10 Maryland over No. 7 Connecticut
South:
No. 9 Wisconsin over No. 8 North Carolina
No. 11 Utah State over No. 6 Texas Tech
Midwest:
No. 9 Georgia Tech over No. 8 Loyola-Chicago
No. 14 Morehead State over No. 3 West Virginia
See Keith Jenkins' full March Madness bracket predictions here.
***
Michelle Gardner, Arizona Republic sports reporter
WEST:
No. 9 Missouri over No. 8 Oklahoma
EAST:
No. 9 St. Bonaventure over No. 8 LSU
SOUTH:
No. 9 Wisconsin over No. 8 North Carolina
See Michelle Gardner's full March Madness bracket predictions here.
Source: Read Full Article