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Friday’s NCAA Tournament Previews

The 2021 NCAA Tournament is finally here!

Check below for a breakdown of today’s games:

Virginia Tech/Florida
These are two of the more overachieving teams in college basketball. Florida sophomore Tre Mann is the player to watch in this game, after averaging 26 points during two games in last week’s SEC Tournament. 

Colgate/Arkansas
Matt Langel has built a consistent winner at Colgate. The weight class will be raised against Arkansas. Keep an eye on Razorbacks freshman Moses Moody, who has scored 28 in two of his last three games.

Drexel/Illinois
To quote Mr. T as Clubber Lang in Rocky III, ‘Prediction? Pain.’ Sorry, Drexel fans. And that quote? Maybe the best ever.

Utah State/Texas Tech
Neemias Queta is going to be a problem for Texas Tech at the rim, but the Red Raiders’ perimeter is going to be a problem for the Aggies on both sides of the floor. Expect a chess match between Craig Smith and Chris Beard. 

Oral Roberts/Ohio State
Nobody is more meticulous in college basketball than Chris Holtmann and he’s been studying all week for ways to stop Oral Roberts star Max Abmas. The 6-1 guard led the nation in scoring this season and averaged 24.2 points.

Baylor/Hartford
If the Bears were getting ready to eat a six-course meal, this would be their appetizer. Don’t expect things here to be competitive. Sorry, Hartford. 

Georgia Tech/Loyola Chicago
The anticipation for this game came to a screeching halt when it was learned that Moses Wright — the ACC Player of the Year — will not play due to issues related to COVID-19. Expect a fistfight from the opening tip.

Oregon State/Tennessee
Wayne Tinkle is the first Oregon State coach to play in multiple NCAA Tournaments since Ralph Miller. His task in the Round of 64 is a tall one. Tennessee showed flashes of the form it showed earlier this season in last Saturday’s loss to Alabama in the SEC Tournament semifinals. 

Liberty/Oklahoma State
This is going to be like going to the dentist for the Cowboys. Ritchie McKay worked for Tony Bennett at Virginia before taking his current post and the Flames play a similar style. If Liberty wins the opening tip on Friday, it may not take a shot until sometime on Saturday morning. 

Wisconsin/North Carolina
This is a classic 8/9 game. North Carolina has been terrific up front over the last few weeks, but ball security is a major concern. As usual, D’Mitrik Trice will be a major key for Wisconsin.

Cleveland State/Houston
Houston has one of the best cultures in college basketball. In two years, Dennis Gates has built one of the best cultures in the Horizon League. Expect the Cougars’ relentlessness on the boards to be the difference.

North Texas/Purdue
Both of these coaches — Grant McCasland and Matt Painter — do a tremendous job of getting their teams to play hard and execute on both sides of the floor. The big difference? Purdue has Trevion Williams and North Texas does not. 

Rutgers/Clemson
How long has it been since Rutgers made the NCAA Tournament? The last time the Scarlet Knights were in the field — 1991 — Dances with Wolves won the Academy Award for Best Picture. This will be a defensive struggle. First to 60 wins.

Syracuse/San Diego State
San Diego State is one of the hottest teams in the country that nobody is really talking about. The Aztecs have won 14 straight games, with eight of those victories coming when the opponent scored 60 points or less. Syracuse is going to need to make in excess of 10 three-point shots to go over the top of Brian Dutcher’s stalwart defense.

Morehead State/West Virginia
West Virginia has its best NCAA Tournament seed since it went to the Final Four in 2010. Morehead State has a star in 6-10 big man Johni Broome, who had 27 points and 12 rebounds in the OVC title game against Belmont. Things could get interesting. 

Winthrop/Villanova
The world feels like it’s picking against Villanova. That would be a mistake. The Wildcats don’t have what they had with Collin Gillespie, but they still have to advance. Keep your eye on Winthrop star Chandler Vaudrin. 

Leftovers: