By Adam Kiefaber

I was previewing each game of the NCAA Tournament, but I am getting crunched on time.

Below - I listed my picks for the Thursday games of the NCAA Tournament. Games on Thursday 12:20 through 12:30 p.m. and 2:30 through 3:00 p.m. can be found in previous posts.

Check out Thursday’s and Friday’s schedule.

Thursday Predictions
No. 3 Stanford over No. 14 Cornell (5:00 p.m.)
Why: Stanford has two 7-footers and are built for a Final Four run. In fact, in my bracket, I have them facing rival UCLA in the Final Four.
No. 11 Kansas St. over No. 6 USC (7:10 p.m.)
Why: Everyone is excited to the freshmen matchup of USC’s O.J. Mayo and KSU’s Michael Beasley, but I’m looking forward to seeing KSU’s Bill Waker go up against former high school teammate Mayo. Anyways, I like KSU, I believe USC was too inconsistent this season. However, both teams have the talent make a Sweet 16 win. Should be a fun game to watch.
No. 2 Duke over No. 15 Belmont (7:10 p.m.)
Why: Belmont might be the best No. 15 seed in this tournament, but Duke plays so well as a team. It is hard to call Duke a surprise team, but I didn’t expect the Blue Devils to be this good. I have Duke getting to the Elite 8.
No. 4 Washington St. over No. 13 Winthrop (7:20 p.m.)
Why: Don’t be fooled by ESPN and Digger - this is not the same Winthrop team that knocked off Notre Dame last year. WSU is a great team that is battle tested by playing in the nation’s best conference. I expect an easy win. This weekend, WSU could have trouble with Notre Dame in a 4 vs. 5 matchup.
No. 8 BYU over No. 9 Texas A&M (7:25 p.m.)
Why: This game is a tossup. Texas A&M can play good enough to beat anyone in this tournament, but the team has been too inconsistent this year to make a run in this tournament. BYU, on the other hand, has been consistently good this year.
No. 3 Wisconsin over No. 14 Cal State Fullerton (9:40 p.m.)
Why: This game should be boring. Wisconsin’s defense could be the best in the tournament. The Badgers will tower over the the tiny Titans, but watch out for Washington State transfer (now on CSF) Josh Akognon (19.9 ppg).
No. 7 West Virginia over No. 10 Arizona (9:40 p.m.)
Why: This game is a tossup as well. Many experts are picking Zona because of team’s talent. Freshman Jerryd Bayless and sophomore Chase Budinger were top-ten recruits. I like WVU because the team doesn’t revolve around two players and the team has four players that average over double figures. Zona has the talent to make an Elite Eight run in the West region, but I don’t see them getting out of the first round.
No. 5 Notre Dame over No. 12 George Mason (9:50 p.m.)
Why: I’m tempted to pick George Mason, but Notre Dame has just played so well all season. Many people have the Irish making a run to the Sweet 16. Luke Harangody should dominate this game.
No. 1 UCLA over No. 16 Mississippi Valley St. (9:55 p.m.)
Why: Mississippi Valley St. had its big upset win over Michigan St. already this year. The win just so happened to be in the preseason. The Delta Devils should get killed in this matchup. This season they lost 26-71 to Washington St. - expect another blowout. UCLA has the talent to win the whole thing.

I will continue to breakdown each game of the NCAA Tournament, but for now here is a link for a viewable bracket from CBSsportsline.com. For the printable version click here.

This entry was posted Tuesday, March 18th, 2008 at 1:09 pm and is filed under NCAA Tournament. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.