2018 March Madness Round of 64 Preview

5 Kentucky vs. 12 Davidson

After coming off a huge SEC Championship win against Tennessee, John Calipari and the Kentucky Wildcats set their eyes on a Davidson team who just came off an A10 championship win. Kentucky is going to need Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and stud freshman Kevin Knox to score like they do in order to beat Davidson. For Davidson, look for a big game from Kellan Grady, who had 17 points in his last outing against Rhode Island. Look for the Wildcats to start the game off strong with a strong lead going into the half.

Prediction: Kentucky

6 Houston vs. 11 San Diego State

This is one of the most interesting games on the schedule for the first round. Houston recently fell short to Cincinnati after beating Wichita State, while San Diego State recently won the Mountain West championship after beating New Mexico. I see this game as a potential upset because I don’t see the Cougars stopping Aztec center Malik Pope, who was huge in SDSU’s win against Nevada.

Prediction: San Diego State

8 Virginia Tech vs. 9 Alabama

This game could honestly go either way. While Alabama and Collin Sexton upset Auburn in the SEC tournament to pretty much secure a tournament bid, Virginia Tech is coming off a disappointing loss to Notre Dame in the ACC tournament. Collin Sexton will obviously play a huge role in this game. Alabama is going to need someone else besides Sexton to erupt in order to beat the Hokies.

Prediction: Virginia Tech

6 Florida vs. 11 St. Bonaventure

St. Bonaventure picked up an impressive win against the UCLA Bruins Tuesday night in First Four action. Courtney Stockard was enormous for the Bonnies, scoring 26 points and carrying his team to the next round against the Gators. Florida is in desperate need of a win, and a win against St. Bonaventure is exactly what they need. If the Gators get the win, look for them to have a surprise showing in the tournament.

Prediction: Florida

7 Arkansas vs. 10 Butler

This is just an excellent 7 vs. 10 matchup. Both teams have picked up big wins against very good teams in order to get to where they are now. The question here will be which team will get second-chance points, as both these programs are great rebounding teams. This game could honestly go either way, but I see the Razorbacks playing again in Detroit.

Prediction: Arkansas

7 Nevada vs. 10 Texas

This is the last of 4 great 7 vs. 10 matchups in the first round. Both teams didn’t do as well as expected in their conference tournaments, so they both look to use this game to bounce back. I think that Texas and star big man Mohamed Bamba will prevail against the Wolfpack.

Prediction: Texas