FRIDAY’S EAST PICKS
No. 5 Northern Iowa vs. No. 12 Wyoming (10:40 a.m., TBS): Can Larry Nance Jr. become the modern-day incarnation of Wyoming’s 1987 NCAA hero, Fennis Dembo, and spark the upset? More likely this is the coming-out party for versatile Panthers’ big man Seth Tuttle. Pick: Northern Iowa. No. 4 Louisville vs. No. 13 UC Irvine (1:10 p.m., TBS): The Anteaters, in their first NCAA tournament, feature 7-foot-6, 300-pound Mamadou Ndiaye of Senegal. Ndiaye might be dizzy by the time the quick, aggressive Cardinals are done pressing and running. This has the makings of a bad matchup. Pick: Louisville. No. 6 Providence vs. No. 11 Dayton (6:57 p.m., truTV): No more home games for the Flyers, who beat Boise State in the play-in game at Dayton. The Friars will go at them with one of the nation’s top tandems: 2,000-point scorer LaDontae Henton and the NCAA’s No. 2 assist man,
Kris Dunn. Pick: Providence. No. 3 Oklahoma vs. No. 14 Albany (4:27 p.m., truTV): The Great Danes got here thanks to a game-winning 3-point shot by Aussie Peter Hooley, whose mother died of cancer six weeks earlier. It’s a heartwarming story, but the Sooners feature Big 12 Player of the Year and Bahamas native Buddy Hield. Pick: Oklahoma. No. 7 Michigan State vs. No. 10 Georgia (9:40 a.m., truTV): TomIzzo’s Spartans have reached the Sweet 16 round an amazing 12 times since 1998. The Bulldogs over that span? Never. Pick: Michigan State. No. 2 Virginia vs. No. 15 Belmont (12:10 p.m., truTV): The Bruins are among the nation’s leaders in 3
point baskets — they made 17 in one game — but are winless in six trips to the NCAAs, all since 2006. The Cavaliers’ nation-leading defense (50.9 points per game allowed) will keep it that way. Pick: Virginia.