Picked 15/16 yesterday on my 1 bracket. Expecting to get creamed today.

Awesome thanks Zimmer.

Same here Capone. Vandy got me. Today can't go as well.

Stupidly picked Minnesota even though I knew they were over-seeded trash. I had them losing to Butler so it shouldn't be too painful.

12:15 Eastern 7. Michigan vs. 10. Oklahoma St
Line: Michigan -2.5
Preview: All about the offenses here. Both sport top 5 offensive efficiency. Bit of a contrast in styles as Oklahoma St. relies on tempo and transition, while Michigan plays very slowly and always generates good looks in the half court. I happen to think both of these coaches are probably 2 of the 10 best in game coaches in college basketball.
Kenpom Stat O' The Game: Turnover% - Michigan #5 Oklahoma State #154 - I think this is where the game is won and lost. Both teams are going to score in the half court, but I think Oklahoma's sloppiness with the ball and giving away possessions could decide the game.
Zimmer's Pick: Michigan wins. They've finally clicked and figured something out on the defensive end, leading to winning 5 of their last 8 in the regular season, and 4 straight to win the B1G Tournament. They're really good yo.

12:40 Eastern - 3. Baylor vs. 14. New Mexico St
Line: Baylor -12.5
Preview: Baylor is maybe the most athletic team in the country. They crash the offensive glass hard and generate a ton of second chance points. If they have an Achilles Heel, they turn the ball over. A lot. And Scott Drew is a horrible coach. They come in stumbling, losing 6 of their last 11.
Kenpom Stat O' The Game: OReb% vs. DReb%. Baylor - OReb% #3, DReb% #201. NMSU OReb% #18, DReb% #134. Both teams love to crash the glass on the offensive end, but don't clean up the defensive end particularly well. Second chance points will dictate the game.
Zimmer's Pick: New Mexico State with the upset. It can't be overstated how much I think Scott Drew is a terrible coach and Baylor gives away a lot of free possessions due to turnovers.

1:30 Eastern - 8. Arkansas vs. 9. Seton Hall
Line: Pickem
Preview: Two very average basketball teams who don't have a ton sticking out on either end. Full disclosure, I've probably seen 12 minutes of basketball by these two teams combined this season, so I don't have a ton to add.
Kenpom Stat O' The Game: FT%. Arkansas #23, Seton Hall #335. In what promises to be a close game, who can close it out at the line may be the key. Arkansas excels in this area, so if they've got a lead late, look for them to be able to close it out.
Zimmer's Pick: Seton Hall for no particular reason

2:00 Eastern - 3. Oregon vs. 14. Iona
Line: Oregon -15
Preview: Iona is a fun team from the MAAC that loves to push the pace. They rely on tiring out their opponents by getting into the half court quickly and they will shoot quick 3's if they get a good look. Oregon is missing a key player in Chris Boucher to an ACL Tear, but they still have one of the top 10 players in the entire field in Dillon Brooks.
Kenpom Stat O' The Game: Free Throws. Gotta tell a story here. Iona is #14 in the country in FT%, but their FTA/FGA is only #282. Oregon also doesn't foul, as their Defensive FTA/FGA is #18. Iona's got a chance but they've gotta get red hot from three for a full 40 minutes.
Zimmer's Pick: I'm low on Oregon's overall chances, but they've got too much for the Gaels today.

If you've watched 12 combined minutes of Arkansas and Seton Hall basketball this year you've got to be in the top 1% most informed people about these two teams.

Losing Boucher was huge as he was their rim protector and stretched the floor on offense with his ability to shoot 3s and take the other teams big away from the basket and Iona wouldn't have matched up well if he was playing. Oregon has some figuring out to do and they don't do it today. Game is at 11am for Oregon. Iona has stayed on eastern time since they got out there so it's a true 2pm game for them. Iona is also tourney tested and doesn't turn it over at least. Iona takes Oregon to the wire and prob wins outright. Says multiple bets I have on them spread and ML. There's been no fun upsets so far, so it begins here and with Troy later

3:10 Eastern - 6. SMU vs. 11. USC
Line: SMU -6.5
Preview: For those DUNK CITY fans that are bummed out over Florida Gulf Coast's loss last night, there is still one vestige of DUNK CITY in their coach, Andy Enfield, who is now the coach at USC. This is a very young, very talented team, but can be very inconsistent. SMU is a very good team that does everything well. They shoot it from 3, they offensive rebound, they don't foul. They're def a sleeper team after ravaging through the downtrodden AAC.
Kenpom Stat O' The Game: 3-Pointers. SMU 3P% #5, USC D3P% #271. SMU generates a good amount of their offense from 3 and USC has struggled to guard the perimeter. If SMU has a good shooting game, USC has no chance.
Zimmer's Pick: SMU likely wins, but cold shooting could make this a close one.

4:30 Eastern - 6. Creighton vs. 11. Rhode Island
Line: Rhode Island -1
Preview: More injury issues here as Creighton lost senior PG Maurice Watson at the start of the Big East season. They struggled after his injury, going 6-7 in conference then losing in the Big East Tournament Finals. Rhode Island plays very aggressive defense, which results in defending 3 Pointers and blocking a lot of shots, but they also foul a ton, which is offset by their deep rotation.
Kenpom Stat O' The Game: Creighton offense vs. URI Defense - Creighton eFG% #2, URI DeFG% #9. Creighton doesn't crash the offensive glass at all, so they need to capitalize on their good looks when they get them.
Zimmer's Pick: URI is too much for Creighton and gets the win.

SMU is going to play volleyball on the offensive glass

Watched zero Seton Hall, but I went to Arkansas so have seen quite a bit. They're okay. Can't play man to man D. And the coach is very stubborn about going to zone, but thats basically the only reason we made the tournament after reeling off 6 of 7 by doing that. Arkansas is decent on offense. I think the key will be keeping the rebounding battle close. Apparently Seton Hall is pretty good at that and Arkansas is not. If they don't give up a ton of Offensive rebounds though they will hopefully win.

7:10 Eastern - 7. Dayton vs. 10. Wichita St
Line: WSU -6.5
Preview: The Shockers are back and underseeded as always, this year as a 10. They're a top 10 team in most power rankings after dropping only one conference game, but their lack of quality wins hurt their resume coming into the tournament. Dayton is the unfortunate team that draws Wichita State.
Kenpom Stat O' The Game: 3P%. Dayton #30, Wichita St. #4. Both of these teams can fire from deep, and a hot/cold shooting night by either could definitely determine this outcome.
Zimmer's Pick: Wichita State is really good and likely comes away with the win.

7:27 Eastern - 6. Cincinnati vs. 11. Kansas State
Line: Cincinnati -3.5
Preview: This is gonna be an absolute grinder of a game. Both teams operate solely in the half court. Cincinnati is known for their length and punishing defense. Kansas St relies slightly more on turnovers than Cincinnati, but they also commit more of their own. Kansas St is coming off their best offensive performance of the year in their play in game against Wake Forest.
Kenpom Stat O' The Game: DEFENSE <clap clap> DEFENSE. Cincinnati AdjD #10. Kansas St AdjD #30. Points will be at a premium in this game, as both teams thrive on the defensive end. I've been critical of Cincinnati's coaching especially on offense as it seems while watching them that they don't actually know what a pick is or how to set one, which is weird for college basketball.
Zimmer's Pick: Kansas St with the mild upset. I tend to go with coaches in these close matchups and I think Weber has the edge over Cronin. This is gonna be an ugly game to watch either way.

9:20 Eastern - 8. Miami vs. 9. Michigan State
Line: Miami -2
Preview: Two teams that came into the season with high expectations but couldn't quite meet them. Michigan State has a superstar Freshman Miles Bridges, but hasn't been able to give him the support needed to thrive. They are really thin at forward, relying on Freshman Nick Ward often as their lone big man on the court.
Kenpom Stat O' The Game: Turnovers. Miami TO% #247, MSU TO% #309. This is gonna be a sloppy one. Both teams are going to be giving up the ball and giving up free buckets on the other end. Whichever team can get it together and take care of the ball probably wins it.
Zimmer's Pick: Michigan State just hasn't gotten over the hump all year while Miami has at least shown flashes this season. Miami wins it pretty convincingly.

9:50 Eastern - 7. South Carolina vs. 10. Marquette
Line: South Carolina -1
Preview: Two polar opposite teams here. South Carolina is like the Cincy Grindhouse on steroids. Marquette is really good on the offensive end, and positively awful on defense for a major conference team.
Kenpom Stat O' The Game: AdjO vs. AdjD. South Carolina O #152, D #3. Marquette O #7, D #153
Zimmer's Pick: South Carolina can keep Marquette's offense in check, but Marquette can't get stops and South Carolina wins it.

Awesome posts! Thanks

Kenpom rankings for USCe and Marquette are hilarious. Really are polar opposites

HERE WE GO

In to make bold proclamations based on small samples.

That one Michigan player keeps out jumping like 3 OkSt players

Michigan sucks

Zimmer, your posts are the nuts in here.

lol look at those lame ass unis. i thought UM's athletic dept. had a big budget? no?

yes i'm aware a plane skidded off the runway

NMSU ghana win by 20

those lame ass unis they had to wear because their plane ****ing crashed

I thought Michigan had a big enough budget for planes that don't crash

savage title change

Baylor's gonna lose soon but I don't know that NMSU has enough to do it.

oh they got enough

LET'S GO AGGIES