March Madness 2019: 10 most likely first-round upsets in the NCAA Tournament

Midwest Region

(10) Seton Hall Pirates over (7) Wofford Terriers
This has the potential to be the game of the weekend. I thought both Wofford and Seton Hall had a chance to win multiple games, but the committee had to go and match both of them up against each other.

The good news is that we’ll have a very exciting matchup between two teams that have legitimate stars in Wofford’s Fletcher Magee and Seton Hall’s Myles Powell. Magee is three three-pointers away from becoming the NCAA’s career leader in three-pointers made and is capable of scoring 30 points on any given night. But so is Powell, who has already led the Pirates to wins over Kentucky, Maryland, Marquette, and Villanova.

Seton Hall has more experience in close games against quality competition by virtue of the schedule they’ve played, and that will make a difference in what will likely be a one- or two-possession game.

(13) Northeastern Huskies over (4) Kansas Jayhawks
This is probably the most unlikely upset on this list but I think it’s a much more real possibility than many others do.

Kansas has a number of flaws this year that played a role in them not winning the Big 12 for the first time in 15 years. Dedric Lawson is their only consistent scoring threat, they get inconsistent guard play, and they’re not very deep. Furthermore, KU struggles to shoot the three and struggles even more to defend the three.

That plays right into Northeastern’s hands. They rank in the top 20 nationally in three-point percentage, and that shooting is the focal point of their attack. Vasa Pusica (17.8 ppg) might be in line for a big game, especially after he hit seven three-pointers in the CAA title game against Hofstra.

If Northeastern gets hot from three, and I think they will, we’ll see the Jayhawks go home early.