NCAA Tournament: Virginia, Tennessee headline South Region primer

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA - MARCH 14: Teammates Kyle Guy #5 and Ty Jerome #11 of the Virginia Cavaliers react after a play against the North Carolina State Wolfpack during their game in the quarterfinal round of the 2019 Men's ACC Basketball Tournament at Spectrum Center on March 14, 2019 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /

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CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – MARCH 15: Edwards of the Purdue Boilermakers walks. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) /

South Pod C – Hartford, CT

(6) Villanova vs. (11) St. Mary’s

Villanova, despite starting the year slowly, really turned it on in the second half of the season. The Wildcats managed to win both the Big East regular-season and tournament titles and they are entering the Big Dance having cut down the nets in Madison Square Garden just about a week ago. With that said, though, St. Mary’s is also coming off of a tournament title as they were able to upset Gonzaga in a monster performance to snag the automatic bid. This showed exactly what the Gaels are capable of when on their game. And while SMC’s Jordan Ford is a very difficult player to match up with, I lean towards the senior leadership of Eric Paschall and Phil Booth in this matchup. Prediction: Villanova.

(3) Purdue vs. (14) Old Dominion

Purdue has one of the most efficient offenses in the country and that makes them really hard to match up against. With a superstar guard in Carsen Edwards on the court to pave the way, this team seems to always have a leader on the floor and this supporting cast has picked up its game as of late as well. On the reverse side in this matchup, Old Dominion has a dangerous backcourt with Ahmad Caver and B.J. Stith but they should have a tough time scoring against the Boilermakers. I would expect that Coach Painter and Co. come out victorious. Prediction: Purdue.

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