NCAA Basketball: Mock 2020 NCAA Tournament Round of 64 predictions

East Region (bottom-half)

(6) West Virginia vs. (11) Xavier/NC State (Xavier won their First Four game)

Holden Walter-Warner

Regardless of who wins the First Four game between Xavier and NC State, this contest seems ripe for an upset. West Virginia is not as good as their seeding suggests, finishing with both a .500 record in Big 12 play and a .500 record against Top 25 teams. They recorded just four wins away from Morgantown all season. I’m assuming the Wolfpack come out of the First Four, but even if it’s the Musketeers, beating the Mountaineers shouldn’t be as challenging as it may seem.

NC State 68, West Virginia 62 (Also has WVU losing to Xavier)

Connor Gilbert

Any Bob Huggins-coached team as of late has intriguing defensive upside in the tournament, and this year’s team is no exception. Coming off a huge upset win at home over Baylor, the Mountaineers keep improving on forcing turnovers and converting on the other end. And after a grueling Big 12 schedule, they’re actually coming out with a lot of momentum — more than what can be said for much of the rest of the conference’s upper half.

NC State has had offensive explosions lately, namely that 25-point blowout of Duke. The Wolfpack has diverse scoring with guards C.J.Bryce, Markell Johnson and Devon Daniels all averaging at least 12ppg, and when they’re allowed to tee off from 3, they can string together runs fast.
Xavier, on the other hand, is limping into this tournament after losing two of its last three, while going through Big East play without any particularly impressive wins save for over Seton Hall at the beginning of last month.

West Virginia is simply heating up at the right time, and both of these teams will struggle to keep up with the press only days after their play-in game in Dayton.

West Virginia 73, NC State 60 (Also had WVU beating Xavier)

Robert Kennedy

West Virginia Mountaineer Head Coach Bob Huggins led his team to an overall 21-10 and 9-9 Big Twelve Conference record keyed by 6-foot-9 freshman Oscar Tshiebwe. Tshiebwe led the Mountaineers in scoring, (11.2 ppg), rebounding, (9.3), and blocks with 32 total stops.
Xavier finished 2019-20 with a 19-13 regular season and an 8-10 Big East record. Six-foot-seven junior Naji Marshall keyed Xavier’s offensive attack by scoring 16.8 ppg. Tyrique Jones and Paul Scruggs rounded out Xavier’s offense by scoring 14.0 and 12.7 points per game, respectively.

In this match-up, I give the nod to West Virginia. The Mountaineers sport a 3-0 neutral game record compared to Xavier at 2-2. West Virginia also knocked off second-ranked Ohio State at Rocket Mortgage Field House and then dropped a 7-point decision to #3 Kansas, in Lawrence. West Virginia wins its games by 7.2 points per game. Oscar Tshiebwe dominates inside for the Mountaineers and West Virginia pulls away from Xavier.

WVU 76, Xavier 68

A bit confusing but West Virginia moves on with a 2-1 vote

(3) Michigan State vs. (14) Hofstra

Walter-Warner

Full disclosure, I’m a lifelong fan of the Pride and seeing them in an NCAA Tournament for the first time in two decades is a dream come true. And perhaps if they were playing any other team, I’d be willing to lean into my fanatical side and pick them. But Michigan State is peaking at the right time, finally displaying the talent and potential that made them a bonafide title favorite at the beginning of the season. Hofstra will give the Spartans a scare in the first half before Michigan State pulls away.

Michigan State 80, Hofstra 68

Gilbert

In the last three years, the Spartans have won at least their first game coming into March Madness. Their late resurgence and solid showing in the (partial) Big 10 Tournament so far hints that this pattern will continue. MSU has locked down opponents in late Big 10 play, holding opponents to 44% within the arc since the beginning of last month. And there’s still Cassius Winston and Xavier Tillman, in case anyone forgot. Hofstra will be hard-pressed to find buckets.

This is the Pride’s first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2001. While they have looked hard to beat in CAA play, MSU is too experienced to be overwhelmed by an offense that’s No. 62 on KenPom and a defense that muddles even by conference standards.

MSU 78, HU 61

Kennedy

The Big Ten regular-season Co-champions have too much firepower for the 2019-20 CAA Champion Hofstra Bison. Cassius Winston and Xavier Tillman provide all the firepower that the Spartans need to contain the threat from seniors Desure Buie, (18.2 ppg.) and Eli Pemberton (17.6 ppg). Buie can stretch the defense shooting 44 percent from three, however, Winston is up to the task of keeping the Hofstra scoring leader in check. Michigan State’s Josh Langford matches up against Pemberton and shuts down the 6-5 senior guard.

Michigan State 85, Hofstra 65

No problem for Spartans, wins 3-0

(7) Michigan vs. (10) Richmond

Herbert Seward III

The Richmond Spiders are rolling into the 2020 NCAA tourney, finishing in the top half of the Atlantic 10 this season with a 14-4 record, and winning 6 of their last 7 games. Juwan Howard’s maiden stint as the head man of the Michigan Wolverines program has seen his team fight off the injury bug to round back into form going into the first round.

One of those players that hadn’t completely fought that bug off is Wolverines standout, Isaiah Livers. He misses this game, and Michigan simply isn’t the same offensive or defensive squad with him absent. Nick Sherod, Jacob Gilyard, and Grant Golden each score in double figures to lead an extremely balanced and potent Richmond Spider attack to the upset. David De Julius and Franz Wagner pace the Michigan attack with 20 and 16 points respectively in the loss.

Richmond 76, Michigan 65

Ben Andreatta

Michigan really struggled against the top half of the Big Ten this season but did enough for an at large bid with a 10-10 Big Ten campaign. Richmond has a big win Wisconsin back in November and that Badgers team ended up with the one seed in the Big Ten tournament. This should be a close one and will come down to Michigan’s guard play. I have the Wolverines sneaking by and into the round of 32.

Michigan 65, Richmond 59

Joey Loose

While Michigan began the season on a hot streak it’s been Richmond who’s ended the season firing on all cylinders. They couldn’t take care of business against Dayton but they do have that nice win over Wisconsin, something the Wolverines couldn’t accomplish at home. These are two pretty similar teams that avoid turnovers, play solid offense, and struggle to create second-chance opportunities. Richmond guard Blake Francis could be a different maker and would lead the upset-hungry Spiders into the second round.

Richmond 77, Michigan 75

Spiders get the 2-1 upset

(2) Florida State vs. (15) Eastern Washington

Seward

The Florida State Seminoles have had some deep, athletic, and physically imposing rosters over the years. The 2019-2020 edition of the Seminoles is no different. What has changed, is the offensive efficiency that this years’ squad has exhibited coming into the tournament, winning the ACC outright. Eastern Washington also comes in flying high, winning the Big Sky outright and finishing with a 23-8 record. MJ Walker goes off for 32 points and Seminole defensive pressure overwhelms the pesky Eagles in the second half of this game. Redshirt Sophmore Kim Aiken scores a career-high 25 points in defeat. The Seminole defense generates 22 turnovers for the game, leading to a whopping 35 points.

Florida State 86, Eastern Washington 71

Andreatta

Florida State had a chance at a one seed prior to the ACC Championships being canceled, instead, they’ll have to settle for a two seed. Eastern Washington would have needed to win the Big Sky tournament to get in which wasn’t even a guarantee. No Cinderella here, Florida State should roll the Eagles with little resistance.

Florida State 83, Eastern Washington 56

Loose

From a talent perspective, the advantage clearly rests with Florida State, but stranger things have happened in 2 vs. 15 games. The Seminoles were a surprise team that won the ACC regular-season title, while the Eagles struggled all season with tougher competition, losing by large margins to Gonzaga, Saint Louis, and Washington. The athleticism and play of Devin Vassell and Trent Forrest (among others) will be too much for Eastern Washington, who have really struggled on defense much of the season.

Florida State 83, Eastern Washington 67

FSU moves on, 3-0

That’s it for the first round, with several upsets already occurring. The top-16 overall seeds are still around but who’ll get knocked off in the Round of 32? Find out Monday morning when we make even more cuts in this mock 2020 NCAA Tournament setup.