NCAA Basketball: Mock 2020 NCAA Tournament Round of 64 predictions
First Four games
16. Prairie View A&M vs 16. Boston University
Curtis Wilkerson
Boston U ran the gauntlet through the Patriot League Tournament and earned the league’s auto-big to the Big Dance. The Terriers were sound this season defensively and notched a resume-building win early in the year at South Carolina. Their scoring punch comes from 6’8″ forward Max Mahoney and swingman Walter Whyte who can both fill it up in the scoring column and clean up on the glass.
Prairie View A&M took home the regular-season title in the SWAC and were battle-tested early and often in non-conference play. The Panthers have a pair of talented senior scorers as well in forward Devonte Patterson and wing Gerard Andrus.
In an evenly matched game, I’d expect this one to be a fairly low-scoring slug-fest with the Terriers coming out on top in the end.
Boston U 68 Prairie View A&M 64
Brian Rauf
This is a matchup of styles between Prairie View’s faster pace against the more methodical Boston Terriers. One of those will eventually win out, and I trust BU’s possession-by-possession consistency more so than Prairie View’s. Boston Univ showed their upside when they beat South Carolina and can handle this test.
Boston Univ 68, PVAMU 61
Tristan Freeman
Don’t underestimate the talent that comes from the SWAC, with Prairie View A&M having five leading seniors with postseason experience. But Boston has their own elite upperclassmen in senior Max Mahoney, who had 18 points and 10 rebounds in the upset win over Colgate to win the Patriot League. This should be a tight game, but look for the Terriers to pull away.
Boston University 65, Prairie View 60
Boston advances with a 3-0 sweep
16. NC Central vs 16. Robert Morris
Wilkerson
Levelle Moton and his NC Central Eagles won the MEAC regular-season title. Jibri Blount is a talented forward who ranks near the top of the conference in both scoring and rebounds. Robert Morris, on the other hand, rolled through the NEC Conference Tournament to earn the league’s auto-bid. Josh Williams leads the way for the Colonials in scoring and has connected on over 100 threes in each of the last two seasons.
Both teams rank in the top 115 nationally in scoring defense, so points may be at a premium. In the end, NC Central has won 11 of 12 and quite frankly they are due. The Eagles have lost in the First Four the last three seasons, and this is their time to breakthrough.
NC Central 65, Robert Morris 62
Rauf
NC Central has made the tournament several years in a row under head coach LeVelle Moton, and that experience means something in games like this. It will be close, but NCCU’s experience makes the difference in a close game as they get the first win in program history.
NC Central 74, Robert Morris 62
Freeman
There’s a bit of controversy with Robert Morris being the No. 1 seed in the Northeast Tournament, with D-I newcomer Merrimack winning the regular-season title but was ineligible for postseason play per NCAA transition rules. NC Central is a MEAC heavyweight, making the NCAA Tournament for what would’ve been four times in a row. With senior Jibri Blount leading the way, it’s hard to see Robert Morris winning this.
NC Central 68, Robert Morris 55
NC Central moves on with a 3-0 sweep
11. Xavier vs 11. NC State
Wilkerson
In your typical First Four match-up, here we have a pair of power conference teams who have had games where they look like sure-fire contenders capable of doing some damage in March, balanced with some head-scratching losses and downswings.
Xavier looked the part with a big win at Seton Hall but has been reeling lately losing three straight including getting bounced by DePaul in the opening round of the Big East Tournament. NC State blasted Duke a few weeks ago, but also got swept in the season series by both Georgia Tech and North Carolina.
I like the scoring balance of the Wolfpack, who have 5 guys near double-figures. That, combined with Xavier’s recent struggles, gives the edge to NC State in what should be a good game.
NC State over Xavier 75-69
Rauf
Both teams entered the year with high expectations but find themselves in the First Four for similar reasons – both offenses have been rather spotty all year long. I expect this one to get off to a slow start before NC State gets the pace going and takes the lead at half. However, Xavier’s defense will wear down the Wolfpack’s seven-man rotation and answer with a run of their own in the second half, ultimately resulting in a win for the Musketeers.
Xavier 75, NC State 71
Freeman
A pair of teams who underperformed in the regular season, this comes down to NC State’s quartet of production versus Naji Marshall and rebounding machine Naji Marshall for Xavier. Even though this is a one-game matchup, I trust the consistency of the Musketeers much more than I do the Wolfpack, giving them a slight edge this time.
Xavier 80, NC State 77
Xavier moves on with a 2-1 overall win
12. Texas Tech vs.12. Cincinnati
Wilkerson
Last year’s national runner-up, the Red Raiders, just made it into our field after an up and down season. Despite a losing record in Quad 1-3 games, the NET rankings love Texas Tech who ranks 22nd. They are still formidable defensively and are led offensively by sensational freshman Jahmi’us Ramsey and battle-tested Davide Moretti
On the flip side, Cincinnati got things rolling after an uneven start to the season finishing in a 3-way tie atop the American. Standout senior Jarron Cumberland has been the catalyst for the Bearcats who won 10 of their final 13 games in year one under new head coach John Brannen.
While Texas Tech has dropped four straight, the last two of those were tight losses to Baylor and Kansas. They have been knocking at the door and are primed to bust through it. In a game that is likely to be close throughout, give me the Red Raiders.
Texas Tech 70, Cincinnati 66
Rauf
Texas Tech has played right with almost all of the top teams they’ve played this year, but their lack of go-to guy has kept from winning virtually any of those close games. Expect this one to be another close game, though low scoring, between two good defensive teams. The difference is Jarron Cumberland, who will carry Cincinnati down the stretch while the Red Raiders suffer numerous empty possessions.
Cincinnati 59, Texas Tech 56
Freeman
The big matchup on paper will be between Jahmi’us Ramsey of Texas Tech and Jarron Cumberland of Cincinnati but what happens between big men Tre Scott and Chris Clarke could decide the game. Scott has been fantastic in the last couple of months, while Clarke is the engine that gets the Red Raiders offense going. This will be a fun game but I like Texas Tech to move on and get the win.