NCAA Tournament 2023: Top 10 most likely 2nd round upsets to happen

1. 10 Penn State over 2 Texas

You’d be hard-pressed to find a team playing hotter basketball than Penn State has been since the calendar flipped to March. They got some tough, hard-fought wins at the end of the regular season and in their run to the Big Ten title game to secure their spot in the field of 68. Proving that they belong, the Nittany Lions got a 76-59 win over Texas A&M in the first round of the Tournament and will certainly instill fear into the Longhorns with that type of performance.

All-American guard Jalen Pickett had 19 points, 8 assists, and 7 rebounds and has been the catalyst of Penn State’s recent hot play. Against Texas A&M, Andrew Funk had 27 points and was 8 of 10 from outside the arc, continuing a hot season shooting from outside the arc. A 1-2 punch like that is already a deadly force, but the Nittany Lions also get considerable contributions from Seth Lundy.

Texas just won the Big 12 Tournament and looked great against Colgate in the first round, but they’re still going on upset alert because Pickett can single-handedly win this game for the Nittany Lions. We’ve seen players like this go on crazy runs in the NCAA Tournament and there’s no question that Pickett will be the most talented player on the court on Saturday. The question for Penn State is if those other role players can do their part against a very strong Texas defense; needing Funk’s shooting touch and a few prayers to get yet another top-level win this month.

We’ve completed our look at some upsets to watch for the second round of the NCAA Tournament; which do you think will come to pass this weekend?