NCAA Tournament: Round of 32 Picks (Saturday)

Mar 18, 2022

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After a glorious opening round of 32 games, filled with upsets and overtimes, what can March Madness do for a Round of 32 encore?

Saturday brings us eight games, featuring an 11-seed (Michigan), two 12-seeds (Richmond and New Mexico State), and a shocking 15-seed (Saint Peter's). In one of the most wide-open tournaments we've seen in years, it's not a surprise to see five of these contests carrying spreads of no more than six points.

As we mentioned in our first-round articles, it's all about the matchups. Teams such as No. 5 Iowa can enter March Madness on a winning streak, yet suffer an early-round loss against a confident underdog, such as No. 12 Richmond. This is around where No. 1 seeds have struggled. Over the last 10 years, seven of the 39 top seeds have failed to reach the Sweet 16. That means roughly 18% of the time, a No. 1 seed is eliminated this round. Last year, No. 1 Illinois suffered an embarrassing 71-58 loss to No. 8 seed Loyola-Chicago.

Below are my official picks for the entire eight-game slate for Saturday of the 2022 NCAA Tournament's first round.

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