NCAA Tournament East Bracket Cheat Sheet Printable: Rounds One and Two

The NCAA Tournament kicks off Thursday March 17 and all office tournament bracket contest will have to be turned in by Wednesday afternoon in most cases. This does not leave much time to fill them out. The first rounds are the most critical and they will set the tone for the entire bracket.

The following picks will focus on just the Thursday and Friday games. There are several games that jump out as upsets this year. Always beware of No. 13 seeds vs. No. 4 seeds and No. 12 seeds vs. No. 5 seeds. These underdogs can occasionally jump up and bite someone.

Newark Bracket Winners

Ohio State is an obvious choice to win their first round game against either play in team. They will easily beat Villanova or George Mason as well in the second round. Ohio State is a premiere team in the NCAA Tournament and they look good to go all the way this year.

Villanova will have the edge over George Mason although many will take George Mason in this spot based on the incredible run a few years ago. Villanova struggled in the Big East this year but now they are in with the rest of the NCAA and they should shape up well. This being said, they will be squashed by Ohio State in the second round.

West Virginia will win their game against possible opponent Clemson or UAB. The Mountaineers will fall short in their second round game versus a more talented Kentucky team.

The Kentucky Wildcats will have a difficult matchup with Princeton in their first round game but they will prevail and then take down West Virginia in the second round.

Marquette is the first major upset prediction but this is no upset. Marquette is battle tested in the Big East and Xavier has made some big runs in NCAA Tournaments. Many will jump on the Xavier bandwagon and they will fall hard early. Marquette will be no match for Syracuse in the next round even though Marquette has beaten Syracuse this year.

Syracuse will not have an easy time with Indiana State but they will advance and take on a revenge game against Marquette. This time Syracuse will face Marquette on a neutral court. They will remember the 76-70 loss and Syracuse will show no mercy in this game.

PAC 10 team Washington has a tough draw against Georgia. In a down year for the SEC, Georgia is one of the better teams but it doesn't say much about the conference. Washington will crush Georgia on the boards and they will wear down Georgia eventually.

The game between the North Carolina Tar Heels and Washington may be the best of the first two days. Both teams are tough under the basket and strong defensively. I won't be surprised if Washington pulls the win out in this game.

North Carolina will cruise past Long Island in the first game and they better be ready for a battle of epic proportions on the boards against the Washington Huskies. North Carolina gets a slight nod in their matchup with Washington.

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