Saturday Prediction (3/16)

I'll do a final Top Twenty posting after tomorrow's games, but here are predictions for today's match-ups.  The Prediction Machine is a little less accurate on these neutral court games.

#3 Indiana by 7 over #22 Wisconsin
#4 Louisville by 7 over #19 Syracuse
#7 Kansas by 7 over #11 Kansas St

I'm sensing a trend.

#10 Ohio State by 3 over #8 Michigan State
#9 Miami (FL) by 4 over N.C. State

I'm not sure why Ohio St is the home team in their matchup.  (There's actually a "home team advantage" in neutral court and Tournament games, although it is less than in real home courts.)

The close matchup of the day is UCLA vs. Oregon, which the PM expects UCLA to win by less than a point.  Unfortunately for UCLA fans (of which I am one), freshman Jordan Adams broke his foot on the last play (!) of yesterday's game against Arizona.  UCLA is now down to 7 players and is likely to lose today and in the first round of the tournament.

In similar news, UNC power forward PJ Hairston suffered a cut on his hand in yesterday's game against FSU and may not be able to play today.  That might open the door for Maryland to get another victory and squeak into the Tournament field.