Jeremy Conn: Five Upsets In The First Round
1.USC over Providence - USC is a tough team to play because of the style of offense they play. Andy Enfield burst onto the scene with Florida Gulf Coast and made some noise a few years back. Providence has a phenomenal back court and the best Point Guard in the country, but I like USC to win outright as a 2.5 point underdog.
2.Texas Tech over Butler - I feel like Butler is always the sexy pick, because they have played the underdog role so well in years past. They are a 3.5 point favorites against Tubby Smith's Red Raiders. Texas Tech has some huge upset wins this year over OU, Baylor and Iowa State. They are battle tested.
3.Fresno State over Utah - Fresno has the player of the year in the Mountain West in Marvelle Harris. This kid can do it all. Utah struggled in 3 games against Oregon and lost them all. Fresno State is not Oregon, but I do see some similarities. Fresno State is getting 8.5 points but i think they can win outright.
4. Cincinnati over St Joseph's - Here is the odd thing about this match-up of 8 and 9 seeds, the 9 seed is favored. So everyone is in love with St Joe's after the crazy run they had in their tournament. That's fine, but Cincy is the better team. Everyone is betting on St Joes and i believe they are on the wrong side. Bearcats win this one.
5. Yale over Baylor - The spread on this game is only 6 and I can't give you a great reason why I like Yale so much, but I do. Baylor's style of play lets teams hang around. I think Yale could hang around and pull off the upset. I could see the crowd get behind them to give Yale that home court feel.