Our Picks for the Final Four, Cinderellas and First-Round Pac-12 Games

Odds, times and TV stations provided for the opening-round games of the three Pac-12 teams in the NCAA tournament

Picking NCAA tournament games has become a national pastime this time of year, so we made out picks for the three first-round games involving Pac-12 teams, and went out on a limb to predict which teams will end up in the Final Four, which teams might be Cinderellas and which team will become national champion..

We provide the times, betting lines and TV channels for the Pac-12 games, then make our picks.

Our first-round picks for the three Pac-12 teams:

Arizona, No. 1 seed South Region

Betting odds to win the national championship: 6-to-1

Betting odds to win the South Regional: 11-to-10 (basically even money)

Point spread for first round game: Arizona is favored by 21.5 points over Wright State on Friday, 4:27 p.m. Pacific time, in Portland Ore., on TruTV.

Jake’s pick: Arizona: The Wildcats may be without Kerr Kriisa for the opener, and they may be a little sluggish at the start, but they’ll dominate in the second half to cover what is a large point spread.

Jeff’s pick: Arizona. Coach Tommy Lloyd said guard Kerr Kriisa, who sprained his right ankle at the Pac-12 tournament, has “a real, real chance” of playing this week. But there is no need to use him Friday, and the Wildcats should breeze past whichever No. 16 seed emerges from Dayton.

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UCLA, No. 4 seed East Region

Betting odds to win the national championship: 20-to-1

Betting odds to win the East Regional: 11-to-2

Points spread for first-round game: UCLA favored by 13.5 points over No. 13 seed Akron on Thursday, 6:50 p.m. Pacific time, TBS

Jake’s pick: UCLA: The Bruins are healthy and have played well lately, and this group knows how to win in the postseason. They will win and cover.

Jeff’s pick: UCLA. Saint Mary’s fans will be cheering for Akron here because the winner advances to face the Gaels. Akron is making its fifth appearance in the NCAA tournament and the Zips have zip to show for it. No chance they get their first-ever victory in the Big Dance against a team trying to make it back to the Final Four.

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USC, No. 7 seed in Midwest

Betting odds to win the national championship: 125-to-1 

Betting odds to win Midwest Regional: 27-to-1 

Point spread for first-round game: USC favored by 1.5 points over No. 10 seed Miami-Fla. in Greenville, S.C., on Friday, 12:10 p.m. Pacific time, TruTV 

Jake’s pick: USC: This one figures to be a tossup and close to the end. The Trojans are good in close games, going 6-0 during the season in games decided by three points or fewer. 

Jeff’s pick Miami. Back on Jan. 8, 2017 — nearly 1,900 days ago — Cal freshman guard Charlie Moore scored 16 points and the Bears took down No. 25 USC 74-73 in Los Angeles. Moore left Berkeley, spent a year at Kansas, two at DePaul and now, in his one season with the Hurricanes, is averaging 12.6 points and 4.5 assists for a dangerous team. He will help beat the Trojans once more. 

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Our Final Four Picks

Jake:

Arizona – It’s either Arizona or a hot Tennessee team in the South Region, and we take Arizona even though the Wildcats lost to the Vols early this season

Iowa – The Hawkeyes showed in the Big Ten tournament that they have an offensive rhythm that will be tough to stop 

Kentucky – No one can match up with Oscar Tshiebwe, so it’s just a matter of whether the Wildcats’ outside shooting is adequate. 

Gonzaga – The Zags simply don’t lose to teams worst than them, and everyone in this region is worse than them 

Jeff:

Arizona — Tommy Lloyd guides the Wildcats into the national championship game for a reunion with his old boss, Gonzaga coach Mark Few

Auburn — I’m not in love with the Midwest Region, primarily because No. 1 seed Kansas invariably disappoints. Freshman forward Jabari Smith averages 17.1 points, but over the past seven games that number has climbed to 23.7. He’ll want to prove on the biggest stage that he should be the No. 1 NBA pick 

Purdue — Guards often emerge as stars in the NCAA tournament and the Boilermakers have one of the best in freshman Jaden Ivey, projected as a top-3 NBA draft pick 

Gonzaga — If the Zags join Auburn and Purdue in the Final Four, we’ll get the chance to see a third elite freshman in 7-foot phenom Chet Holmgren. But don’t be confused: On this team Drew Timme is still the best player. 

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Two possible Cinderella Final Four teams

Jake: No. 13 seed Chattanooga, No. 10 Davidson (but Steph Curry is not walking through that door)

Jeff: No. 7 seed Murray State, No. 10 seed Loyola Chicago (with 102-year-old Sister Jean in attendance at Pittsburgh this week)

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Our National champion picks

Jake: Kentucky 

Jeff: Gonzaga   

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Cover photo of Gonzaga following dramatic Final Four win over UCLA last year is by Robert Deutsch, USA TODAY Sports

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Follow Jake Curtis of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jakecurtis53

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