March Madness Countdown: Game By Game, Round 2

First rounds are for upsets, second rounds and beyond for chalk in NCAA tournament. Let's see what happens.

We started by picking 68 of 68 teams--which is easier than it sounds because basically we guessed right on Belmont. And then we started out with the four play-in games and Thursday's first round at a dazzling 17-3.

And then, as it usually does, came the crash and burn segment in Friday's first round, which was a very average 10-6, which puts us at 27-9 going into this weekend's second round NCAA tournament games, a solid B.

The lucky part is that all of our Top 4 seeds survived the first round.

Here are our Round 2 picks.

EAST REGIONAL

1. No. 1 Duke vs. No. 8 Central Florida--Blue Devils cruised past North Dakota State after some early jitters, UCF's run should come to a close.

Duke 67, UCF 57

2.No. 12 Liberty vs. No. 4 Virginia Tech--Liberty pulled off another 12 vs. 5 upset with win over Mississippi State, Does Liberty have another upset in its DNA? Nah.

Virginia Tech 63, Liberty 58

3. No. LSU vs. No. 6 Maryland~~--~~Both teams were lucky to win their openers, LSU hangs on for another round.

LSU 71, Maryland 67

4. No. 10 Minnesota vs. No. 2 Michigan State--Big Ten showdown this early? It's in the rules, but it should have been avoided. No matter Michigan State moves on.

Michigan State 72, Minnesota 64

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WEST REGIONAL

5. No. 1 Gonzaga vs. No. 9 Baylor--Zags have their games faces on.

Gonzaga 83, Baylor 72

6. No. 12 Murray State vs. No. 4 Florida State--Will Murray State be this season's UMBC (You Must Be Cinderella)?

Murray State 69, FSU 65

7. No. 6 Buffalo vs. No. 3 Texas Tech--Buffalo has the skill set to go to Anaheim. Not sure about Texas Tech.

Buffalo 72, Texas Tech 63

8. No. 10 Florida vs. No. 2 Michigan--Michigan is better than the Gators in basketball and football.

Michigan 78, Florida 66

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SOUTH REGIONAL

9.No. 1 Virginia vs. No. 9 Oklahoma-- Cavs gave all their fans a scare with their first half effort against Gardner-Webb. OU won a shootout with Ole Miss, that will stop here. Virginia has too many defensive guns.

Virginia 66, Oklahoma 59

10. No. 12 Oregon vs. No. 13 UC Irvine--UMBC (See Murray State) winner goes to Disneyland. Sticking with Anteaters.

UC Irvine 81, Oregon 77

11. No. 6 Villanova vs. 3 Purdue--Blue-collar game, sticking with defending national champions.

Villanova 59, Purdue 56

12. No. 10 Iowa vs. No. 2 Tennessee--Heart is with our buddy Fran McCaffrey at Iowa. Head says Vols are too talented.

Tennessee 65, Iowa 56

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MIDWEST REGIONAL

13. No. 1 North Carolina vs. No. 9 Washington--Tar Heels got their act together in second half against Iona.

North Carolina 85, Washington 68

14. No. 5 Auburn vs. No. 4 Kansas--Wonder how No. 1 seed Carolina and No. 2 Kentucky feel about facing No. 4 Kansas in Kansas City. Big Mistake by NCAA Selection committee if it happens. To get there, Jayhawks have to beat Auburn.

Kansas 75, Auburn 71

15. No. 11 Ohio State vs. No. 3 Houston- Cougars maul Buckeyes.

Houston 66, Ohio State 59

16. No. 7 Wofford vs. No. 2 Kentucky--Wofford (See Murray State and UC-Irvine) had a nice run, now it's midnight, although Kentucky playing without PJ Anderson could create some angst for Wildcat fans.

Kentucky 83, Wofford 74

Record after Play In Games and First Round: 27-9

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