Some of the best action in the NCAA Tournament is coming to HP Pavilion in San Jose on Thursday and Saturday, as the venue will host four games featuring the most upset-ready seed matchups.
All four games are either 5-seed versus 12-seed matchups or 4-seed versus 13-seed matchups. Combining both likelihood and magnitude of any potential upsets, those are often the best matchups to keep an eye on.
This rings particularly true as fifth-seeded UNLV takes on 12th-seeded California, as the Golden Bears have less than an hour drive from Berkeley to San Jose. This gives them a bit of an advantage over the Runnin’ Rebels, who have a bit longer of a trek.
Meanwhile, 13th-seed Montana has five plays who are connecting at a 40 percent or better rate on their three point shots. That could be bad news for the 2-3, matchup zone of fourth-seed Syracuse and its head coach, Jim Boeheim. The Orange also limped to the finish line of the regular season, losing four of their last five games before winning three in a row in the Big East Tournament and falling to Louisville in the conference championship game.
The winners of those two matchups will meet Saturday. Meanwhile, the other Thursday action pits 12th-seeded Oregon against fifth-seeded Oklahoma State. As soon as the brackets were released, many pundits cited the Ducks as one of the most under-seeded teams in the event. That could make the Cowboys a potential upset victim.
Finally, 13th-seeded New Mexico State takes on fourth-seeded Saint Louis. The Billikens are cited as one of the dark horse favorites to make the Final Four as a relatively low four-seed, but you never know when it comes to March Madness. The Aggies won their way into the Big Dance by winning the Western Athletic Conference championship after finishing third in the regular season. They come into the tournament on a five game winning streak.
The NCAA Tournament and the chaotic upsets that always seem to take place always make for a ton of excitement in March, so don’t miss out on your chance to take it all in live in San Jose. Get your tickets today!