From 68 to 16: March Madness 2017 First Weekend Primer

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Feb 23, 2017; Tempe, AZ, USA; UCLA Bruins guard Lonzo Ball (center) greets teammates against the Arizona State Sun Devils at Wells-Fargo Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /

Pod #3 – Sacramento, California

		Colors	Location	Record	RPI
#3	UCLA Bruins	True Blue, Gold	Los Angeles, CA	29-4	16
#6	Cincinnati Bearcats	Black, Red	Cincinnati, OH	29-5	12
#11	Kansas State Wildcats	Purple, White	Manhattan, KS	20-13	55
#11	Wake Forest Demon Deacons	Black, Old Gold	Winston-Salem, NC	19-13	39
#14	Kent State Golden Flashes	Navy Blue, Gold	Kent, OH	22-13	143

#11 Kansas State vs. #11 Wake Forest — Dayton, Ohio — Tuesday, 9:10 p.m., truTV

Line: Kansas State (-1)

FiveThirtyEight: Wake Forest (52%)

The Wildcats come into the tournament after losing six of their last ten games. Four Wildcats score in double digits. The Demon Deacons split their regular season conference schedule and finished 10^th, but nearly half of their losses came against top 25 opponents. Wake Forest averages 83 points a game, led by John Collins, who scored 18.9 points and grabs 9.8 rebounds per game. This is a close matchup, but the less intriguing of the two featuring the last four at-large teams.

#6 Cincinnati vs. #11 Winner Of First Four Game— Friday, 7:27 p.m., truTV

Line: None

FiveThirtyEight: Cincinnati (63%)

The Bearcats are one of the best defensive teams in the NCAA, giving up only 60.8 points per game, albeit in a relatively weak AAC. They don’t shoot well from outside but have a strong presence in the paint, which would be an advantage against either Kansas State or Wake Forest.

#3 UCLA vs. #14 Kent State — Thursday, 9:57 p.m., truTV

Line: UCLA (-17)

FiveThirtyEight: UCLA (94%)

Lonzo Ball is one of the most dynamic players in college basketball and he leads the Bruins with 7.7 assists while also adding 14.6 points and 6.1 rebounds. Six Bruins average in double-digits and UCLA averages a league-high 90.4 points per game. Kent State won several close games in the MAC tournament to punch their ticket and are led by Jimmy Hall (18.9 points per game).

Second Round Outlook

Unless Cincinnati’s defense can somehow stifle the Bruins, no one in this pod will be able to keep UCLA’s offense from scoring in bunches. UCLA will be a favorite pick to come out of the region and is definitely the best team in this pod.

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