NCAA Tournament Picks — West Region First Rounds

Eds Note — I’m going to try something a little different and make picks for every game of the NCAA Tournament. The games I do actual previews for will have links to Winners and Whiners.

These are the condensed versions of picks for the first round of NCAA Tournament in the West Region. When applicable, there will be a link to the full preview is below. The confidence rating on a scale from 1 to 5 is in parentheses.

Note: The 5/5 does NOT represent the best overall pick of the day’s games when there are multiple games, simply the best pick of each individual game.

No. 16 Fairleigh Dickinson vs. No. 1 Gonzaga:

Side Prediction/Full Game: Gonzaga -26.5 (4/5) — WIN!
Total Prediction/Full Game: UNDER 152.5 points (3/5) — WIN!
Prop Prediction/Full Game: Fairleigh Dickinson UNDER 62.5 points (5/5) — WIN!
Side Prediction/1st Half: Fairleigh Dickinson +17 (3/5) — LOSS!
Total Prediction/1st Half: UNDER 72 points (3/5) — WIN!
Prop Prediction/1st Half: Fairleigh Dickinson UNDER 27.5 points (3/5) — WIN!

No. 9 Baylor vs. No. 8 Syracuse:

Side Prediction/Full Game: Syracuse -2.5 (3/5)  — LOSS!
Total Prediction/Full Game: UNDER 131 points (4/5) — LOSS!
Prop Prediction/Full Game: Tyus Battle OVER 17.5 points (3/5) — LOSS!
Side Prediction/1st Half: Syracuse -0.5 points (3/5) — LOSS!
Total Prediction/1st Half: UNDER 60 points (5/5) — LOSS!
Prop Prediction/1st Half: Baylor UNDER 30 points (5/5) — LOSS!

No. 12 Murray State vs. No. 5 Marquette:

Side Prediction/Full Game: Marquette -3.5 (5/5) — LOSS!
Total Prediction/Full Game: UNDER 149.5 points (4/5) — WIN!
Prop Prediction/Full Game: Murray State UNDER 73 points (3/5) — LOSS!
Side Prediction/1st Half:
Total Prediction/1st Half:
Prop Prediction/1st Half:

No. 13 Vermont vs. No. 4 Florida State:

Side Prediction/Full Game: Florida State -8.5 (3/5) — LOSS!
Total Prediction/Full Game: UNDER 134 points (3/5) — LOSS!
Prop Prediction/Full Game: Vermont UNDER 63 points (4/5) — LOSS!
Side Prediction/1st Half:
Total Prediction/1st Half:
Prop Prediction/1st Half:

No. 14 Northern Kentucky vs. No. 3 Texas Tech:

Side Prediction/Full Game: Texas Tech -12.5 (3/5) — WIN!
Total Prediction/Full Game: OVER 136 points (3/5) — LOSS!
Prop Prediction/Full Game: Northern Kentucky UNDER 62 points (3/5) — WIN!
Side Prediction/1st Half: Texas Tech -7 (5/5) — LOSS!
Total Prediction/1st Half: OVER 62 points (4/5) — LOSS!
Prop Prediction/1st Half: Texas Tech OVER 34.5 points (3/5) — LOSS!

No. 11 Arizona State vs. No. 6 Buffalo:

Side Prediction/Full Game: Buffalo -5.5 (4/5) — WIN!
Total Prediction/Full Game: UNDER 158.5 points (3/5) — LOSS!
Prop Prediction/Full Game: Arizona State UNDER 76.5 points (5/5) — WIN!
Side Prediction/1st Half: Arizona State +3 (3/5) — LOSS!
Total Prediction/1st Half: UNDER 75 points (3/5) — PUSH!
Prop Prediction/1st Half: Buffalo UNDER 39 points (3/5) — LOSS!

No. 10 Florida vs. No. 7 Nevada:

Side Prediction/Full Game: Nevada -2 (4/5) — LOSS!
Total Prediction/Full Game: OVER 132.5 points (5/5) — LOSS!
Prop Prediction/Full Game: Nevada OVER 69 points (4/5) — LOSS!
Side Prediction/1st Half: Florida +1 (3/5) — WIN!
Total Prediction/1st Half: OVER 62.5 points (3/5) — WIN! 
Prop Prediction/1st Half: Nevada OVER 32 points (3/5) — LOSS!

No. 15 Montana vs. No. 2 Michigan:

Side Prediction/Full Game: Michigan -15 (5/5) — WIN!
Total Prediction/Full Game: UNDER 131.5 points (4/5) — WIN!
Prop Prediction/Full Game: Montana UNDER 58 points (4/5) — WIN!
Side Prediction/1st Half: Michigan -8.5 (3/5) — WIN!
Total Prediction/1st Half: UNDER 61 points (3/5) — WIN!
Prop Prediction/1st Half: Montana UNDER 26.5 points (3/5) — WIN!

Day’s Record: 32-36-1 (.471)
Previous Day’s Record: 7-5-0 (.583)

NCAA Tournament Record: 43-42-1 (.506)

1-Star Pick Record: 0-0 (.000)          (0-0-0 (.000) in NCAA Tournament)
2-Star Pick Record: 0-0 (.000)          (0-0-0 (.000) in NCAA Tournament)
3-Star Pick Record: 18-19-1 (.487)  (24-22-1 (.521) in NCAA Tournament)
4-Star Pick Record: 9-10 (.474)        (12-12-0 (.500) in NCAA Tournament)
5-Star Pick Record: 5-7 (.417)          (7-8-0 (.467) in NCAA Tournament)

March Record: 155-128-5 (.547)

February Record: 156-168-4 (.482)
January Record: 173-146-4 (.542)
December Record: 86-62-5 (.578)
November Record: 81-91-6 (.472)

Season Record: 651-597-24 (.521)

1-Star Pick Record: 0-0 (.000)          (0-0-0 (.000) in March)
2-Star Pick Record: 0-0 (.000)          (0-0-0 (.000) in March)
3-Star Pick Record: 18-19-1 (.487)  (88-69-4 (.559) in March)
4-Star Pick Record: 9-10 (.474)        (35-37-1 (.486) in March)
5-Star Pick Record: 5-7 (.417)          (33-22-0 (.600) in March)