Only two games from the NCAA Tournament Mid-West region will be on tap on Thursday (Mar. 15) as the third-seeded Maryland Terrapins take on the 13th seeded Davidson Wildcats and the fifth-seeded Butler Bulldogs get a great matchup with the Old Dominion Monarchs. Both are afternoon games from the Mid-West Sub-Regional at HSBC Arena in Buffalo, New York.
On Friday six games will be on tap from the other sub-regional sites. Number-one seed Florida will play 16-seed Jackson State and (8) Arizona will play (9) Purdue from New Orleans Arena in New Orleans, La. No. 7 seed UNLV will try to get by (10) Georgia Tech and (2) Wisconsin will play (15) Texas A&M-CC from the United Center in Chicago. No. 6 Notre Dame will play No. 11 Winthrop and Oregon will play Miami (OH) at the Spokane Memorial Arena in Spokane, WA.
Maryland Terrapins (24-8) vs. Davidson Wildcats (29-4), 12:20 p.m. EDT, Line Maryland -7 (155 total). The three-seed Terrapins can’t mail this one in expecting the Southern Conference champions, 13-seeded Davidson Wildcats to roll over and die. The Cats will bring it, as they did against Ohio State last year almost upsetting the Buckeyes as a 15 seed. The Cats are led by leading Southern Conference freshman of the year Stephen Curry, son of former NBA star Dell Curry. Another famous son, D.J. Strawberry will lead his teammates for the Terps. Maryland coach Gary Williams will have his Terps ready for this one. Point-Spreads.com pick: Maryland -7.
Butler Bulldogs (27-6) vs. Old Dominion Monarchs (24-8), 2:50 p.m. EDT, Line Butler -1 ½ (123 total). This game is a bracket buster if there ever was one, guaranteeing a mid-major entry into the second round. Butler will ride to victory behind the solid back court of A.J. Graves and Mike Green. They will need some solid defense against ODU’s hot shooting forward Valdas Vasylius. Point-Spreads.com pick: Butler – 1 ½.
