SI.com's Luke Winn gives his daily forecast of the NCAA tournament.
Saturday, March 22 (click here for Sunday's picks)
1:10 p.m. ET	No. 4 Illinois vs. No. 5 Notre Dame Here, stellar young point guards showcase their bold, new postseason hairdos. Of Dee Brown's floppy new braids and Chris Thomas' freshly-Bic'ed dome, I say Thomas' has more staying power. But you get your pick: the braids, or the baldness? . Fighting Irish 75, Illini 72
3:20 p.m. ET	No. 4 Stanford vs. No. 5 Connecticut The Huskies will enjoy their share of good karma, for providing a prompt solution to the NCAA's BYU dillemma. Bad karma will afflict the Cardinal, for beating San Diego and making my upset pick look silly before a national audience. Huskies 66, Cardinal 62
3:40 p.m. ET	No. 3 Marquette vs. No. 6 Missouri The Golden Eagles' first-rounder played out like a twisted episode of elimiDATE: Holy Cross, as it has proved so adept at doing during NCAA tourney time, flirted with an upset all night and still managed to strike out. Purported C-USA superstar Dwyane Wade had no game, yet somehow scored. It won't be as easy against the Tigers, Mr. Wade. Tigers 73, Golden Eagles 68
5:30 p.m. ET	No. 1 Oklahoma vs. No. 8 California Two guarantees and a disclaimer: 1: Hollis Price will play for more than the 11 minutes he did in the first round. 2: The Sooners will win. The disclaimer: I was already wrong about Cal once this tournament. Sooners 68, Golden Bears 65
5:40 p.m. ET	No. 1 Arizona vs. No. 9 Gonzaga In the spirit of all things French becoming "Freedom," Gonzaga Frenchman Ronny Turiaf hit 16 of 22 Freedom throws on Thursday in one of America's most cherished sporting events. Expect a less spirited performance against Arizona. Wildcats 78, Bulldogs 69
5:50 p.m. ET	No. 5 Wisconsin vs. No. 13 Tulsa Forecast: the Golden Hurricane hits a grinding halt. Or at least runs into UW's grinding defense and suprisingly potent offense. Here, I place the Badgers in the Sweet 16, to make amends for a poorly thought-out Weber State pick in the first round. Badgers 60, Golden Hurricane 51
8:00 p.m. ET	No. 2 Kansas vs. No. 10 Arizona State How many of you out there had Memphis beating Kansas in the second round? Well, I didn't. So I'm sticking with Jayhawks. Jayhawks 75, Sun Devils 66
8:10 p.m. ET	No. 3 Duke vs. No. 11 Central Michigan Not that I'm going to pick an upset on the basis of one photo, but it's hard not to be concerned about Duke after Dahntay Jones' horrific collision. I imagine "Nelson," the poor chap on the receiving end, is none too pleased, either. Blue Devils 82, Chippewas 76
Back to Sunday's picks ...

 

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