SI.com's Luke Winn gives his daily forecast of the NCAA tournament.
Friday, March 28 (on to Saturday's picks)
7:10 p.m. ET	No. 1 Oklahoma vs. No. 12 Butler Cinderella Butler is drawing its share of Hoosiers comparisons. The Bulldogs play in the gym where scenes from the quintessential hoop flick were filmed, and they sport crewcuts to boot. Expect a low-scoring game, due to Butler's insistence on passing four times before taking a shot, and pray that some well-meaning, yet belligerent drunk doesn't run onto the court and get the Bulldogs T'ed up. Sooners 75, Bulldogs 68
7:27 p.m. ET	No. 1 Texas vs. No. 5 Connecticut Naismith Award winner T.J. Ford has obviously watched the Mateen Cleaves: How to Play Hoops like a Grinning Fool instructional video many times over. Too bad he won't get a chance to imitate Cleaves' famous "skip-like-a-little-child exhibition" from after the 2000 title game. Huskies 79, Longhorns 77, OT
9:40 p.m. ET	No. 3 Syracuse vs. No. 10 Auburn The Orangemen are comeback specialists who often take the first half off, to sit and ponder questions like, "How did Lawrence Moten play with his socks up so high?" Gerry McNamara thought about it for so long against Oklahoma State, his head started bleeding. Orangemen 83, Tigers 69
9:57 p.m. ET	No. 6 Maryland vs. No. 7 Michigan State Michigan State's surprising run has prompted a few overzealous Sparties to dub frontcourt tandem Paul Davis and Erazem Lorbek (who, for the record, don't appear in the starting lineup together) the "Twin Towers." Remember, these are the same folks who included Jeff Smoker in a nickname duo at the outset of football season. Terrapins 80, Spartans 71
Results: First round: 23-9. Second round: 12-4. Third round (thus far): 4-0. Overall: 39-13.

 

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