ANALYSIS: First, the pace is expected to do produce a low-possession style that always is going to make it hard for the favorite to really open up a blowout on the scoreboard. But it's also notable how Northwestern shot the ball so well against a Boise State team that had been solid defensively for much of the season. Maybe it's something about the rims in Sacramento that have the Wildcats feeling confident, but anything close to Thursday night's performance -- close to 50% from the floor and nearly 40% from three -- is going to give the Wildcats a shot against a UCLA team that admittedly had one of the most impressive wins of the first round.

ANALYSIS: At the risk of jumping on a trendy dog, I have to snap up the points fading this Houston team that seems to be coming apart at the seams at the wrong time. We knew about Marcus Sasser's groin injury (which he re-aggravated in the first round win) but now we also have fellow starting guard Jamal Shead dealing with a knee injury. The vibes are not good and the setting, Birmingham, sets up to be a comfortable spot for Auburn. The Tigers will have a disadvantage of early-arriving Alabama fans rooting hard for Houston, but if Northern Kentucky can make Houston sweat for 40 minutes I think Auburn can hang around as well.

ANALYSIS: Tennessee was up by 18 points against Louisiana in the second half and nearly gave it away, and in doing so exposed more of the offensive woes that we've seen from the Vols coming down the stretch. Rick Barnes' team got some good looks near the basket and some offensive rebounds for easy points, but those opportunities won't be there against a Duke team that's got great size and terrific discipline on the defensive end. The Blue Devils have a more talented roster and better recent form, so I'll comfortably lay the short number.

ANALYSIS: We're going to go ahead and lock this in even knowing the status of Norchad Omier is pivotal to the handicap. Omier is Miami's best defensive post player and drawing Drake means having to defend last year's conference player of the year Tucker DeVries. But regardless of Omier's status, Miami's defense has been backsliding for the last six weeks, frequently getting carved up as teams get good looks near the rim -- the Canes' 2-point defense has been downright horrendous (No. 358) since Feb. 1. Miami should be able to do its part for this play with any number of its stellar bucket-getters, be it Isaiah Wong or Nijel Pack or Jordan Miller, so I like the chances of a high-scoring evening in Albany.

ANALYSIS: Low-scoring games are always going to favor a multiple-possession underdog, but there's a matchup wrinkle that I really like for VCU. Both Gonzaga and BYU have disturbed Saint Mary’s offensive rhythm with pressure defense in the last couple weeks, which Mike Rhoads has surely noted in preparation for this game. VCU needs the chaos to get easy buckets -- half-court offense is not the Rams' strong suit -- so I think we see a lot of press defense and some sloppy possessions in a game that might be a race to 55.