With day one of the NCAA Basketball tournament over we can now look at the draw for some of the second round games that take place on Saturday, March 21st.  They will be played throughout the day starting at about 3pm (GMT) and carrying on well into the evening, possibly concluding as late as midnight (GMT).  It is important to note when making your picks which highly ranked teams will actually be in tough and which will not.
 
In the West Region, where three games will be played, there are two highly touted teams worth looking at.
 
Firstly, Connecticut, the top seeded team in the West Region, looks hard to beat in their section of the draw as they confront a solid Texas A&M team.  While both Connecticut and Texas A&M won their first round games handily and seem to be playing well, Connecticut's margin of victory was 56 points, the largest margin of victory in the opening round so far.  You may have noticed over the years of watching this tournament, that when a highly ranked team puts up a great score in their first round match-up, it usually indicates that they are playing at the top of their game.
 
The other noteworthy game in this region involves the Memphis Tigers and the Maryland Terrapins, two teams that many feel are underrated.  Half true, a close look at their first round games, suggests that, while Maryland is underrated, Memphis might actually be overrated.
 
Maryland is seeded tenth in this section of the draw, but they proved that they were much better than that with a 13 point victory over the 7th seeded team in the first round.  Memphis, on the other hand, struggled in their first round game against the lowly 15th seeded CSU Northridge Matadors.  While watching this game, you may have actually believed for a short time that Memphis was going to lose, as they trailed well into the second half.  Maryland, much better than Northridge, will not be so forgiving if Memphis doesn't show up to play and should be a smart pick for an upset.
 
North Carolina, the only other number one seed in action tomorrow besides Connecticut, remains a question mark -a terrible thing to be when you are a number seed and usually a 'lock'.  It is unknown how long their star guard, Ty Lawson, will be on the sidelines for.  Without him playing, their number one seed is superficial and they would appear to be vulnerable.
 
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