Friday Sweet 16 Picks

View my bracket here. | View contest results here

I went 2 for 4 yesterday, but one of those 2 was a re-pick. Somehow I'm still in the top half of ESPN's Tournament Challenge. I'm guessing I won't be after tonight.

Anyway, here are my picks for Thursday's Sweet 16 games:

East:
1 Ohio State over 4 Kentucky
Ohio State looks like the best team in this tournament. Kentucky has played well, but I don't think they can beat the Buckeyes.

2 North Carolina over 11 Marquette
I'd love to see Buzz Williams and Marquette win this, and I think they'll keep it close. But I'm going to stick with my original pick here.

Southwest:
1 Kansas over 12 Richmond
Again, I'd love to see the Spiders prevail (especially since they're responsible for knocking out Vanderbilt, and there's more honor in losing to a team that advances to the Elite Eight). But it's hard to see anyone other than Ohio State beating Kansas at this point.

11 VCU over 10 Florida State (re-pick)
Both of these teams have been impressive, and I hate to pick one over the other. But I'm going to say that VCU has been slightly more impressive and pick the Rams to move on. (I originally had Notre Dame in this one. Contest rules allow me to pick a replacement team for half the points.)