The NCAA tournament first round tips off Thursday afternoon and like every year we are guaranteed to have some stunning upsets. Let’s take a look at some of the upsets that could happen in each region.

South Region:

Furman over Virginia:

This is a pick where it comes down to which team makes more shots. Both teams run their game at the same slow pace. If Furman played at a little faster pace, I would love them here in an upset spot, but they play slow and I still do like them. Virginia has shown flashes of being a very good basketball team this year, but they have also shown flashes of being a bad basketball team that struggles to score. Furman is finally back into the tournament and I think they are going to come out hungry. If Virginia comes out and isn’t scoring the ball well, watch out for Furman to pull off the upset.

UCSB over Baylor:

This pick is a little more of a risk than Furman, but I still believe the Gauchos can get it done. This would be one of, if not the, biggest upsets of the tournament if they can pull it off. Baylor has been an inconsistent team for most of the year. They have quality wins on the year and have held their own in the gauntlet that was the Big 12 this year. They have the talent to make a deep run in the tournament as well, which is why this is a riskier pick than the others. However, UCSB has been impressive this year and deserve to be in the big dance after a solid conference tournament. They have the ability to score with Baylor and if those two guards for the Bears have an off night, which is possible, UCSB could pull off a shocker in the opening round.

Honorable Mention: Charleston over SDSU

Midwest Region:

Drake over Miami:

This is one of my favorite upset picks of the entire tournament. Drake is a really good basketball team and has proved it all season long. They have a ton of talent on the roster as well as a ton of experience. The average age of this team is 23 years old. They won their conference championship by blowing out Bradley. Miami obviously, is a very good team. They won the ACC regular season and have put up some very good games this year. They have really good guard play, which is always useful in the tournament. They didn’t have a great showing in the conference tournament, which is what worries me. If Drake can continue to play hot, they could easily pull off the upset.

Pitt over Iowa State:

I love this pick right here. Pitt is a very good basketball team. They had a chance to win the ACC regular season title this year, but had a close loss at Miami in the final game of the season. They did enough to get themselves into the last four in and won on Tuesday night in a nail biter against a good Mississippi State squad. I’m not sold on Iowa State in this tournament. They’ve shown flashes this year of being a really good team, but I don’t think they have the firepower to make a run. It should be a really good game, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Pitt wins and even ends up playing on the second weekend.

Honorable Mention: Penn State over Texas A&M

East Region:

Oral Roberts over Duke:

This is probably one of the most popular upset picks of the tournament and for good reason. Oral Roberts is the hottest team coming into the tournament. They are a better team than we saw make a sweet 16 run a couple years ago. Max Abmas is back in the dance as a senior and he also has help in 7’5” freshmen Connor Vanover. They are a high-powered offense with the capability of giving any team trouble. Duke is also a hot team as they are fresh off of an ACC tournament title. They had their struggles early, but seem to have righted the ship. Duke is a good team with the talent to make a Final Four run, but if they have an off game early, Oral Roberts can bounce them quick.

Louisiana over Tennessee:

Louisiana is a team that can certainly scrap together a win or even two in this tournament. They have help in the form of Tennessee losing star guard, Zakai Zeigler. That’s a major blow for this team as he has been one of their steady forces all year. They squandered their double bye in the SEC tournament by losing to Auburn. They have no momentum coming in, which is opposite of Louisiana as they won their conference tourney. If Louisiana sticks around in this game, they have a chance to send Tennessee home early.

HM: Vermont over Marquette

West Region:

VCU over St Mary’s:

The Rams are a very good team this year. They won the A10 conference pretty easily and were dominant the whole season. They are a well coached team and are 27-7 on the season. They don’t have any top-25 wins, but Saint Mary’s is 2-3 against the top-25 and have struggled down the stretch. They got blown out by a sneaky good Gonzaga team in the conference championship. They aren’t the same five-seed that we saw blow out Indiana in the first round last year. If they haven’t gotten back on track during this break, VCU could win this comfortably.

Arkansas over Kansas (2nd Round):

The West is an absolute gauntlet this year, and I like most of the favorites to win in the first round. With that being said, we could be set up for a ton of great games in the second round. If Arkansas can get past Illinois in round one, I like them to put up a fight against Kansas round two. The Razorbacks are healthy now, and put up a decent SEC tournament. They are freshmen heavy which is what worries me, but I think their young power can lead them past that. Nick Smith is a stud and will be a lottery pick come June. The last time we saw Kansas they got embarrassed in Kansas City by Texas.

HM: UNC Ashville over UCLA