Game: Virginia Commonwealth at UCLA Mar 19 2009 9:50PM
Prediction: UCLA
Reason: In all due respect to the ?World Wide Leader,? any time Jay Mariotti goes one way, we?re going the other direction. This particular 6 vs. 11 matchup has become a trendy tournament upset pick of both experts and college basketball novices, and it?s easy to see why. We were personally on VCU when the Rams (as an 11 seed) upset Duke in the first round of the 2006 NCAA Tournament. That was a special year for the CAA as fellow league member George Mason became the lowest seeded team ever to advance to a Final Four. However, even with star guard Eric Maynor two years wiser, we cannot back the Commonwealth this time around. UCLA HC Ben Howland is too good a coach to allow his Bruins to falter here. Besides, it seems as if every year, the trendy upset pick falls flat on its face (Oklahoma vs. St. Joe?s last year). Also, VCU is 0-6 against the spread over the last three season off consecutive covers as a favorite. UCLA was playing well before its outright loss to rival USC in the Pac 10 Tournament, as they had won and covered five straight games prior. Maynor will also have to contend with Bruins PG Collison, who will give him all he can handle as opposed to the weak competition he faced in the CAA during the regular season. He also has less depth and a less athletic front court than the team that almost went to the Sweet 16 two years ago. The F Larry Sanders you keep hearing about is overrated. Take UCLA