NCAA Tournament 2016 bracket: Predicting 5 best matchups in Round 2

The NCAA Tournament bracket in 2016 is loaded with exciting matchups, and there are some really great ones to look forward to in Round 2.

While teams and coaches are generally hesitant to look beyond the current opponent, looking ahead on the bracket is part of the fun for the rest of us.

While the two days that comprise the first round of the NCAA Tournament are generally about the best two days the sports calendar has to offer, who should the neutral fans of these games be cheering for?

Well, cheering for a great second round game is a good way to go.

On that note, these are the five best second round matchups for us to look forward to as we’re watching the first round.

West Region: No. 2 Oklahoma vs. No. 7 Oregon State

We start with a unique game on the NCAA Tournament bracket. The other games all look to be evenly matched contests. If we do get this one in the second round, Oklahoma would appear to be the much stronger team.

Where this one is interesting is to see how well the back court of Gary Payton II and Stephen Thompson Jr. plays against Buddy Hield.

It will be fascinating to see what the Sooners do, as Hield has obviously been a big part of their attack. If Isaiah Cousins, Jordan Woodard, Ryan Spangler, and company compliment Hield well, then it’s a good sign that Oklahoma will be in the tournament for a while. If not, then it spells potential trouble for the Sooners, who are a Final Four favorite.

The possibility of an upset is always fun. But even if Oklahoma wins fairly easily, this game should be a good one to learn from.

South Region: No. 3 Miami vs. No. 6 Arizona 

Both the Hurricanes and Wildcats bring a variety of ways to score, meaning we could be in for a barn-burner.

Sheldon McClellan, Angel Rodriguez, Davon Reed, and Ja’Quan Newton all averaged better than 11 points per game for Miami. On the other side, Ryan Anderson, Gabe York, and Allonzo Trier all averaged more than 15 for Arizona.

We’ll also get a bit of a clash of styles. Arizona averaged better than 80 points per contest over the last 10 games of their season, while Miami allowed just over 68.

Kansas is deservedly the top seed in this region and smart money would call the Jayhawks the favorite to win the whole thing. With that said, if we were asked to pick a South Regional champion besides Kansas, smart money would be on the winner of this game.

Not bad for a second round matchup.

West Region: No. 3 Texas A&M vs. No. 6 Texas

The nature of the NCAA Tournament is that since teams from different conferences around the country are included, it’s fairly rare to get a good rivalry game. While these two no longer share a conference, the Aggies and Longhorns are certainly still rivals.

Unlike Miami vs. Arizona, Texas A&M and Texas don’t present terribly contrasting styles, as neither team finished in the Top 100 in scoring throughout the season. Two low-scoring teams are likely to give us a competitive game, as neither team is likely to score enough points to blow the other out.

The advantage of a low-scoring competitive game is that it really heightens the intensity of each possession. In a high-scoring game, any given basket won’t feel too significant.

NCAA Tournament games often come down to guard play. In this game, A&M’s Jalen Jones, Danuel House, and Alex Caruso vs. Isaiah Taylor and Javan Felix from Texas should be worth the price of admission. It gets even better if Cameron Ridley can log big minutes for the Longhorns.

The rivalry alone is enough to sell this one. The fact that it shapes up to be a good game makes it even better.

Midwest Region: No. 3 Utah vs. No 6 Seton Hall

As the Big East Tournament champion, Seton Hall is badly underrated in this bracket. While that hurts the Pirates and their early opponents, it does open the door for a potentially fantastic second round matchup against Utah.

Both teams come into the tournament riding a hot streak. While the Utes were blown out in the Pac-12 Tournament final, they had won nine consecutive games leading up to that contest. Seton Hall, on the other hand, entered the tournament on a five-game winning steak, including conference tournament wins over NCAA Tournament No. 2 seeds, Xavier and Villanova.

This one will likely come down to which team asserts its style of play better than the other. The Isaiah Whitehead-led Pirates will rely heavily on their guards, while Jakob Poeltl and the Utes will look for a big game from the front court.

The fact that this lingers as a second round game shows just how stacked the Midwest Region is in the 2016 NCAA Tournament.

East Region: No. 4 Kentucky vs. No. 5 Indiana

A Kentucky vs. Indiana game feels like it belongs in the Final Four. The fact that the winner of this game will move on to the Sweet 16 to likely face another blue blood program — top seeded North Carolina — only adds to that feeling.

Much like Texas A&M and Texas, this is the once great rivalry that’s unfortunately been on the back burner for a few years, as the Wildcats and Hoosiers haven’t played since 2012.

Unlike the Aggies and Longhorns, this game will feature plenty of offense. With Jamal Murray and Tyler Ulis running the show in Kentucky and Yogi Ferrell and Troy Williams manning the Hoosiers’ attack, both teams have Top-30 scoring offenses in the country.

In a low-scoring game, every basket feels more significant. In a high-scoring game, every stop feels like it might decide the game.

With all due respect to Stony Brook and Chattanooga, college basketball fans should be cheering hard for the Wildcats and Hoosiers in the first round. The Kentucky vs. Indiana second round game is just too fun to cheer for anything else.