March is a beautiful time of year, folks. The weather gets warmer, the clocks give us all an extra hour of sleep one weekend, St. Patrick's Day is St. Patrick's Day…And starting with Selection Sunday, college basketball goes bananas. It's March Madness time, baby, and it's back.

The teams are picked, the first weekend is set, Duke wasn't invited (hooray to all the haters), and the largest single elimination death tournament of its kind is about to kick off once more. Let's dive into the madness.

These are the biggest potential upsets in the Round of 64.

 

Creighton (5) v UC Santa Barbara (12) 

In a seed matchup that has historically yielded a lot of upsets in the history of March Madness (only 2007 and 2018 didn't have one), this year is no different, with two potential upsets waiting in the wings. This one's the less sad one.

Creighton dropped a big stinker against Georgetown in the Big East Tournament and is trending down after only going .500 through its last six games of the season. And while most higher-seeded teams will usually use such a trend as a sort of wake-up call, Creighton is not one of those teams. They can go hot and cold on any given night, and will essentially go as far as junior Marcus Zegarowski can take them. If the name sounds unfamiliar, he's Michael Carter-Williams' younger brother. Remember MCW? 2014 NBA ROY who disappeared as soon as he got big? Too soon?

Creighton drew a tough team at the 12 in UCSB. They're an older, well-balanced, seasoned, and hungry team that's dancing for the first time in a decade. If any team is built for the uncertainty of March Madness, it's them.

 

Villanova (5) v Winthrop (12)

This one hurts.

Without Collin Gillespie (MCL), the Wildcats have simply looked lost. The question going into March Madness is how well they will be able to take his absence into stride and rally around backup floor general Justin Moore.

Winthrop, meanwhile, is riding on a massive hot streak, with a record of 23-1. And while their conference isn't exactly composed of world beaters, Winthrop ran through the Big South tournament like a hot knife through butter, winning its games by an average of over 25 points. This team plays fast, and knows how to pounce on weak prey.

A key matchup will be Villanova's Jeremiah Robinson-Earl and Winthrop's do-it-all big guard and leader Chandler Vaudrin. If Robinson-Earl can slow Vaudrin down, Villanova has a shot to gum up the Eagles' offense. If not, then this is simply a story of a team that got hot at the right time absolutely bludgeoning another that recently lost their starting point guard.

Ouch.

 

Arkansas (3) v Colgate (14)

This matchup is very interesting. Every March Madness has at least one wild upset in the first round, one absolutely bananas game, and this could be it. Because if this upset does occur, it won't be for something rational like a key injury, missing piece, or a team peaking at the right time. It will be because anything can happen in a wild shootout.

Both teams love to absolutely get out of the gates sprinting. And they can keep up the pace. Arkansas is one of the fastest teams in the country, they are ready to do battle, and were riding an eight game winning streak before losing to LSU in the SEC Tournament.

Here's the thing: Arkansas is battle-tested because they let opponents get close. They can blow out a team on any given night, (MS Valley is probably still on fire), but can also lose to any team that can keep up with them.

Enter Colgate. Despite their season only starting in January, the Raiders have gotten out to a hot start, going 11-1 and tearing through the Patriot League Tournament. They are the best shooting team in the field (40%), and senior Jordan Burns is personally going 41% from three and pushing 90% at the stripe. Colgate gives off heavy ‘Davidson Steph Curry' fumes, and teams haven't really had a chance to scout them as much yet.

Both teams have the capability to breach the 100 point mark. Turn your TV's on.

 

LSU (8) v St Bonaventure (9)

Normally, the 8/9 matchup is a popular upset slot during March Madness. The teams are the most evenly matched up (in theory), and both have noticeable flaws and high ceilings.

This year, that's not really the case.

Oklahoma has been struggling, but they have an ace in the hole with De'Vion Harmon on both sides of the floor, where Mizzou has none. North Carolina and Wisconsin are trending away from each other in UNC's favor, who also boasts the size to combat Wisconsin's. Georgia Tech is intriguing, but Loyola Chicago is way under-seeded, and for a team this talented, expect them to come out screaming for blood.

That leaves LSU and St Bona, the best matchup for the obligatory 8/9 upset. And it all hinges on one question:

Can LSU successfully wear down St Bona's stars?

St Bona's big three of Osunniyi, Adaway, and Lofton are three of the best playmakers in the field, and the team boasts both a top flight offense and defense. However, they are wildly heavy, with a rotation that goes seven deep at most.

LSU, meanwhile, will look to run them out of the gym with one of the highest-scoring offenses in the country, but their own durability and fatigue may come into question coming off of an emotional loss to Alabama in the SEC Finals.

The temptation is to lean towards the team that is running hot, and St Bona is that team. And while their tires may go bald later on in the tournament, this format is perfect for a shallow but talented roster.

 

Texas Tech (6) v Utah State (11)

This one is all up to the big man for the Aggies. If Neemias Queta (3.2 BPG) can slow down Texas Tech's Mac McClung's nuclear drives to the rim, then Utah State can ride the Red Raiders' less-than-stellar three point defense to an upset win.

And that's not even getting into their biggest strength on offense: Queta himself. The Portuguese big man is a big man at 7'0, and no player on Texas Tech's roster can really match up with him size-wise or on the boards (10 RPG). He's also more than just a one-dimensional bruiser: 15.1 PPG puts him right behind McClung in the scoring column, and his 2.5 APG indicates he has the ability and vision (especially at 7'0) to laser passes out to the perimeter for plenty of open shots.

Utah State is bigger than the Red Raiders. Utah State can keep up defensively with the Red Raiders. Utah State can keep up shooting with the Red Raiders.

Queta is the tipping point in this March Madness showdown.

 

Honorable Mentions

 

Colorado (5)/Georgetown(12)

Popular 5/12 matchup with how hot Georgetown is, but the Hoyas can be real sloppy.

 

Clemson (7)/Rutgers (10)

This would be a great 7/10, but Rutgers shoots much too poorly to take advantage of Clemson's abysmal three point defense.

 

Texas (7)/Abilene Christian (14)

Texas will most likely be too talented to overcome, but if they come in underestimating the Wildcats, this could be the biggest upset that nobody is talking about. Texas is wildly sloppy with the ball, and the Wildcats have the size to combat Jericho Sims in the middle for when their stifling perimeter defense inevitably stops Texas' shooters cold. If you want to go big and place your bet on a wild one, this is it.

 

Good luck picking my friends. March Madness is looking to be especially mad.