After Thursday's crazy action, we thought we'd get more of the same on Friday. Instead, almost every game went according to form, with the big exception of Cornell over Temple, which made our model 2-for-2 on its prime Giant Killer picks. The model also correctly stuck with Purdue and Texas A&M to win, despite plenty of upset buzz for Siena and Utah State, respectively. Just as with our model's pick of UCLA over VCU last year, sometimes it's just as important to figure out which trendy upsets to avoid as it is to pick an unlikely outcome.
To learn whether Cornell can pull off another upset on Sunday, you must be an ESPN Insider.
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ESPN The Magazine contributing writer
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Giant Killers Blog
Giant Killers is Insider's annual metrics-based forecast of NCAA tournament upsets. A Giant Killer is a team that beats a tourney opponent seeded at least five spots higher. For a full explanation of our model, click here.
Peter Keating
Peter Keating is a senior writer at ESPN The Magazine, where he has covered investigative and financial stories since 1999. His work on concussions in football has earned awards from the Deadline Club, the New York Press Club and the Center for the Study of Sport in Society. He joined the Giant Killers team in 2008.
Follow Peter Keating on Twitter.
Jordan Brenner
Jordan Brenner is a contributing writer for ESPN The Magazine and ESPN Insider. He has covered pro and college basketball for the last decade and launched the Giant Killers project in 2006.
Follow Jordan Brenner on Twitter.
