USC and UCLA to air on TV @ Pac12 Network today at 4pm.

Easter weekend is here and it is chalk full of rematches.  Ole Miss and Mississippi State will meet for the 3rd time while Texas A&M and Tennessee, Cal and USC, Stanford and USC, Cal and UCLA, and Stanford and UCLA will all meet for the 2nd time.  Many of the other top ranked teams are either off for the holiday weekend or taking on lower ranked competition.  There aren’t too many upset specials this weekend though I think both Tennessee and Florida State better be prepared or they could be on the wrong end of a 4-3 score.   

Is there anybody you see breaking through this weekend and pulling the upset?  Make your pick and follow along at the provided links to see how they fare. 

Saturday:

#18 Florida State at #9 Duke – Noon est – Live Scoring – The Seminoles will be playing back to back days while this will be Duke’s one match of the week.  I look for Duke to handle FSU and win going away. Prediction:  Duke 7-0

#1 Virgina at Boston College – Noon est – Virginia shut out state rival Virginia Tech on Thursday and will post another shutout against a woeful BC team.  Hoos will likely sit at least 3 starters to give their depth players some action.  Prediction:  Virginia 7-0

#6 Pepperdine at #67 Santa Clara – 3pm est/Noon pst – Waves make it a weekend sweep with a win in Northern California.  Prediction:  Pepperdine 5-2

#4 UCLA at #49 Stanford – 5:30pm est/2:30 pst - Live Scoring & Video & TV @ Pac12 Network – UCLA won the 1st meeting 7-0 but 5 of the 6 courts either went to a 3rd set or had at least 1 set go to the tiebreak.   I think UCLA will be a little worn down after playing Cal on Friday but there is still a pretty big gap in talent between these 2 and the team with more upside will get the win.  Prediction:  UCLA 5-2

Friday:

#12 Texas A&M at #5 Tennessee – 2pm est – Link for Live Scoring/UT Blog/Live Broadcast - Tennessee won the 1st meeting in a match that took place in the consolation draw on the final day of the National Indoors in Seattle.  That match came down to a 3rd set at #5 singles and it was Tennessee that pulled through but I think Texas A&M will get its revenue in Knoxville and pull off the upset with wins from Harrison Adams, Shane Vinsant, and Jordan Szabo along with claiming the doubles point.  Prediction:  Texas A&M 4-3

#10 Ole Miss at #13 Mississippi State – 2pm est/1pm cst – Live Scoring – Mississippi State won the 1st meeting in Jackson 4-2 while Ole Miss took the 2nd meeting in Seattle by the same 4-2 score so this will be the rubber match of the series to determine who is the top dog in the Magnolia State.  Both teams have been in a slump lately though Ole Miss seems to be a little healthier at the moment.  I look for Ole Miss to take the series with singles wins coming from Stefan Lindmark, William Kallberg, Nik Scholtz, and Johan Backstrom.  Prediction:  Ole Miss 4-3

#31 Alabama at #8 Kentucky – 2pm est – Live Scoring & UK Blog @ http://www.ukathletics.com/athletic-dept/live-blog.html - Both Alabama and Kentucky were swept last weekend and even though Alabama has played well this year I don’t see them threatening Kentucky.  I look for UK to take the doubles point and win every court except for #3.  Prediction:  Kentucky 6-1

#18 Florida State at #38 North Carolina State – 2:30pm est – Live Scoring - Both teams have won 5 of their last 6 though both have had several come down to the final court.  I give NC State a decent chance to pull off the upset but I think Florida State will find a way to get it done on the road.  Prediction:  Florida State 4-3

#32 Auburn at #14 Vanderbilt – 3pm est/2pm cst – Live Scoring - Vandy lost a pair of tough ones last week to Georgia and Tennessee while Auburn rebounded from a disappointing loss to South Carolina with a strong performance against Florida.  Last year Auburn won at home 4-3 but this year I think Vanderbilt gets its revenue and picks up wins from Ryan Lipman, Kris Yee, Gonzales Austin, and Jeff Offerdahl to come out on top.  Prediction:  Vanderbilt 5-2

#69 Rice at #24 Tulsa – 3pm est/2pm cst – Live Scoring - Both teams have won 4 of their last 5 but Tulsa has played the tougher schedule and the Golden Hurricanes will win going away.  Prediction:  Tulsa 6-1

#2 USC at #49 Stanford – 4:30pm est/1:30pm pst – Live Scoring & Video - USC won the 1st meeting 6-1 with most courts pretty lopsided so Stanford will face an uphill climb in this one.  Playing at home will help some but not enough for the Cardinal to think about pulling the shocker.  Prediction:  USC 6-1

#4 UCLA at #15 Cal – 4:30pm est/1:30pm pst – Live Video - The Bruins won the 1st meeting in LA 6-1 but I think this one could be a little closer with Cal get some great play from several guys in the lineup.  The only mismatch comes at #6 singles where Cal has struggled since losing Riki McLachlan for the year with an injury.  Prediction:  UCLA 5-2

#7 Ohio State at #57 Nebraska – 4pm est/3pm cst – The Buckeyes will roll into Lincoln and take care of business with several depth players able to see some action.  Prediction:  Ohio State 7-0

#6 Pepperdine at San Francisco – 4pm est /1pm pst – Pepperdine opened up conference play a week ago against Loyola Marymount but didn’t look overly impressive in a few spots and only won 4-3.  I think they’ll play a more complete match in this one and come away with the easy win.  Prediction:  Pepperdine 6-1

#33 LSU at #20 Florida – 5pm est – Live Scoring – After playing 5 straight matches on the road Florida is happy to get back home but they’ll face an improved LSU squad that is looking to pull off an upset for the 3rd Friday in a row.  I think LSU can take 2 of the top 3 singles spots but I see Florida taking the doubles point and sweeping the bottom 3.  Prediction:  Florida 5-2

#53 Arkansas at #25 South Carolina – 5pm est – Live Scoring & Video - Arkansas has yet to win in the conference this year and while I think they can give South Carolina a decent match I don’t think they can pull off the upset.  I like the Gamecocks to get it done at home.  Prediction:  South Carolina 6-1

#19 Illinois at #70 Wisconsin – 7pm est/6pm cst – Wisconsin has dropped 3 straight by a combined score of 20-1 while Illinois stopped a 3 match losing streak with a 7-0 shutout of Nebraska in its conference opener.   I think the Badgers will keep this a little closer at home but Illinois is the better team and will get the W.  Prediction:  Illinois 5-2

Check back on Sunday to get your links for the Sunday lineup which is highlighted by a match between #5 Georgia and #12 Texas A&M.