March Madness is the most addicting time of the year for college students where brackets can be destroyed and Cinderella Stories are uprising. Any team that enters the tournament must survive. What’s the South looking like?
Baylor Bears: Last season, Baylor won 23 in a row during a significant stretch. This season, its one regular-season loss was at Kansas days after the team had returned from a three-week pause. Even if COVID prevented them from winning last year the Bears are trying to get back to the big dance. Jared Butler and Davion Mitchell are projected first-round picks that have stood out more than anyone on the team. MaCio Teague is averaging 15.8 PPG and connecting on nearly 40% of his 3-point attempts. This team lives and dies by its offensive talents, if they have any chance at a championship they will need the depth to back up all of their high end talent. Smells like a boom or bust story!
Ohio State Buckeyes: THE Ohio State is out for blood thanks to the selection committee jobbing them. Just after the Buckeyes rattled off road wins over Rutgers, Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa and Maryland, the NCAA tournament selection announced its top 16 seeds through Feb. 12 and the Buckeyes had secured a No. 1 slot. But a four-game losing streak entering the Big Ten tournament ended that dream. Now they are trying to regain the old magic that won them so many games earlier in the season. Duane Washington and E.J. Liddell can’t do this alone, especially if the depth vanishes. The Buckeyes will need better interior defense, a problem against the league’s top bigs, and consistency from Kyle Young, who scored 18 points in a February win over Maryland but didn’t record double-digit points again for a month after that effort. They are going to have to play their best early and often.
Arkansas Razorbacks: After a 31-point road loss to Alabama on Jan. 16, Eric Musselman’s squad didn’t lose another SEC game in the regular season, turning a 2-4 start in league play into a 13-4 second-place finish. Their success this season is tied to an overlooked freshman who quickly evolved. Moses Moody has led the charge and has emerged into the star of the team. The real concern that these guys have is their depth and coaching. Many of their games in the 2nd Half were against soft teams and luckily for them they will likely not face a contender until the 2nd Round. This is one of the advantages of the NCAA tournament, beating the teams you are supposed to.
Purdue Boilermakers: The Boilermakers despite Top 5 offense in the country finished fourth ahead of Ohio State and Wisconsin in the Big Ten standings with a 13-6 record. Few teams in America can match Purdue’s frontcourt size with 6-foot-10 Trevion Williams (15.2 PPG, 8.8 RPG) and 7-foot-4 Zach Edey (8.9 PPG, 4.5 RPG) in the paint. It’s still unclear if the Boilermakers can hang with the top-tier teams in America. They have the size and field goal percentage to do so but if they go on a cold streak it could be very hard for them to keep up.
Villanova Wildcats: In 2016 they won the National Championship by edging out teams by means of late game heroics. In 2018 they won it all by blowing everyone out. Now they get to try and win another title with even more difficulty to do so. When Collin Gillespie couldn’t put any weight on his knee after going down during a game against Creighton earlier this month, suffering what would later be revealed as a season-ending knee injury, it changed the outlook for a good Villanova team. With Gillespie, the Wildcats forced turnovers on nearly one-fifth of their opponents’ possessions and committed turnovers on 13 out of every 100 trips up the floor. If there is anything that needs to be said about this team it’s that Jay Wright still knows how to win in March. Even with Gillespie out they still have a team with Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, Jermaine Samuels, and a hopefully healthy Justin Moore. They are either going deep in the playoffs or losing early from how I see it!
Texas Tech Red Raiders: Chris Beard’s season has been defined by final-minute drama that, too often, has ended in his opponents’ favor. The program’s late collapse against Texas in the Big 12 tournament quarterfinals on Thursday was a microcosm of the entire season. Losses to Kansas (one point), Oklahoma State (twice, both in overtime) and West Virginia (one point) could have gone either way. Matt McClung is going to need to prove to plenty of the doubters that they indeed have a better team than their record. Time will tell with that story.
Florida Gators: On a regular basis the Gators are usually one of the biggest forces in the SEC for College Basketball. However tt has been an unprecedented season for every team in America, but the Gators endured the unimaginable when Keyontae Johnson collapsed during a game against rival Florida State in December. Johnson is back on the sideline but not playing. Tre Mann has done his part to keep this team together and lead on the floor, too. Per Synergy Sports data, he’s made 49% of his shots off screens. Well at least they’re in the tournament unlike several longtime mainstays that won’t be mentioned. (I won’t laugh at Duke being out of it with all the nonsense that hit them.)
North Carolina Tar Heels: Well at least you made it back to the tournament. Nothing seemed guaranteed for a Tar Heels team that tumbled through this unprecedented season. This isn’t a North Carolina squad with the elite talent pool the program has enjoyed during its most memorable runs under Roy Williams. But the formula remains. The Tar Heels are going to protect the rim with their big bodies, run the floor with their athletic guards and rely on second-chance opportunities as the nation’s best offensive rebounding team. The weaknesses on this roster (31% clip from the 3-point line) are clear, but Garrison Brooks will lead a UNC frontcourt that will also throw 6-foot-11 Day’Ron Sharpe and 6-10 Armando Bacot at opposing teams and hope for the best. Against a team like Wisconsin they will need all of the breaks to go their way.
Wisconsin Badgers: This is a team that usually pulls a deep playoff run out of their magic hats. Despite a 2-6 finish in Wisconsin’s last eight games, it didn’t do much for its profile.Some of those losses also came against Iowa (three times), Illinois, Michigan and Purdue. Still, Wisconsin didn’t look like the same team that beat Loyola Chicago, Louisville and Maryland prior to that late slide. So who are the Badgers? They have the lowest turnover rate in America. They’re led by seniors D’Mitrik Trice, Micah Potter and Brad Davison. They also made just 32.7% of their 3-point attempts in league play. The Badgers are a beautiful mystery. Yes they are a mystery but they most oftenly get their act together come crunchtime.
Virginia Tech Hokies: Mike Young won ACC Coach of the Year honors after enduring opt-outs, off-court issues, injuries and a three-week pause this season. Weathering adversity, Virginia Tech beat Villanova in the non conference season before finishing 9-4 in league play. During the regular season, Virginia Tech made 52% of its shots inside the arc with Keve Aluma on the floor. His value to the team is a huge asset if they want to go anywhere this postseason. Playing Texas Tech is a hard task but as they say anything can happen.
Utah State Aggies: Even if they had a rough start this is one of the hottest teams on the Southern Side of the tournament. While a 68-57 loss to San Diego State in the Mountain West tournament title game ended a six-game winning streak for Utah State, Craig Smith’s squad held a powerful SDSU team to its lowest offensive efficiency in five games. The league’s most efficient defense held its Mountain West opponents to a 42.1% clip inside the arc, No. 1 in the conference. But center Neemias Queta is the difference-maker for this team. When he’s on the floor, opposing teams have made under 40% of their shots inside the 3-point line. If he continues to be the difference maker they need WATCH OUT!
Winthrop Eagles: Pat Kelsey’s program is just one rocky finish against UNC Asheville on Jan. 29 from entering the NCAA tournament with a perfect record. The one-loss Eagles played at a fast pace, but they still owned the most efficient offense and defense in the Big South. Their top scorers this season belong on the tournament’s all-name squad. But reserves Adonis Arms and Chandler Vaudrin could go viral soon with big performances. Too bad you have to face Villanova in the 1st Round. Hate to break it to you!
North Texas Mean Green: Javion Hamlet is the spark for a North Texas team that has made 56% of its attempts inside the arc in Conference USA play. They’ve also made 37.3% of their 3-point attempts this season. But a defensive upgrade factored into this team’s run to the Conference USA crown. All four C-USA opponents the Mean Green faced in the league’s tournament failed to score more than 57 points against them. I hate to break it but I don’t think Purdue is scoring lower than 57 in this game.
Colgate Raiders: While this is Colgate’s second consecutive trip to the NCAA tournament, it’s only its second appearance since 1996. The Raiders finished the season 14-1 after capturing the Patriot League tournament title with a win over Loyola (Maryland) on Sunday. Jordan Burns is one of four players on the roster who have made at least 35% of their 3-point attempts this season. The Raiders are also the only team in the Patriot League ranked in the top 100 in adjusted offensive efficiency. They made 38% of their 3-point attempts in league action. Even for a 3 point heavy team they will need all of the breaks to go their way against Razorbacks.
Oral Roberts Golden Eagles: His name is Max Abmas. He’s the No. 1 scorer in America at 24.2 PPG. Think those are mid-major numbers? Well, he put up 18 points against Missouri, 28 points against Wichita State and 33 points against Oklahoma State this year, too. He’s the guiding light for an Oral Roberts team that completed a five-game winning streak with an upset over North Dakota State in the Summit League title game. The Eagles can shoot and Abmas is built for this moment. (YoYo Sound) Then they must face a steamroller known as THE Ohio State University! OUCH!
Hartford Hawks: On Saturday, an energized John Gallagher essentially cut a wrestling promo on ESPN Radio after leading his team to an America East Conference tournament championship and its first NCAA tournament appearance. He said his team’s strength is its tenacity. “We are shockingly physical,” Gallagher said. The numbers back that claim. No America East team forced more turnovers per possession than Gallagher’s crew. The Hawks are led by 6-4 guard Austin Williams, who has averaged 19.6 PPG during his team’s five-game winning streak. Well in my opinion even if they are getting crushed it’s a hollow victory.
The NCAA Tournament has returned and the games will be epic and more insane than ever! Lets see the Bracket! (See West Doc)
Bragging Rights Sports 