Thoughts and Reactions to the NCAA Tournament Bracket
So there was a lot going on during the reveal show and during the live blog, I wanted to gather my thoughts and put together a reaction blog on everything. This is an effort just to make it a little more clean than adding it to the live blog. So let’s get right into it. We’re going to do general thoughts and then region by region thoughts.
General Thoughts:
– I can’t believe that the committee said Notre Dame was in the tournament until Davidson won today. Leaving out teams like Oklahoma State, Baylor and USC in favor of Notre Dame, Syracuse (last team in) or even Arizona State just didn’t make sense based on what the committee said they were using for tiebreakers as of sorts. I know everyone wants to talk about Oklahoma, but I have 0 problem with them getting in. They have a bunch of quality wins and it doesn’t matter if it happens in December of February. They all count the same. I thought they’d be an 11 seed, but again, no problem with them in.
– Thought all the 1 and 2 seeds made sense and no real surprises. I had it in the blog that once UNC beat Duke it felt like the top-2 seed lines were set. The only real question is would Purdue hold on to a 2 seed for me.
– Think the committee showed what everyone was talking about all year. The SEC was vastly improved getting and the Big 10/Pac-12 were down this year. That showed with how many teams each conference got in.
South Region:
– This is a brutal draw for Virginia as the No. 1 overall seed. They draw Kentucky or Arizona in the Sweet 16 if seeds hold true. Both teams are starting to peak and are incredibly talented. You look at guys like Deandre Ayton on Arizona and that’s just something you don’t want to deal with if you’re Virginia.
– This region is full of defensive teams. You look at Virginia, Kentucky, Cincinnati, Miami, Tennessee and Texas. Those are all teams that are real good on the defensive side of the ball. We could see some low scoring games here with that set up.
– If you want a potential second round upset – Nevada vs Cincinnati. I talked to guys familiar with the Cincinnati program a week ago and that was a name that came up as a possible second round matchup that they didn’t really prefer to face. Nevada has high-major talent and can really get up and down the floor. That’s one to keep an eye on in the second round.
– If you want a potential first round upset it will be Davidson and Kentucky. Davidson is incredibly efficient on offense and can kill you from the 3-point line. Kentucky is awesome at defending the 3-point line. What gives there? If Davidson gets rolling, Peyton Aldridge can be a mismatch for Kentucky, especially if Jarred Vanderbilt can’t go.
Midwest Region:
– I love this draw for Kansas if it gets by the 8/9 seed. Seton Hall/NC State are no joke in the 8/9 game and can give Kansas some problems. Seton Hall has Angel Delgado that they can just feed the ball to. If Azubuike is banged up that could be a dangerous mismatch for Seton Hall. NC State is one of the few teams that can match them shooting from outside.
– The 4/5 seeds are suspect to upsets here. Both are a little banged up, Auburn especially. Keep an eye on those teams as New Mexico State and Charleston are both incredibly skilled mid major teams.
– I had a feeling Michigan State was going to end up as a 3 seed based on what we saw in the top-16 reveal and then losing to Michigan in the semis of the Big 10 Tournament. What I did not expect was to see them and Duke in the same region. We saw those teams play early in the year and it was an AWESOME game. That has the making to be the best game of the tournament as they were going to be two favorites to win it all.
East Region:
– Similar to Kansas, the draw for Villanova here is pretty favorable if it can get by the 8/9 game. Speaking of that 8/9 game, I’m so here for Virginia Tech vs Alabama. That game is going to be up and down with Justin Robinson and Collin Sexton going back and forth at each other.
– A potential first round upset? Marshall over Wichita State. The Shockers have actually been pretty bad defensively this year and Marshall can really score the ball – Jon Elmore especially. The Thundering Herd look to push tempo and attack with corner threes. It’s all part of the D’Antoni analytical approach to the game. That’s a sneaky game to keep an eye on.
– A potential individual matchup that I want to see? Daniel Gafford of Arkansas vs Isaac Haas of Purdue. We’ve seen teams start to change how they defend Purdue, playing Haas 1v1 in the post. This takes away the 3-point ball and they try to exchange 2 for 3. The thing here is you have to have a guy that can guard Haas 1v1. Gafford, a lottery pick, is able to do just that.
– If Keenan Evans is healthy – and he should be with the break – Texas Tech should be a team here to possibly get to the Final Four. They are good enough defensively to play with anyone in the country and Evans is good enough offensively to help avoid the stagnant offense.
West region:
– The storyline here is going to be how does Michael Porter Jr., look? We saw him play one game in which he looked the part of a top-5 pick but was rusty. Missouri coming in as the No. 8 seed will be interesting. They’ll be a popular pick to get to the Sweet 16, but you still have to see how Porter looks playing extended minutes again.
– The bottom half of the bracket could give us another real solid Sweet 16 game with Michigan and UNC. Yes, I know they played earlier this year and UNC won, but this is a different Michigan team now. They are defending at an elite level and the improvement of Zavier Simpson at point guard has been vital for this team. I’d expect most people to have the winner of that game in the Final Four.
– Gonzaga continues to fly a bit under the radar. They dominated the WCC Tournament and have some guys that can really play. We know about Josh Perkins and Johnathan Williams, but someone like Killian Tillie can be a real mismatch for teams.
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We’ll have picks and breakdowns and everything good as the week gets going. It’s going to be a fun month, folks.