The West Region of the NCAA Men’s tournament bracket runs through Xavier this year. The Big East regular season champions look to prove they are the best team in the nation. How do you think the eight other teams that will win do against the Musketeers?
West Region:
#1 Xavier, the Musketeers are just on paper a team that has it all. With depth and quality starters like Goodin, Blueit, Macura, you name it. Texas Southern will push them and probably make this the best 1/16 match of the tournament.
#9 Florida State Seminoles battle the Porter Jr. Missouri Tigers. The interesting topic of this game is how Porter will play. Most assume if he plays up to his potential this team could actually go far, as they aren’t bad without him. It puts them at a disadvantage as they need to change things to incorporate him into the lineup. People lose minutes, lose their flow, and you can’t make that adjustment in just a few days.
#5 Ohio State meets up with the Jackrabbits of South Dakota State. Daum from South Dakota State can flat out ball and will push Ohio States guards. They can also shoot the three ball. On the other hand, they won’t be able to defend Tate or Diop all night. These two players can flat out ball and everyone will recognize when the score goes final.
#4 Gonzaga, a championship runner-up last year are now the four seed a year later. They have good forwards and solid guards, which can take you far in March. UNC-Greensboro doesn’t pose much of a challenge, but a good game to get warm for the rest of the way.
#6 Houston beats Wichita State and lost to Cincinnati by 1 point in the conference tournament. They really showed out in the tournament and put the country on notice of how good they are. Best thing Houston does is controlling the game. Forcing you to play the style that benefits them, not you.
#3 Michigan Wolverines won the Big 10 title so long ago people have forgotten about them. Overall they may have the best pieces of any team in the nation. The scary part is they may be starting to put it all together. Poole, Simmons, Teske and Robinson all giving amazing minutes off of the bench. Starters doing their job. Coaches definitely doing their job. This combination will lead you to the end of March/ early April.
#10 Providence and Texas A&M is one of those toss-up games again. The reason I take Providence is what they’ve done recently. Beating Xavier one day and taking Villanova to the wire the next is a tall task, they did that Friday and Saturday. Just can’t bet against how they are playing at this moment.
#2 North Carolina Tar Heels got over the hump against Duke last week. The great thing is they beat all the teams they are supposed to, not named Wofford. So inconsistent this season, but should be able to handle Lipscomb in the first matchup, especially if they bring the same play they had against Duke.