The Madness is set to begin. It’s a tournament that, year after year, draws in even the most casual of basketball fans. Offices around the world start gathering up cash for the annual bracket challenge and with sites like Yahoo! offering up a million dollars for the best bracket everyone will be throwing their lotto ticket in there with the hope of hitting it big.
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This article is going to be a crash course on each region and some of the teams you want to take a look at when filling out your brackets. Obviously depending on the size of your pool, scoring, and other specific factors you want to alter your strategy to fit the criteria.
East Region
Team to beat: Duke (1) – No surprise here as the Dukies are the heavy favorite to cut down the nets and are the #1 overall seed in the tournament. The biggest adversity they’ve faced all year has been injuries, specifically when Zion went down late in the year. Without Zion they are no threat IMO, but he’s back and looked just fine during the ACC tournament where Duke emerged as the champions. They start off with a cupcake and then get the winner of VCU and UCF which seems like a stretch in terms of an upset. The big down the road matchup is potentially vs. Virginia Tech and then Michigan State who has the talent to matchup and certainly take them down.
Best 1st round game: Maryland (6) vs Belmont (11) – Belmont moved on last night with an impressive win over a Temple team that I was very high on, and now they get the quick turnaround with a first round game against Maryland. Belmont is one of the deadliest shooting teams in the entire country and their ability to make threes gives them a chance no matter who the opponent is. Maryland is a little more balanced and certainly is more battle-tested given the Big 10 schedule they played, so it will be an interesting clash of styles. Expect a game that comes down to the wire and I wouldn’t consider it much of an upset to see Belmont move on once again given the talent they possess.
Favorite Dark horse: Yale (14) – LSU is a complete mess and their coach is currently suspended as he seems to be involved in some shady business centered around recruiting violations. There is no real way to quantify the effect this will have, but it’s safe to say it isn’t good and will have an impact on the Tiger during this tournament. Yale is a scrappy team who got through a competitive Ivy league and has faced some quality opponents during non-conf time so they will not be intimidated. Big question for me is can their best player in Oni stay out of foul trouble and handle the length they will see against a team like LSU. I could see this one being closer than most think and if LSU really is out of sorts there’s no reason someone like Yale can’t pull an upset.
West Region
Team to beat: ????? – It seems like every year there is one region where absolutely craziness happens, and to be the West seems like the prime candidate. Gonzaga is the one seed and they are coming off an ugly showing against St Mary’s, while Michigan and TT also seem to be somewhat vulnerable as the two and three seeds. Florida State is an extremely dangerous four seed, yet at the same time they are one of the most erratic teams out there and certainly could get bounced early in the bracket. This region has no clear favorite in my eyes and that sets it up for a possible team out of nowhere to make a move and possibly be the Loyola of this year.
Best first round game: Marquette (5) vs Murray St (12) – The 5 vs. 12 matchups always are a popular choice to spring for an upset pick and this one figures to be a close, up and down game. Marquette is a quality squad and Markus Howard is one of the best players in the country who can single-handedly win games. On the Murray State side they have Ja Morant who certainly can be a one-man wrecking crew with his abilities to take over the game in all areas. Morant is going to be a top end lottery pick next year, but this is a step up in competition from the OVC where he plays his conference games. Both teams aren’t afraid to push the pace and you have these dynamic playmakers ready to duke it out in one of the marquee matchups on the opening day. I give a slight lean to Marquette, but no doubt Murray St is capable of making a run in this tourney with a guy as talented as Ja is.
Favorite Dark horse: Buffalo (6) – As I just mentioned this region is wide open so there are a ton of candidates that are a dark horse to make a run. Buffalo is a team that shocked a lot of brackets last year with a big upset of Arizona, and they return the core of that team making them an experienced and certainly dangerous team to face. They will get the winner of St Johns/ ASU play in game and if they survive that most likely Texas Tech awaits them. That is a game that seems like a tough ask for a team like Buffalo given the way TT defends, but if they are able to get out of that first weekend watch out as I think they would be extremely dangerous for any team they’d match up within the West Region.
South Region
Team to beat: Virginia (1) – Virginia obviously has a lot of skeptical people out there after they made history in the worse way possible being the first number one-seed to lose to a 16-seed last year. The Cavaliers are always methodical on offense and are once again one of the best defensive teams in the entire country. The difference to me this year is that Virginia actually is a very efficient and somewhat potent offense so they can actually mount a comeback if need be as this tournament gets underway. Hunter is one of the toughest matchups in the entire country and scanning over their bracket I think they get a nice draw. I expect Virginia to have a relatively smooth ride out of the first weekend and depending on how a team like Tennessee looks it will be interesting to see who the biggest challenger in the South region is for them.
Best first round game: Wisconsin (5) vs Oregon (12) – Another 5 vs. 12 matchup that has a lot of people talking upset with the PAC-12 Champs in Oregon taking on Wisconsin. The Ducks are getting a lot of Vegas love with the spread hovering close to pick-em so this figures to be a close game that should come down to the wire. Both teams can struggle to put up points at times, I think for me the difference is what will Oregon do to stop Ethan Happ down low. Obviously, Bol Bol isn’t around which would be a game changer for Oregon, but this is a game where you have both teams very live to not only win but take down the winner of KSU / UC Irvine in the next round.
Favorite Dark horse: Cincinnati (7) – The Bearcats are a team who I thought was wildly under-seeded after an impressive win against Houston right before the selection show. They are a physical team who can certainly give Iowa problems on the inside, it will just come down to can they make enough shots to keep teams honest. The matchup I’m really interested in is the possible Tennessee-Cincinnati second round battle, which would be a super physical game given how stacked Tennessee is. Cincinnati has the ability to take down the two-seed, and if they are able to survive this first weekend there’s no reason they couldn’t be a sleeper pick to make some noise as the tournament goes on.
Midwest Region
Team to beat: UNC (1) – No surprise here with UNC being the third ACC top seed and certainly a team that is live to win the whole thing. Year after year UNC seems to up the tempo and their ability to score and push after a made basket is truly unique. They get Utah St. or Washington in the second round and overall the bracket doesn’t look daunting, but the Kentucky Wildcats are looming. They wouldn’t meet till the elite eight, but man they certainly could be on a collision course and I would love to see the matchup once again in the tourney. UNC has a nice mix of experience and youth as well as a balance ability to knock down threes and attack the boards. This makes them a tough out for any team and there are only a few teams in this region that I think stand a chance against a team like this.
Best 1st round game: Wofford (7) vs Seton Hall (10) – If I could only watch one game on opening weekend I think this would be the one. Wofford comes in out of the Southern conference having won 20+ games in a row and they take on a Seton Hall team who showed signs of being a legit unit despite a so-so year. Wofford is dangerous given they went unbeaten in conference play and took on top non-conference opponents like UNC early in the year. Fletcher McGee is an extreme sharpshooter and he is going to give Seton Hall problems if they give him space. On the other side Seton Hall has Myles Powell who is in the bucket of “able to single-handedly win a game or two” so there’s no doubt they have a shot anytime he takes the floor. True toss up game IMO with both teams being serious threats to give Kentucky a game in the next round and one that I’ll absolutely be watching from start to finish.
Favorite Dark horse: Houston (3) – There are a few higher seeds that I will certainly touch upon on shows that I think have a shot to win a game, but Houston to me is a legit contender to make the final four and give themselves a chance to win the whole thing. They are an aggressive hard-nosed team who sports a top 25 Offense and defensive efficiency per Kenpom. The road is brutal which is one of the reasons I think they aren’t getting a ton of hype as they potentially will be getting Iowa St, Kentucky and UNC in their march to Minneapolis. That’s a really tough draw if they do have to face all three, but this is one of my favorite teams outside the top-eight seeds that are live to have a very deep run in the tourney.
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