Patrick Diamond, Reporter
@diamond_courant
March is now upon us and, starting March 17th, so will the NCAA Tournament. There have already been a few conference tournaments, where the Cinderella teams were born. To receive an auto-bid into the prestigious 64 team tournament, a team can win their conference tournament, or receive what’s called an at-large bid for teams that don’t win their conference, but still qualify for a tournament spot.
Every year, there’s the storyline team that surprises us all by reaching the Sweet 16 or in last year’s case, winning the championship as a nine seed (UCONN). The year before, Florida Gulf Coast reached the Sweet 16 as a 15 seed. This year, the defending champion UCONN Huskies just barely missed the tournament, losing in the American Athletic Conference championship to the tournament six seed Southern Methodist. Two teams that really have the potential to make a run as a low seed this year are 12 seed Stephen F. Austin and 11 seed last four in Brigham Young University.
To start, Stephen F. Austin has the experience in the tournament. Last year, they made a Sweet 16 run and this year, they have all the tools to do it again. Not only is Stephen F. Austin a very good team, they also have a great draw in the tournament. If they can just get past their first round matchup with Utah, which will be tough, they could potentially make a Sweet 16, or even an Elite Eight appearance. If they can get past the first round, a potential matchup with a not particularly strong Georgetown waits for them.
Now onto Brigham Young. BYU has played well all year, with a BPI rating of 30, they find themselves in a play-in game against Ole Miss. After a win against Gonzaga University in their regular season finale, they met up with the Zags again in the West Coast Conference Championship where the Zags took the conference championship and the unneeded auto-bid into the tournament. BYU had to sweat it out until Sunday where they were the last announced matchup on the selection show as an 11 seed. Ole Miss is a good team and they have a very good player and three point shooter in Stefan Moody, but with the triple double machine in Kyle Collinsworth, the pure scorer in Tyler Haws, and the sharp shooter Chase Fischer, BYU will move on. If they can make it into the first round, it will be a challenge, but very achievable for BYU to beat the six seed Xavier, and with a possible round of 32 matchup with Baylor, they could give a good case for the Sweet 16.
Finally, predictions: Although Stephen F. Austin has the potential to make a run in the tournament, I think Utah will be too much for them because I have Utah making an Elite 8 appearance as they have been an all-around tough team to beat this year. From that quarter of the bracket I have Iowa State making it in, and doing so strongly.
From the West, I think North Carolina, coming off a late season streak and ACC Tournament runner-up, will make a run at the Elite 8, eventually being overpowered by the one seed Wisconsin University, who will meet with Iowa State in the Final Four.
In the Midwest, there’s no question that Kentucky will remain unbeaten, and they will move on to the Final Four where they will meet Louisville from the East. That region, in my opinion, is the weakest, and I just do not think that Villanova will get it done when it matters. Kentucky will roll through the Final Four and championship, taking the National Title and undefeated season. There is no one that will stop this team, with their combination of an amazing shot blocking defense and all-around offense.
Notable Mentions: Two teams that are very overlooked in this tournament are Kansas and Gonzaga. For starters, Kansas has some of the best young talent in the tournament, but they also have the misfortune of being in the same region as the undefeated Kentucky.
Gonzaga is a very underrated team because of the conference that they play in, but with their huge frontcourt, consisting of someone who won a title with Kentucky in Kyle Wiltjer, who is great down low and on the perimeter, and a 7’1’’ 288 pound monster Przemek Karnowski, not to mention their back court consisting of the West Coast Conference player of the year, Kevin Pangos, there’s no question they have a shot. Their key matchup will be against Iowa State in the Sweet 16, because the winner of that will win the region and potentially get to a title game.
Recap through Round of 32:
So far the two most notable upsets have been University of Alabama Birmingham over my Final Four team Iowa State, and Georgia State over Baylor. The projected first round pick, and coaches son R.J. Hunter carried the Georgia State squad in a miraculous 12-0 run in the final minutes to overcome the 3 seed Baylor, but could not continue the run, losing to Xavier in the Round of 32. Although my Sweet 16 pick Dayton did reach the Round of 32, they were not able to duplicate their Elite 8 success from last yearn losing a close game to Oklahoma. Finally, a huge surprise, as they were highly critisized for even being in the tournament, UCLA has found its way into the Sweet 16 with wins against Southern Methodist and UAB, and dominating performances from Tony Parker.
