EAST REGION: Philadelphia, PA
Opening Rounds – FIRST and SECOND
(1) North Carolina v (16) Florida Gulf-Coast
She loves me, she loves me not;
that is how the back and forth state of basketball has been in Chapel Hill. UNC
comes in the favorite in the East region and you can understand why, but will
they be there in the end? The Tar Heels (28-6) in their 6th
consecutive tourney is used to being in the big dance. Their unprecedented 18th
ACC tournament title has the Heels rolling into March. Struggles of Marcus
Paige early seems to have worn off. FGCU found a way to run off 3 straight wins
towards their Sun Belt title. Now in just in their second tournament appearance, the
Eagles are looking for a repeat of 2013. A sweet 16 berth in their first trip
in the dance bought a new darling to the party. This season they are 22nd in the land in rebounding led by Marc
Eddy Norelia (17.3 ppg / 9.2 rpg). However UNC has plenty of bodies to throw at
FGCU. Between Brice Johnson and Justin Jackson; these are 2 pro ready players
will push their weight and length around. No Cinderella this year. NORTH CAROLINA
(8) USC v (9) Providence
USC finished 6th with a
.500 record in the PAC12 this season. They are another PAC12 team that scores a lot and rebounds well. The Trojans (21-12) have 5 players that average
double-figures which are mostly sophomores and juniors. They have youth and some experience which could benefit them moving forward. Their balance of scoring across the board makes them
dangerous. Providence (23-10) are in their 3rd consecutive NCAA
tournament. Head coach Ed Cooley has the Friars playing excellent basketball of
late. A big win versus Arizona early in the season and 10 BIG EAST victories has given them confidence. The duo of Kris Dunn and Ben Bentil are the
anchors of the Friars offense. USC had a (8.5) win differential from last
season, which is tops of all the Power 5 conferences. Turnovers plague USC which
will end up pushing the Friars over the top I believe. PROVIDENCE
UNC and Providence: Providence’s
Kris Dunn is a NBA lottery prospect right now. Ben Bentil can score with the best of
them. The tandem combines for 50% of the Friars offense. That combination with
Rodney Bullock is dangerous and could UNC on their heels, no pun intended. North
Carolina can hang with the best of them however, Marcus Paige is a great floor
general. Brice Johnson is a select few of players who average a double-double
(16.5 ppg / 10.6 rpg) in the NCAA. While Justin Jackson, Joel Berry, and Kennedy Meeks round
out a deep and talented UNC roster. I like the Friars to hang around but to
beat this UNC team, it's going to take more than the heroics of Dunn and Bentil. NORTH CAROLINA
(4) Kentucky v (13) Stony Brook
Kentucky (26-8) has won their
second consecutive SEC title. The Wildcats have won their last 5 games scoring
at least 80 points in each and shooting around 50%. The importance of Tyler
Ulis cannot go without notice as well. Ulis has averaged over 25 points per
while shooting 50% from the field and almost 60% from 3PT in his previous two
games. The combination of he and Jamal Murray make Kentucky a tough matchup in
the backcourt. Stony Brook started the season (4-4) then ran off 18 straight to
finish the season (26-6) before winning the American East and dancing for the
first time in school history. Stony Brook does not have a lot of depth and may
be a tab undersized by the big bad Wildcats but that won’t stop them from
putting up a fight. Senior forward Jameel Warney averages almost (20 points per) and his 43 points and 10 rebounds output in the American East tournament title
game helped the Seawolves prevail. Another output like that is highly
questionable. KENTUCKY
(5) Indiana v (12) Chattanooga
December 3rd, Indiana gets
embarrassed by Duke in a rout; the rest is history. Indiana rolled over Iowa
(2), Maryland, Michigan, Purdue and the rest of the BIG10 for the regular
season title. Tom Crean has this bunch playing well behind the leadership of senior
guard Yogi Ferrell (17.0 ppg). Indiana will be a tough outing scoring almost 80
a game and enter the tournament with 22 victories over ranked opponents over
the last 5 seasons. Luckily for them, no need to go heavy it is just
Chattanooga in front of you. Though the Mocs posted a (29-5) record and
basically dominated the Southern conference on their way to the Southern
conference title. Chattanooga has taken out 3 top 50 teams this season, a 4th
will be a far stretch. INDIANA
Kentucky and Indiana: Now don’t just go ahead and pick Kentucky on
this one. Indiana has proven they can hang with the best of them, prevailing
this season in the BIG10 the way they did. Kentucky has had their own
adversity, losing to UCLA and LSU early in the season. Both teams have found
ways to overt some of their tendencies but exploited other team’s weakness with
their own strengths. I do like Big Blue in this one, simply because they are on
a roll. In March it is not necessarily the best or top seeds that advance, it is
those hot teams and the Wildcats are smoking.
KENTUCKY
(2) West Virginia v (14) Stephen F. Austin
Stephen F Austin has won the
Southland conference for 4 straight seasons. In return 4 straight trips to the
NCAA tournament. Another 20 win season for the Lumberjacks including going
(18-0) in conference play has them on a mission yet again. A tight group of
players led by two seniors Thomas Walkup and Demetrious Floyd have kept SFA
rolling over the past few seasons. Balance play on both ends of the court has
also contributed to their success. They are 2nd in Division 1 hoops
in assist while shooting 55% from the field. SFA has a nice defense to back
them up on that end of the floor too. West Virginia has played consistent all season
long. They were runner-ups in the regular season and conference tourney in a
tough BIG12 conference. Bob Huggins has this team on the right course. After an embarrassing
loss to the hands of Virginia they have looked like a completely different
Mountaineer team. West Virginia has size and ability to dominate the paint and
the glass. Wins against Iowa State (2), Oklahoma, Kansas, and Baylor (2) has
shown that WVU can play with the best. No real threat at scoring just a balance
attack with a lot of looks defensively that will have you scoring just (66 ppg)
as the Mountaineers have only allowed. The Jackrabbits can score at will and I
think will give WVU fits but Bob Huggins made the right adjustments all season,
no difference here. WEST VIRGINIA
(6) Notre Dame v (11) Michigan/Tulsa
Demetrius Jackson and Zach Auguste
lead the Fighting Irish into a battle between the winner of the 11 seed between
Michigan and Tulsa. Jackson (15.5 ppg) and Auguste (14.4 ppg / 10.8 rpg)
respectively have helped the Irish win 11 games in the ACC and a (21-11) record
overall. The 6’10 Auguste has provided an anchor in the middle for Notre Dame
all season. The winner they will face in my opinion will be Michigan. A balance
scoring attack from 4 different players averaging double figures will help the
Wolverines if they prevail to Notre Dame. Mike Brey is confident in his bunch
but they are 7-14 against the spread under Brey. Head coach Jon Beilein team upended Indiana in the BIG10 tournament which I believe helped them get in the
tourney. Wins against Maryland and Purdue has me thinking another upset is in
store for the maze and blue. MICHIGAN
West Virginia and Michigan: Jaysean Paige. Devin Williams, and
Jevon Carter lead the Mountaineer team in most all offensive categories and
this trend will continue. A tough matchup in the opening round vs SFA, however
Michigan will be an easier task. Yes I do believe Michigan will get a couple
wins in the dance but that is it. The size and length of WVU will be way too much for the Wolverines to handle.
West Virginia is very disciplined and play at the rate they want to play.
Michigan will have played 3 games in 6 days and that will be too much for the
Wolverines. Look for West Virginia big. WEST VIRGINIA
(2) Xavier v (15) Weber State
The Xavier Musketeers enter
postseason play with a (27-5) record. Xavier started the season hot going 12-0
before cooling off. A strong finish down the stretch kept the boys from Ohio in
the Top 10 pretty much all season. A 6-1 record versus the Top 25 and Xavier
looks to be a tough outing in the East region. Xavier stretches the floor with
their length. A backcourt of 6’5 guys with great guard play and some 6’10
players that can get dirty in the post brings all kinds of challenges for
opponents. Weber State is in their 3rd NCAA tournament in the past 6
seasons. A (26-8) record to go with a BIG SKY championship has optimism for the
Wildcats. Outside of upperclassmen Jermy Senglin and Joel Bolomboy scoring disappears
for Weber State. Those two combined make up 50% of their offense and Weber
State will need to score in the 70s to keep pace with Xavier. Xavier is so
balanced and offensively charged it will be tough for anyone to beat. XAVIER
(7) Wisconsin v (10) Pittsburgh
Head Coach Greg Gard has the keys
to what we used to see as Bo Ryan’s Wisconsin Badgers. Wisconsin now under new
leadership welcome their 18th straight tournament appearance. Once
again defense still key up in Madison. A tough (64.6ppg) only allowed by the
Badgers all season. Confident wins in Maryland, Iowa, and Indiana help boost up
Wisconsin’s resume. Junior Nigel Hayes is the main contributor for the Badgers
on offense. His (16.3 ppg / 5.8 rpg) alongside junior Bronson Koenig will need
to bring all they can for PITT. Pittsburgh is a strong 10 seed in the
tournament. Coming out of the ACC they went .500 in conference play. The
Panthers missed the tournament last season but Jamie Dixon has group back in
the mix again. Dixon now in his 13th season has only had PITT reach
the Elite 8 once. Other than that, the Panthers have been pretty much one and
done. Forward Michael Young leads PITT in most categories including scoring and
rebounding. Jamel Artis is good compliment to Young on the wings and can cause
matchup problems against Wisconsin. Pittsburgh likes to play physical which
they will have to with Wisconsin. However with PITT recent early exits in the dance,
I see no difference this season. WISCONSIN
Xavier and Wisconsin: Offense versus Defense will be this match.
Xavier with their high flying and potential to knock you offensively will be on
display versus Wisconsin's stingy defense. The Badgers do play great defense but Xavier with
their tremendous guard play will be a tougher task in person than paper. It will be a long day for
the Badgers if they don’t slow down Xavier early and do not get themselves
behind in a deep hole early or the sweet 16 will be on the Musketeers mindset before
the game is even over. XAVIER
MY EAST REGION SWEET 16 PREDICITONS
UNC v Kentucky
Xavier v West Virginia
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