The NCAA Committee doth protest way too much. They often say that they “don’t set up the bracket for matchups” but we know otherwise, right?
The Midwest region gives us more than a few nostalgic moments as Bruce Pearl-coached Auburn draws Iowa (where Pearl was an assistant from 1986-92) in the 8-vs-9 game, former longtime conference archrivals Texas and Texas A&M are potentially matched up in the second round (both are favored to win their first games), and Xavier (coached by Sean Miller) is in the same subregional as Pitt (Miller’s alma mater).
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Houston (31-3) takes its first No. 1 seed, it’s first since 1983 when they reached the Final Four only to lose 54-52 to NC State in the championship game. But the team is dealing with an injured Marcus Sasser who missed the AAC Tournament Championship loss to Memphis.
The Cougars will be joining the Big 12 next season, and one of their soon-to-be foes is at the other end of the bracket in Texas, but the Longhorns will be leaving for the SEC the following year, where they’ll be conference foes with Texas A&M again. I’m sure the Aggies (who as much moved to the SEC as they moved away from Texas) are thrilled.
The rest of the field includes a pair of upset-minded schools: Penn State (22-13) and Colgate (26-8). The Nittany Lions are fresh off of advancing to the Big Ten Tournament Championship as a No. 10 seed but will try to shake the fatigue of playing four games in four days — and head coach Micah Shrewsberry’s team has a tight turnaround with a Thursday first-round game. The Raiders might hail from the single-bid Patriot League, but they lead Division I in 3-point shooting (40.8%) –something for a Texas team to think about.
Bold:
How can you not love (the) Drake? The 27-7 Bulldogs won the MWC this year and are led by head coach Darian DeVries’ son Tucker (19 points per game and 39% from 3-point range), reminiscent of fantastic father-son combos that include Ron and RJ Hunter, as well as Homer and Bryce Drew, which gave us memorable March moments. Miami’s biggest memory this year is blowing a 25-point second-half lead at home to a sub-.500 Florida State.
Fold:
Iowa State (19-13) has lost seven of 10 and 11 of 17 as the Cyclones are being downgraded to a late-winter storm. And they’ll be playing the winner of Mississippi State and Pitt who’ll have some Dayton-generated momentum.
Gold:
Houston doesn’t just deny opponents. They handcuff their foes: ranking 3rd best in Division I at defending the three, allowing the second-fewest points per game, and tops in the country in field goal defense. The Cougars are also my pick because of two words: Jim Nantz. The longtime CBS announcer is calling his last Final Four next month in Houston, and the college basketball world has been the University of Houston alum’s oyster since 1991.It doesn’t hurt that Kelvin Sampson is a great coach, the draw is going to be advantageous and travel to Birmingham and Kansas City won’t be too much of a bother. As long as Sasser is healthy, this is the team to beat … and I can only imagine Nantz’s call.
