We are less than a week away from the NCAA tournament getting started. GMP Sports jumps on the March Madness bandwagon, and provides you with our top 4 teams from each region and the players to watch.
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Midwest
1) Kentucky is an absolute juggernaut. The team is as deep as anyone and only got better from a squad that made it to the final game last year. The only weakness, if there is one, is their guards are slow and physical. If they match up with a point guard who can control and space the floor with shooters, they could run into a problem. Lucky for the Wildcats, they have proven all year they can come back from a late second half deficit.
2) Wisconsin in any other year might be a national championship favorite, but this year will settle for its second straight two-seed. The Badgers have, arguably, the best player in college basketball. Frank Kaminsky was a beast last year and has followed up with a Player of the Year caliber season. There are no faults to his game. The one fault in Wisconsin’s game is depth. If the Badgers can stay out of foul trouble, the sky’s the limit.
3) Oklahoma has the Big 12 player of the Year Buddy Hield. Hield led the league in scoring with his 17.4 points per game, netting a league-best 18.4 points per game during conference play. He also ranked among the top 15 in four other stats, including rebounding (5.5 rpg), field goal percentage (0.424), free throw shooting (0.804) and steals (43).
4) Northern Iowa’s Seth Tuttle leads the Panthers charge back into the tournament as the Missouri Valley Conference’s Player of the year. Tuttle averaged 15.3 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.3 assists. As we know from Wichita State, never count out the MVC. UNI wins with defense and offensive efficiency and will be a force in the tournament.
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South
1) Villanova is probably playing the best basketball of anyone in college basketball right now. The Wildcats are rolling and it has everything to do with depth. Villanova boasts six players who all average at least 8.9 PPG. The Wildcats are money from the outside as well, knocking down threes at a 39 percent clip and are decent from the free-throw line at 73 percent. Villanova also ranks in the top 60 in both scoring offense and scoring defense.
2) Virginia is a 2 seed because we just don’t know when star player Justin Anderson will return. He has missed the team’s last 8 games due to a fractured finger, and then had to have an appendectomy before the team’s season finale. Before Anderson went down, the Cavaliers boasted the nation’s top five in offensive and defensive efficiency, a statistic that usually leads to a final four berth. Without Anderson, this team is a question mark, and not a number one seed.
3) Kansas is in the same boat as Virginia. Injuries to the Jayhawks top players have made this season a cruel game of roster roulette. In a testament to Bill Self’s coaching ability, KU was still able to take home the regular season Big 12 title. The Big 12 Tournament will answer some questions, as we’ll see how this team can do with a makeshift roster that has done nothing but win games.
4) Wichita State was upset by Illinois State in the Missouri Valley Conference semifinals, and we are left to wonder how good this team really is. One win over Northern Iowa is the only thing the Shockers have to show for this season and it will be interesting to see how they come back and start the NCAA tournament with a defeat. Defense will be the key, as Wichita State is 9th in defensive scoring.
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East
1) Duke’s freshmen, Jahlil Okafor and Tyus Jones, along with senior Quinn Cook, are the catalysts for this Blue Devils squad that seems to meshing at the right time. Winners of 11 straight, including at Virginia, two wins over both Syracuse and North Carolina and a 30-point beat down of Notre Dame. Duke’s weakness is the inside. Okafor is a terrible defender and if matched up with a presence down low could lead to an early exit.
2) Maryland will ride or die behind Senior Wing Dez Wells and Freshman Point Guard Melo Trimble. The Terrapins have another thing going for them and that is their ability to pull out close games. As we all know that is a common occurrence in the midst of “Madness.” The Terps are 10-0 in games decided by 6 points or less.
3) Notre Dame has shaken off that 30-point walloping and they have Fifth Year Senior Jerian Grant to thank for that. Grant finished fifth in the league in scoring (16.8 points per game), first in assists (6.7), fifth in steals (1.8), seventh in field goal percentage (.494). As we’ve seen in years past, a team can go really far with one player or nowhere.
4) Baylor has an inside chance to do some major damage thanks to Uncle Rico, no not that Uncle Rico, but rather Rico Gathers. Gathers ended the regular season ranked third in the country at 11.7 boards per game. He was second nationally in offensive rebound percentage. He is 14 rebounds away from setting Baylor’s single-season record, and his 208 rebounds in conference play this season was the third-highest total in Big 12 history.
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West
1) Arizona can play with anyone in college basketball. They have size, a floor general and athleticism. The Wildcats rank 3rd in the country in scoring margin, sixth in rebound margin, and tenth in field goal percentage. They have one of the most complete rosters in the country and have 3 losses by a combined 9 points all on the road. If the Wildcats win the Pac-12 tournament, it would be very hard to justify keeping them out of a No. 1 seed.
2) Gonzaga for much of the year was listed as a one seed in the West. Since BYU upset the Bulldogs in Spokane, the Zags have been fighting for respectability. The key to Gonzaga’s success has been Kentucky transfer Kyle Wiltjier. Wiltjier is a 6’10”, 240 pound assassin, averaging 16.6 points and 5.8 rebounds and converts almost 45% of his three-point tries. You line him up with Gary Bell, Jr. and Kevin Pangos and the Bulldogs have the bite to go deep into the tournament.
3) Iowa State has a three headed monster that does it all. Monte Morris is the do everything point guard that leads or is close to leading almost every important statistical category in the Big 12 conference. He shoots 51% from the floor, throws out 5.44 assists per game and has an amazing 4.08 assist to turnover ratio. Georges Niang has been absolutely deadly from three point range converting over 45% of his deep attempts. Finally, on defense, Jameel McKay is rejecting almost 3 shots per game and hauling in over 7 boards per game.
4) Louisville is a 4th seed due to its entire body of work. The truth is that ever since Chris Jones was released from the team the Cardinals have been struggling to find an identity.
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Photo Credit: Andy Lyons