Midwest
This is the most top-heavy portion of the bracket. Duke and Kansas are high seeds, per usual, as is Michigan State.
The Jayhawks, despite not having the same type of dominating team they usually would, won both the Big 12 regular season and tournament championships. Kansas is led by Big 12 regular season player of the year Devonte’ Graham, yet another speedy, sharpshooting guard to play for the Jayhawks. Graham is averaging 17 ppg. Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk, say that five times fast, is averaging 15 ppg including a ridiculous 45 % from three point range(he’s shooting better from three than he is from two point range). Mykhailiuk has one of the prettiest jump shots I’ve every seen. KU should easily get to the Sweet Sixteen yet again.
Duke has one of the most talented teams in the nation, led by freshman Marvin Bagley III. Bagley is averaging 21 ppg to go along with 12 rpg. Like with Arizona and Deandre Ayton, to stop Duke, you must stop Bagley. You can live with three point attempts by the likes of Grayson Allen, but if Marvin Bagley and Wendell Carter Jr are allowed to live inside the paint all game, where they shoot 56% and 61 % respectively. Allen on the other hand shoots 42 %. As usual, Duke will either make a deep run, or lose early in the tourney. I think this is one of those years that they slip up early on.
Michigan State is in a very similar situation to Duke, in that they typically bow out early on, or they make a deep run in the tournament. Miles Bridges is one of the best players in the country. He could have gone in the lottery in 2017, but decided to come back to school to chase a National Championship. Bridges is averaging 16.9 ppg, as well as 7 rpg, and 3 apg. If Bridges is playing well, and shooting a high percentage, MSU is more than likely going to win the game. If he takes long twos and threes and shoots poorly, this could be an early exit type of year for the Spartans.
Besides these three juggernaut teams, there’s also a very controversial squad in the Midwest, and that is Oklahoma. OU, in many fans’ opinions, should not be in the tournament. However, now that they are here, they could care less. Their only focus is on winning as many game as possible now. If they somehow get past Rhode Island, Duke awaits them in the second round. That’s where the Sooners and leading scorer/possible lottery pick Trae Young’s season will come to an end, unless Duke for some reason decided to use the same zone against OU that they used against UNC in the ACC tournament. I don’t think Coach K will do that.
Kansas is my pick to make a deep run out of the Midwest.
East
The East is the deepest portion of the Bracket. Upsets could come in almost every first round matchup, as in any bracket, but this section could have the closest games in the first round. Villanova will keep the winning streak going for 1-seeds versus 16-seeds in the first round when they take on the winner of LIU Brooklyn and Radford.
Villanova, despite being labeled as a team that is not deep at all, has 6 players averaging over 10 points per game, led by Jalen Brunson at 19 ppg, and Mikal Bridges’ 18 ppg. As a team, Villanova shoots 40 % from three-point range, and 50 % overall. As a Villanova grad I’m a bit biased, but I think this team is poised to make another deep run just like they did in 2016. The Wildcats are put together a lot like that team, with solid Point guard and guard play, great defense, and solid three-point shooting from all positions. Freshman Omari Spellman is a star in the making and adds a dimension that Daniel Ochefu did not possess in 2016, which is the ability to stretch the floor.
Virginia Tech versus Alabama features yet another ACC team against an Alabama team that has one of the best players in the country in freshman Collin Sexton, who is averaging 19 ppg. Virginia Tech, which is a much deeper, well rounded team, could pose the biggest threat to Villanova on the opening weekend. Three of their top four scorers shoot over 40 % from the three-point line, something that Villanova seemed to have trouble with at times this year. I still think Nova’s defense will show up, but it could still very well be a tightly contested game to get to the Sweet Sixteen.
West Virginia’s high-octane press is a lot of fun to watch, and will cause problems for Murray State in the first round, and either Wichita State or Marshall in the second round. The key is for West Virginia to get their offense going, since we know they are going to force some turnovers.
Texas Tech is my pick to be upset in the first round in the East. They face the 14th seeded Stephen F. Austin team that has had success recently in the NCAA tournament, while it seems like Tech hasn’t played in March in a long time. Keenan Evans is a solid player at 18 ppg, but there’s a huge drop off after him in the scoring department, with the next closest coming in at 11.7 ppg. If a team can find a way to shut down Evans, it will be much easier to pull off the upset over the surprising three seed who nearly won the Big 12 championship.
Final Four
Villanova
Arizona
Kansas
UNC
National Championship
Villanova vs UNC
Champion: Villanova