Preview Category Run-Down
First Four Team to Fear - The First Four refers to the first four games played in the tournament, with two games featuring 11 seeds and two games featuring 16 seeds. Every year since 2011 (when the First Four was introduced), at least one team has advanced to the Round of 32, most notably in the first year, when VCU made a run to the Final Four. In this preview category, we will give which of the four 11 seeds in the First Four (Providence, USC, Kansas State, and Wake Forest) would be the most likely to keep that streak alive.
Upset Alert - The NCAA tournament is famous for its upsets, so the question is not if they will happen, but who will be upset. In this category, we will highlight a first round matchup where we think an 11 or lower seed will beat the upper seed.
Cinderella Story - Everybody loves a good Cinderella story, so we will present a team seeded fourth or lower that could make the Final Four, or even win it all.
Early Exit - On the other side of things, there are often high seeds that get knocked out early. We will each predict what team seeded third or higher we think will go home on the first weekend.
Early Exit - On the other side of things, there are often high seeds that get knocked out early. We will each predict what team seeded third or higher we think will go home on the first weekend.
Best Team Name - Mascots are either every child's favorite thing about sporting events, or a reoccurring part of their nightmares. Here we will tell our favorite mascot or team nickname.
Toughest Region - The selection committee tries their hardest to select fairly even regions, but every year there is one region that seems tougher than the others, which is what we are previewing here.
Final Four Matchups and Champion - In our final category, each of us will give what we believe will be the Final Four matchups and the eventual champions.
First Four Team to Fear
Troy - Of the four teams that are playing in the first four, the two that I believe are the best are USC and Wake Forest. I think either team could be dangerous, so it comes down more to who they would be playing in the first round. USC would be playing SMU and Wake Forest would be playing Cincinnati. I believe that Cinci is a much more beatable team, which is why I'm picking Wake Forest for this category.
Grant - I'm not overly excited about any of the 11 seeds in the First Four, but I am sticking with the trend and picking the winner of Wake Forest and Kansas State to beat Cincinnati. The Bearcats are a good team, but they are more beatable than SMU. I'll go with John Collins and Wake Forest to make it to the Round of 32.
Langston - While I do not think any of the first four teams will be able to make any runs, if a team were to be feared, I would say Wake Forest. They would be playing Cincinnati in the round of 64, which is a very beatable team, and would be the favorite from the first four to make it as far as the Round of 32.
Upset Alert
Troy - There are a lot of matchups where I could see the lower seed winning. Middle Tennessee and Florida Gulf Coast are very dangerous teams, but I am picking the Rhode Island Rams to take down Creighton, as long as they can get off to a hot start in the game.
Grant - I have several lower seeds winning, including Rhode Island and Xavier (which are better teams than their seeds suggest), Middle Tennessee (which faces Minnesota a year after upsetting fellow Big Ten team Michigan State), and Princeton (the Ivy League has a history of upsets). But my biggest upset pick is probably UNC-Wilmington over Virginia. The Seahawks shoot the three well and don't turn the ball over, two traits of a potential upset team.
Langston - As a 12 seed in this year’s tournament, I have Middle Tennessee upsetting 5 seed Minnesota in the Round of 64. Middle Tennessee shocked the world last year with an upset over a Michigan State team most people thought was going to the Final Four. Middle Tennessee comes back this year even better offensively, and I am not sure how well Minnesota will be able to handle this explosive offense.
Cinderella Story
Troy - We've seen this before, where if you get hot at the right time, you can go far in the tournament. Right now there are no two teams hotter than Iowa State and Michigan. Both teams are playing in the Midwest Region, but I believe that Iowa State is the better team overall, and it won't have to face as difficult of a schedule to make a run.
Grant - I could see five seed Iowa State coming out of what looks like a pretty wide open Midwest Region, but I'll go with six seed SMU as my "Cinderella". Although they're not very deep, the Mustangs are one of the most efficient and skilled teams in the nation. I think they have a relatively easy path to the Sweet Sixteen, and, once there, have the talent to pull off some upsets.
Langston - Watch out for Rhode Island in this year’s tournament as an 11 seed. The Rams are a very good defensive team and can score in many ways. They don’t have the toughest path to the Sweet Sixteen in my opinion. They play a banged-up Creighton team in the first round, and if they win, will probably play an Oregon team that is missing its best player, Chris Boucher, to a season-ending ACL injury. I like the Rams as my Cinderella story.
Early Exit
Troy - I believe that Baylor will be the team that goes home early. In the second round, the Bears will most likely have to face off against SMU, which is a very talented team. Baylor has often times not gone as far as it would like, and I don't think this year will be any different.
Grant - I could see a few high seeds not making it past the first weekend, including the Kansas Jayhawks. They were shocked early in the Big 12 Tournament by TCU, and I could see them getting bounced in the Round of 32 by a Miami team that has beaten North Carolina, Duke and Virginia this season. Plus, they're no strangers to early exits (see 2010, 2014, and 2015).
Langston - As great of a team as Villanova is this year, I believe the Wildcats are the early exit team in this year’s tournament. They will make it out of game one against one of the first four teams, but I do not like the probable matchup against Wisconsin. The Badgers will be on a mission after receiving an 8 seed, and will have a point to prove. Villanova is a three-point heavy team, and if it has an off night against a very good defensive team in Wisconsin, I think that spells trouble for Villanova in the Round of 32.
Best Team Name
Troy - I love a good, nonsensical team name. I almost want to select the Vermont Catamounts just for the fact that they decided to not just call themselves a wildcat or cougar. That being said, there's no way I can go against the South Dakota State Jackrabbits.
Grant - Sure, "Jackrabbits" is a great name, as are "Catamounts" (Vermont's nickname) and "Norse" (Northern Kentucky's nickname). But I think the most unique name in the tournament belongs to the New Orleans Privateers. According to the Internet, a privateer is a private ship authorized to attack other ships. So basically, privateers are legal pirates (at least, that's the conclusion I've come to).
Langston - The South Dakota State Jackrabbits win my award for best team name. The soft and fuzzy jackrabbits sound like something straight out of a fairytale. Maybe these jackrabbits will start terrorizing some teams in this tournament, because I don’t think being soft and fuzzy will help.
Toughest Region
Troy - Looking over the bracket, there's no region that stands out as being easy. Being in the East or West provides plenty of challenges. Imagine being the number one overall seed Villanova and having to play a team as good as Wisconsin in the Round of 32. The South could have some must-see games come the Sweet Sixteen, where you could have North Carolina, Kentucky, and UCLA all possibly battling it out in Memphis. My pick, though, is the Midwest. Some first round matchups include Michigan vs Oklahoma State, Miami vs Michigan State, and Iowa State vs Nevada. I also believe that seeds 1-5 are the deepest of all the regions.
Grant - A person could probably make an argument for any of the regions being the toughest. Out east, there is the number one overall seed (Villanova), and a team many thought would be a number one seed (Duke). On the other side of the country, there are Gonzaga and Arizona, as well as some lower seeds that could make some noise. And North Carolina, Kentucky, and UCLA all reside in the South. But the Midwest is my pick for toughest region. There are dangerous teams at the top (Kansas, Louisville, Oregon), in the middle (Purdue, Iowa State, Michigan), and even farther down (Oklahoma State, Rhode Island).
Langston - The South is the toughest region in this year’s tournament. North Carolina, UCLA, and Kentucky are all extremely capable of making the Final Four. Butler has already beaten Villanova twice this season, Wichita State is not getting the respect it deserves and is a very good team, and I would really watch out for Middle Tennessee in the first round in their game vs Minnesota. The South is the toughest region in this year’s tournament, and I have North Carolina coming out of that region to the Final Four.
Final Four Matchups and Champion
Troy - I see the Final Four being Villanova vs Arizona and Kansas vs UCLA. I think there are many teams you could replace these teams with, but at the end of the day, I believe these four have what it takes. As for the National Champion, I believe whoever makes it out of the Villanova/Arizona game will take home the crown and the team that I believe will do that is the Arizona Wildcats. I really like how they are playing right now, and I think this year will be the year Sean Miller finally gets over the hump.
Grant - I will probably end up being way off on this, but I have Villanova vs. Gonzaga and Louisville vs. UCLA in the Final Four. Any of these teams could get tripped up along the way, but they all look like Final Four-caliber teams. As for my champ, I'm going with Mark Few and the Gonzaga Bulldogs. Many people still aren't sold on them, but analytics love them, and they have the makings of a championship team. It's time for Few and company to silence the doubters.
Langston - The final four I have for this year is Duke vs Arizona from East/West region and Louisville vs North Carolina from the Midwest/South region. There are plenty of teams that can make it to the Final Four, but I think these teams will make it to the final weekend. I have the Arizona Wildcats as my National Champions this year. I believe they are playing as well as anyone right now and will represent the Pac-12 as the NCAA Tournament champions.
Grant - I will probably end up being way off on this, but I have Villanova vs. Gonzaga and Louisville vs. UCLA in the Final Four. Any of these teams could get tripped up along the way, but they all look like Final Four-caliber teams. As for my champ, I'm going with Mark Few and the Gonzaga Bulldogs. Many people still aren't sold on them, but analytics love them, and they have the makings of a championship team. It's time for Few and company to silence the doubters.
Langston - The final four I have for this year is Duke vs Arizona from East/West region and Louisville vs North Carolina from the Midwest/South region. There are plenty of teams that can make it to the Final Four, but I think these teams will make it to the final weekend. I have the Arizona Wildcats as my National Champions this year. I believe they are playing as well as anyone right now and will represent the Pac-12 as the NCAA Tournament champions.
