Here’s the culmination of our region previews to help guide you through the best days of the year
By the time this hits the wire we’ll be four hours from the tip of the first round of the NCAA tournament. It is, without a doubt, the best two days of the sporting calendar. Xavier isn’t there this year, which brings with it a weird sense of relief. It’s definitely not as good, but there is a lot less of the high grade heart strain and general stomach discomfort that comes with a Xavier tournament game. Hopefully we get back to that next year.
For this year, though, we took a look at each region to determine the storylines, the games, and the players to watch. Here it all is in one easy place.
Easiest teams to cheer against:
We’re professional haters here, and here is who we hate. Midwest: #1 Purdue West: #7 Dayton South: #4 Duke/#3 UK East: #8 FAU.
Best first round matchups:
Midwest: #6 South Carolina v. #11 Oregon. West: #6 Clemson v. #11 New Mexico. South: #7 Florida v. #10 Someone. East: #7 Washington St v. #10 Drake.
Players to watch:
Midwest: Enrique Freeman, Akron. West: Jalen Bridges, Baylor. South: Wade Taylor IV, Texas A&M. East: Boo Buie, Northwestern.
Banners Sweet 16 picks:
Midwest: #1 Purdue, #5 Gonzaga, #3 Creighton, #2 Tennessee. West: #1 UNC, #5 St. Mary’s, #3 Baylor, #2 Arizona. South: #1 Houston, #2 Marquette, #4 Duke, #6 Texas Tech. East: #1 UConn, #2 Iowa State, #3 Illinois, #4 Auburn.
Banners Final Four:
UConn v. Arizona
Houston v. Creighton