Double-digit seeds will make noise in the opening rounds, but look for top-seeded Villanova to restore order and book a return trip to the Final Four More regional previews: Midwest | South | West Printable NCAA tournament bracket: make your March Madness picks Villanova. Villanova is the No1 overall seed and has been the most consistent team on the college scene this season. The Wildcats have a number on this year’s roster who were on last year’s National Championship-winning team – including player of the year candidate Josh Hart – so they surely have the experience on their side to make another lengthy run. Having a superstar playmaker like Hart is crucial for success in the tournament. On paper, their...
After 18 straight tournament appearances ending short of the Final Four, look for top-seeded Gonzaga to finally make their long-awaited breakthrough More regional previews: East | Midwest | South Printable NCAA tournament bracket: make your March Madness picks Gonzaga. On paper, No1 Gonzaga should be the clear-cut favorites in the West. The Bulldogs went 32-1 during the regular season, a performance that landed them the top seed in a region that doesn’t seem to offer them much serious competition beyond the 30-4 Arizona Wildcats. Of course, the catch here is that this is Gonzaga. After years of earlier-than-expected tournament exits, their reputation went from “one of the most consistently successful mid-majors in tournament history” to “perennial underachievers who have never...
Michigan State’s freshman sensation Miles Bridges will threaten to steal the show, but top-seeded Kansas will make it through to the Final Four once again More regional previews: East | South | West Printable NCAA tournament bracket: make your March Madness picks Kansas. The Jayhawks are surely one of the six or seven best teams in the country. (Sixth in the power ratings of George Ignatin, former pollster for the WSJ, and Jeff Sagarin of USA Today.) In point guard Frank Mason III they have, perhaps, the best player in the country – certainly the best player under six feet in the country. Freshman shooting guard Josh Jackson combines with Mason to create a tandem which averages slightly better than...
The top-seeded Tar Heels are betting favorites, but look for John Calipari’s reloaded roster to carry Kentucky to the program’s 18th Final Four appearance More regional previews: East | Midwest | West Printable NCAA tournament bracket: make your March Madness picks North Carolina. The No1 seed in the South is the favorite to win it all if Duke goes down, getting 6-1 odds to their rival’s 5-1 from the Westgate Sportsbook in Las Vegas. Kentucky, the No2 seed in the region, has the third-best odds at 8-1. FiveThirtyEight has Kentucky’s title chances slightly higher than Carolina’s. The official pick of this column is: Kentucky. John Calipari’s latest NBA draft lottery incubator is peaking at the right time, entering the tournament...
Gutted beyond recognition and left for dead four years ago, the Big East is, improbably, back among college basketball’s best conferences The Big East’s fade to mediocrity was all but a foregone conclusion when realignment left the once-powerful conference gutted beyond recognition four years ago.Name-brand programs like Syracuse, Pittsburgh, Connecticut, Louisville and West Virginia had bolted to chase the football dollars of the power conferences, leaving Villanova, Georgetown, St John’s, Seton Hall, Marquette, DePaul and Providence to pick up the pieces. Related: Villanova celebrates NCAA championship with downtown Philadelphia parade – in pictures Continue reading...