March Madness is finally upon us, so let’s take a look at the teams in the field of 68. Here is the South Region, headlined by number 1 seed Houston.
(Courtesy of NCAA)
1) Houston Cougars
30-4 Big 12 At-Large
They say defense wins championships, and if Houston wins their first National Championship in program history, that would certainly ring true. Houston, as a one-seed, is one of the favorites this year, and as always, Kelvin Sampson’s team prides itself on defense. Houston has allowed the least points per game and the lowest FG% of any team in Division 1. They are also the 7th best at getting steals, particularly from Jamal Shead. Shead also leads the Cougars in assists, with L.J. Cryer the team leader in points per game.
16) Longwood Lancers
21-13 Big South Champions
After 2 straight 20-win seasons, 2023-24 seemed like it would be a disappointment for Longwood. The Lancers started off 2-8 in conference play. However in the last month, they have shot the ball much better, finishing the year averaging almost 80 points per game and going 7-2 in that span. Longwood’s marquee win was over regular-season champs High Point, beating them on their home floor in the conference semifinals.
8) Nebraska Cornhuskers
23-10 Big Ten At-Large
Fred Hoiberg has a good shot at winning Big Ten Coach of the Year, and with good reason. Hoiberg’s Cornhuskers were picked to finish 12th in the Big Ten and are now dancing for the first time in a decade. Not only that, but Nebraska has been on a tear recently, having won 7 of their last 9 entering the NCAA Tournament. Keisei Tominaga and Brice Williams are 2 players to watch for Nebraska, having averaged 22 and 16 points over the last 4 contests, respectively.
9) Texas A&M Aggies
20-14 SEC At-Large
Texas A&M was at one point, 15-13, on a 5-game losing streak, and it looked like the Aggies wouldn’t sniff the NCAA Tournament. Texas A&M then won 5 straight before losing in the SEC semifinals to Florida, and are dancing because of their quality wins against Iowa State, Tennessee, and thrice against Kentucky. Much of the Aggies’ recent success has been due to their rebounding. A&M is first in the country in offensive rebounding and can score 2nd chance points with their 2 leading scorers, Wade Taylor IV and Tyrece Radford.
5) Wisconsin Badgers
22-13 Big Ten At-Large
Wisconsin’s season can really be broken up into 3 parts. The Badgers found themselves at 16-4 at the end of January and looked to be competing for a number one seed in the tournament. However, Wisconsin then went 3-8 to close out the regular season and looked dead in the water. Then, most recently, the scoring of A.J. Storr and Chucky Hepburn helped propel Wisconsin to the Big Ten Championship game. Although they lost, if Wisconsin really has turned the corner back around, they should be able to make a deep run in the dance.
12) James Madison Dukes
31-3 Sun Belt Champions
James Madison started off their season with an upset win at Michigan State and hasn’t looked back. JMU will enter the tournament on a 13-game winning streak and play at a ferocious pace. The Dukes, led by Terrence Edwards and T.J. Bickerstaff, are 9th in all of D1 in scoring but sometimes play too fast, turning the ball over nearly 11 times per game. However, James Madison already has one of the highest win totals of any team entering the tournament and will look to continue their Cinderella season after an 11-year tournament drought.
4) Duke Blue Devils
24-8 ACC At-Large
Duke head coach John Scheyer continues to build on the success of his predecessor, Mike Krzyzewski. This year’s Duke team is led by Kyle Filipowski, who averages 17 points and 8 rebounds. The Blue Devils also shot the ball from deep at a higher clip than any of their ACC foes. Jeremy Roach was their leader in that category, 43% from long range.
13) Vermont Catamounts
28-6 America East Champions
Head Coach John Becker has quietly built an America East powerhouse at Vermont. The Catamounts will be making their third straight trip to the NCAA tournament and fifth since 2017. Vermont dominated the America East conference this season, only losing one game in the league. Vermont prides itself on its defense and doesn’t turn the ball over much. T.J. Long is their leading scorer and three-point shooter.
6) Texas Tech Red Raiders
23-10 Big 12 At-Large
Texas Tech’s biggest strength is its offensive efficiency. It has several players who can consistently score, such as Pop Isaacs and Chance McMillan, who each took a turn leading the Red Raiders in scoring in their two Big 12 Tournament games. However, Texas Tech will have to overcome injuries from significant players. Warren Washington and Darrion Williams, the Team’s two leading rebounders, have each been dealing with lower body injuries.
11) NC State Wolfpack
22-14 ACC Champions
By all accounts, NC State needed to win the ACC tournament to go dancing. And low and behold, the Wolfpack won five games in five days, including upsetting Duke and North Carolina to punch their ticket. They have been led by great performances by a variety of players. Michael O’Connell hit a buzzer-beater three to send the semifinal to overtime. In the championship game, D.J. Horne led all scorers with 29 and was complemented by D.J. Burns’ 20 points and Mohamed Diarra’s 20 rebounds.
3) Kentucky Wildcats
23-9 SEC At-Large
There aren’t many teams in college basketball that can score better than Kentucky. Antonio Reeves and Rob Dillingham lead the way for the Wildcats, scoring 20 and 15 points per game, respectively, and each shooting 44% from deep. Kentucky has particularly gotten it together after their February 21 loss to LSU. In each of their 6 games since then, Kentucky hasn’t scored less than 85 points. As usual, John Calipari’s team has a lot of young, developing scorers, and as of late, it’s seemed like they are developing into a real threat.
14) Oakland Golden Grizzlies
23-11 Horizon League Champions
One of the best stories in the tournament this year is that of Oakland Head Coach Greg Kampe. Kampe is in his 40th season coaching the Golden Grizzlies, who see themselves in the NCAA Tournament for only the 2nd time. The crazier story, though, involves Oakland’s star player, Trey Townsend. Both of Townsend’s parents played at Oakland, and he has known Kampe since he was a toddler.
7) Florida Gators
24-11 SEC At-Large
Like many of its SEC counterparts, Florida is one of the highest-scoring teams in the country. The Gators have four scorers averaging more than 11 points, including Walter Clayton Jr. and Zyon Pullin, who is shooting 45% from deep. Micah Handlogten’s gruesome injury in the SEC Championship will be tough to overcome, not only because of its severity but also because Handlogten was a major interior presence for Florida. The Gators will look to Tyrese Samuel and Alex Condon to pick up that slack.
10) Colorado Buffaloes
24-10 Pac-12 At-Large
The Buffaloes are one of the best 3-point shooting teams in the country, and they solidified their spot in the field by winning 8 in a row before dropping the Pac-12 title game to Oregon. K.J. Simpson led Colorado this season in points, rebounds, and assists while shooting 45% from deep. The Buffaloes also have Tristan Da Silva, Cody Williams, J’Vonne Hadley, and Eddie Lampkin as key contributors who can both score and rebound.
2) Marquette Golden Eagles
25-9 Big East At-Large
Marquette’s success in the NCAA Tournament will largely depend on the status of Tyler Kolek, who has missed the last 6 games due to injury. Other stars for the Golden Eagles have stepped up, like Kameron Jones and Oso Ighodaro, and even led Marquette to the Big East championship game. But if and when Kolek, the 2023 Big East player of the Year, returns, it will do a lot to determine if Marquette can reach the tournament’s 2nd weekend for the first time since 2013.
15) Western Kentucky Hilltoppers
22-11 C-USA Champions
In his first season coaching WKU, Steve Lutz has brought the Hilltoppers back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2013. Western Kentucky is another team that looked down and out just a few weeks ago. They had lost four in a row heading into the Conference USA tournament, albeit all by 6 points or less. Don McHenry is the Hilltoppers’ leading scorer, including a 25-point performance against UTEP in the C-USA championship game.
Summary
The South region has a plethora of interesting storylines, from Houston trying to finally get over the hump to Greg Kampe coaching in the tournament during his 40th season at Oakland. Overall, this should be a competitive part of the bracket.
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