by Andrew Hardison
The NCAA Tournament committee must have been punch-drunk-love with ‘March Madness’ as they went on to give the No. 1 overall seed—Kansas Jayhawks—the toughest road to the Final Four in Indianapolis.
The Midwest Bracket is filled with trapdoors for the #1 ranked team in the nation, who won both the Big 12 regular and post season championships in an impressive run down the stretch.
So what does the committee do?
They put a potential No. 1 seed Ohio State as the No. 2 seed to make things interesting, led by National POY the candidate Evan Turner who has led the Buckeyes back into the national spotlight. Ohio State is riding a 16-2 record since losing 73-62 to Minnesota back in early January. The team needed a spark and Turner has stepped right, coming back after suffering a back injury that kept him out of action for several weeks. Since his return, the Buckeyes are a different team and could easily reach the Elite 8.
Other teams like Georgetown (3), Maryland (4), Michigan State (5), and Tennessee (6) all of them being major-conference programs that could give Kansas a run for their money. Not to mention that conference tournament winners of both the Missouri Valley Conference—Northern Iowa (9)—and Mountain West Conference—San Diego State (11)—are capable of putting together a near perfect game.
In the end, look for Kansas to get to the Elite 8 and beyond. They are the most experienced team in the Midwest region and have the most talent of any team. Headed by Bill Self, the Jayhawks are complete at every position and the team is littered with veteran leaders. Don’t forget about freshman Xavier Henry who has taken over the small forward spot and done a tremendous job providing an extra scoring option.
Another reason to like Kansas and any other team in the tournament for that matter is that they won when it mattered. The Jayhawks are 18-1 during the last nineteen games and won both the Big 12 regular season championship as well as the Big 12 Tournament championship. If anyone in the nation can overcome the toughest region in the NCAA Tournament, it’s Kansas.
X-Factor: Something that should catch the eye of every team during the NCAA Tournament is placement. Kansas has the favorable edge despite what anyone says about the ‘toughness’ of the region. Tough or not, the Jayhawks will have home-court advantage having to travel to Oklahoma City for the opening round games and then St. Louis for both the Sweet 16 and Elite 8 games. Let’s see how well Kansas fans travel and if it’s anything compared to the Kentucky Wildcats.
Impact Player: Ohio State’s Evan Turner is the clear runaway here, but several others are nipping at his heels. Turner has carried the Buckeyes on his shoulders since returning from a serious back injury that kept him out of play for several weeks. He’s rebounded quickly however, posting ridiculous numbers on the season. His 20 pts/9 reb./5 ast. are one of the best stat lines for any player in the nation and could easily carry Ohio State to the Elite 8 or beyond. He’ll most certainly be a Top-5 pick in June’s NBA Draft.
Others to watch: Sherron Collins & Cole Aldrich (Kansas), Greg Monroe (Georgetown), Gani Lawal & Derrick Favors (Georgia Tech), Kalin Lucas (Michigan State), Greivis Vasquez (Maryland), James Anderson (Oklahoma State),
Surprise Team: Ohio State has the ability to get to the Final Four and beyond. If things work out on the their end of the region, the Buckeyes may not even have to face a potential Sweet 16 matchup against Georgetown, the No. 3 seed in the Midwest region. With Turner leading the way it might be tough to stop one of the best players in the nation who has been on fire the past two months. He’s averaging 30/10/5 in the past two games and an Ohio State/Kansas Elite 8 game would be one of the better matchups of the tournament.
Sleeper: San Diego State (25-8, 11-5) out of the Mountain West Conference are on a five game winning streak after beating UNLV for the conference tournament championship and have a great chance to be the typical (11)/(6) upset you see year in and year out. The Aztecs have solid athletes and an experienced head coach in Steve Fisher who led a 1989 Michigan Wolverines team to the National Championship. Forwards Kawhi Leonard and Malcom Thomas punish the offensive glass, accounting for a third of their total rebounds on the season. Fisher can go 9-deep and has several players off the bench that can produce as well.
SDSU gets Tennessee in their first round matchup and could easily bounce the Vols in the opening game. Tennessee either is hot or cold having defeated both Kansas and Kentucky on the year, but also crumbling in the SEC Tourney against tournament champs Kentucky. Which team will we see? If it’s anything like the one in Nashville this past weekend, the Vols could be headed home early.
Sweet 16:
(1)Kansas over (5) Michigan State
(2) Ohio State over (11) San Diego State
Elite 8:
(1)Kansas over (2) Ohio State
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