This year’s edition of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament is ready to go, but which teams will upset the best teams? Which games will grab the nation’s attention?
The East region has a few great matchups during the round of 64 that could potentially ruin your bracket. The No. 12 seeded Oregon Ducks have the potential to overachieve for a team in their position. The Ducks won the Pac-12 tournament after defeating the top-seeded UCLA Bruins 77-69.
Oregon reached the top 10 during the season and won four games against top-25 teams, two of which against UCLA, who were given a No. 6 seed in the Southwest region.
Another potential bracket buster in the East region is the No. 11 seeded St. Mary’s College (CA) Gaels. The Gaels are one of the “First Four” teams, which are the final four teams selected to be in the tournament.
St. Mary’s (CA) was one of the best teams in the West Coast Conference but were overshadowed by top-ranked Gonzaga during the entire regular season. They were defeated by Gonzaga in the championship game of the West Coast Conference tournament.
As a No. 11 seed, the Gaels, who have a record of 27-6, will have to go through Middle Tennessee State University first. The Blue Raiders (28-5) boast a comparable record and will offer the Gaels a close first round game that could start a domino effect in the region.
The West region has a couple of matchups that could host some upsets, but will probably not go farther than the next round. The first one is the No. 9 seeded Wichita State Shockers, who are paired with the No. 8 Pittsburgh Panthers.
The Shockers reached the top 25 multiple times during the regular season and reached the Missouri Valley Conference championship but was defeated by Creighton, who is seeded No. 7 in the East region. Wichita State has the ability to shock Pittsburgh in the first round, but the No. 1 seeded Gonzaga Bulldogs will defeat them in the following round.
The No. 10 seeded Iowa State Cyclones have the potential to disrupt the No. 7 seeded Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the first round. Notre Dame’s inconsistency during Big East Conference play could show some weak spots that Iowa State could test with their Big 12 experience.
The Southwest region has a solid field and will see the least likely upsets. The only major upset I see in this region is in the No. 6 seeded UCLA Bruins and the No. 11 seeded Minnesota Golden Gophers. UCLA started the season No. 13 in the nation but was knocked out of the top 25 in the fourth week. They also had some controversy over the eligibility of freshman guard Shabazz Muhammad, who declared himself for the NBA Draft during the season. The Bruins were 7-5 against teams in the tournament.
The Southeast region could host potentially three big upsets during the first round. The first upset comes at the hands of the No. 9 seed Temple Owls, who are matched against No. 8 seeded NC State. Temple has been strong the past few years and NC State has been on a roller coaster ride this season. Temple has had the most consistent season and might fare better than the Wolfpack in the tournament.
My other two teams to have upsets in the Southeast region are No. 12 seed California and No. 10 seed Colorado, both from the Pac-12 Conference.
The round of 64 starts on Thursday and continues through the weekend.
