NCAA tournament bracket analysis: UNC leads blue blood-laden South Region
The South Region is clearly the sexiest of the four regions, as all three blue bloods in the region, No. 1 North Carolina, No. 2 Kentucky and No. 3 UCLA, are among the most decorated teams in college basketball history. Two of the most entertaining games of this college basketball season involved those three teams—UCLA’s 97–92 win at Kentucky and Kentucky’s 103–100 victory over North Carolina.
Memphis hosts the South Regional final, and that city has always been one of the country’s most dedicated college basketball strongholds. How delicious would having the Tar Heels, Wildcats and Bruins along with four-seed Butler be for a weekend of entertaining basketball?
State of the No. 1 seed
North Carolina fell to Duke in the ACC semifinals, 93–83. That loss doesn’t sound any significant alarm bells for the Tar Heels. UNC is deep, experienced and hungry after being on the brink of the national title last season. It has a top five offense and top 25 defense, according to kenpom.com. The Tar Heels are the hardest team to pick against in this bracket.
Toughest draw: No. 2 Kentucky
Talking to Sean Miller the other day, he mentioned off the cuff that the two teams he’d be petrified to see in the NCAA tournament are Dayton and Wichita State because of their experience. He saw the Shockers last year, and it didn’t go well for Arizona. He follows Dayton closely because his brother Archie coaches the Flyers.
John Calipari can’t like seeing those two tournament-seasoned mid-majors sitting across from him in the second round. This is No. 7 Dayton’s fourth NCAA tournament in a row and No. 10 Wichita’s sixth straight. It will be a rock fight for Kentucky to get out of Indianapolis.
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Upset watch: No. 12 Middle Tennessee State over No. 5 Minnesota
Don’t expect a huge point spread in this game, as Middle Tennessee is one of the country’s best mid-major teams. The Blue Raiders added Arkansas transfer JaCorey Williams (17.3 points per game) to…
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