NCAAM: March Madness Bracket outlooks

(Photo Credit: AP News)

What’s the best part about March? Well, College Basketball of course. This year brings new potential upsets, stars, and powerhouses like Auburn (Shown above).

By: Will Aimette

Cinderella Run: Utah State (10), Colorado State (12)

Analysis: Utah State could definitely make the Sweet 16. Playing 7-seed UCLA in the first round, they certainly got the luck of the draw. With Guards Ian Martinez and Mason Falslev to lead the way, they are certainly poised to make a run. Furthermore, they got the weakest 7-seed draft in the tournament in UCLA, as they are coming off of a 16-point loss to Purdue. If Utah State does win, they will most likely play 2-seed Tennessee, who have looked awful coming down the stretch into the tournament. So watch out for Utah State, as they are a great Cinderella team for your bracket.

Colorado St. last year went on a run. Can they do it again? I think so. They have already beaten Utah State by 11, and they looked solid in the Mountain West tournament. They play Memphis in the first round, a team with a bad tournament resume, as they didn’t even make it last year. Then Colorado State would play Maryland or Grand Canyon, two teams that Colorado St. has the potential of beating. Overall, I would be excited for this talented team to make a statement in the tournament this year.

Upset Watch: Yale (13) at Texas A+M (4), UC San Diego (12) at Michigan (5)

Analysis: Yale has been a solid tournament team in the past, as last year they were a 13-seed beating 4-seed Auburn in a crazy game. This year, they are facing 4-seed Texas A+M, who don’t look as solid coming into the tournament as other 4-seeds. They lost to a mediocre Texas team, an also mediocre Vanderbilt team, and lost by 19 points to Florida. That really shows the gap between a 4-seed and a 1-seed. This team is clearly beatable, as long as Yale plays well, they should win, as they finished the season on the 3 game winning streak. 

What’s more fun than a 13-seed vs. 12-seed game to determine who goes to the Sweet 16? If Texas A+M, an upset-watch team loses, that gives a chance for UC San Diego to make that game possible. And honestly, I’m all for it. They have multiple sharpshooting guards that are game-changers, and their defense is one of the hardest playing I’ve seen all season. They force a total average of 15.1 turnovers per game, which is top 10 in the country. And what’s Michigan’s number one problem? Turnovers. Combined with this bad matchup for Michigan, UC San Diego has star 3-point shooter Hayden Gray. With a 42% 3-point percentage, he reminds me of Jack Golkhe, the sharpshooter that ended Kentucky’s tournament by upsetting them in the first round. Not to mention momentum, as they have won each and every last of their 15 games. They also have good role players to surround him and can certainly pull off the upset, and possibly make a run after.

Power 4: 1. Florida (1) 2. Duke (1) 3. Houston (1) 4. Alabama (2)

Analysis: Florida is the best team in this entire tournament. No questions asked. Let me just tel you about their resume. They beat 2-seed Alabama twice. 2-seed Tennessee three times. They beat 4-seed Texas A+M , beat 1-seed Auburn, and beat tournament teams Oklahoma, UNC, Missouri, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Vanderbilt, Georgia, and Texas. Enough said. Same with Duke, a team that has been in the spotlight all year since they recruited Cooper Flagg. They are poised to make a deep run with such an incredibly talented team. Houston is a small step below these two teams, yet they could have a massive impact on the tourney. They play with a classic Houston offense over defense mentality, and have the physical ability to outrun teams off the court. Lastly Alabama. Why did I include a 2-seed in the top 4? Becuase Auburn is a weak 1-seed. They lost to Tennessee, fellow 1-seeds Florida + Duke, Texas A+M, Georgia, and none other than Alabama themselves. On the other hand, Alabama looks like one of the best teams in the nation, with star guard Mark Sears. Alabama is a team I certainly would be scared to be up against.

Overrated teams: Tennessee (2), Texas A+M (4)

Analysis: Two overrated teams that both beat Auburn. What a coincidence. Clearly, if a team beats Auburn they are moving up the rankings higher than they should be. Maybe we should ask, why does the SEC have so many tournament teams, especially higher ranked ones at that? Well, because teams in the SEC have a chance to beat Auburn, the #1 team in the country for four consecutive weeks. Now, I’m not saying that Auburn is the best team in basketball, because I certainly don´t think so. They aren’t even the best team in their own conference, due to Florida! But clearly the NCAA committee thinks so. I mean, Tennessee is probably the weakest 2-seed I can remember in past tournaments. They clearly can’t compete with the other 2 and 1 seeds, like Florida and Alabama, both teams they lost to in the regular season. To add on to this, the fact that the NCAA committee put Arizona and Texas A+M in the same seeding is insane to me! There clearly are better teams than that, as Illinois is another example. I have A+M losing first round in an upset to Yale. I don’t know what the NCAA committee was thinking when making this bracket, it’s like most of them went to these schools or something!