West Region
Arizona won the Big 12 Tourney, Arkansas won the SEC Tourney, and Purdue won the Big Ten Tourney: all three are in this region and contenders to win it.
Arizona is the headliner for this region but if you look back to the preseason rankings, Purdue would have been a 1-seed, Arizona and BYU would both be 2-seeds and Gonzaga & Arkansas would both be four or 5-seeds. That’s why they play out the season. Arizona separated itself, but there are several teams that are clearly talented enough to win this region.
Purdue began the season as the #1 or #2 team in the country before falling off a little bit in mid-January. But they just won the Big Ten Tournament, beating Michigan in the championship, and they look to be playing with the right physicality and defense to make a run.
BYU is a similar story as the Cougars began the season as a top-10 team. And they remained there through mid-January before they hit a stretch of 3-8 in the Big 12. They haven’t exactly shown that they’ve righted the ship, but they are loaded with talent. Especially for a 6-seed.
Gonzaga plays elite defense, Wisconsin can get hot from three and can beat anybody, Arkansas is 10-2 since January with an OT loss at Alabama and a loss at Florida…these three are also dangerous.
Best Mascot
The section that REALLY matters, especially if you’re picking your bracket based on mascots. And this region is loaded with fun & unique mascots.
I could easily have picked the Owls of Kennesaw State. Scrappy is the mascot you will see on TV. The real question is if they will bring Sturgis, the live mascot.
I was tempted to pick the Queens Royals, mostly as a nod to their first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance.
I was also tempted to go with the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors. Here’s hoping that they wear their unis with the rainbow striping down the side.
But the Sharks of Long Island University have a great logo and I love their colors of soft blue and yellow. Finley is his name and winning mascot national championships is his game. So we have that to look forward to on the sidelines.
Players to Watch
Hawaii’s Dre Bullock isn’t the team’s leading scorer, but he has a popular YouTube channel and Instagram page (think Isaiah Washington, but he can score…and dunk). He is fun to watch.
AJ Dybantsa is likely the top overall pick in this upcoming NBA Draft, and he is electric. He averages over 25 points per game and 6.7 rebounds.
Darius Acuff does everything for Arkansas. The freshman averages 23 points, 6.5 assists, over 3 rebounds per game and shoots 44% from three.
Potential Upset
I don’t feel very strong about any upsets in this region. Which probably means that this becomes the chaos region.
#11 NC State/Texas over #6 BYU
Most years, these Power 5 teams that play in Dayton win their first-round game in the regular bracket. BYU has not been trending in the right direction, so this would be my best guess at an upset in this region.
PrizePicks Lock
Braden Smith over 24.5 points + assists
The concern here is that Purdue runs away with this game, dominating Queens. Then Smith plays fewer minutes and misses this. I feel like if that’s the case, then he was scoring early. If the game is close, they are running offense and he’s getting assists.
Tre Donaldson of Miami over 1.5 threes made
Missouri is one of the worst teams in the country at defending threes. Donaldson should get several opportunities.
Who wins the West: Purdue
If Purdue has figured out their defense, they are fully capable of beating Arizona and getting to the Final Four. They have the top-rated offense, in terms of efficiency, and they have a great balance between their frontcourt and backcourt. They also start four seniors…a rarity in today’s college basketball.
Arizona could absolutely take this, as they are heavily favored. And I could see Arkansas making a run on the back of Acuff. But I’m going with Purdue to take this and give the Big Ten two teams in the Final Four.
Intriguing later-round matchups
Looking way ahead, I anticipate we will see Purdue and Arizona in the regional final. And that looks like an elite matchup. Both teams are physical, both teams rebound extremely well, both teams have elite offenses.
KenPom Efficiency Plot
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