Arguable one of the best few weeks of the year has finally arrived. Despite my Uconn Huskies not being present in the tournament, I can still appreciate the greatest stage of college basketball where upsets are plentiful and underdogs flourish. The 2015 bracket was released Sunday evening and there are terrific teams that should make for plenty of action. A look at my bracket, feel free to be a critic but in order to cash in for bragging rights you have to be bold and pick the unexpected.
Who can beat Kentucky?
There are so many teams in the field this year that can make a run to the title but the real question that everyone wants to know is; can Kentucky be defeated? There are at least a few teams that I think have a great chance to knock off Kentucky and the first team being Notre Dame. Wisconsin, Iowa State, Arizona, Duke and Gonzaga are other potential teams that can compete with the Wildcats. Kentucky and Notre Dame would meet in the Elite Eight, assuming that both teams can make it that far. Look, its easy for anyone to pick Kentucky to win it all because they are undefeated and they clearly have the talent to sweep the entire tournament. The Harrison twins are a terrific combo that create arguable the best backcourt in the nation. But their guards arent their only weapon as Kentucky has NBA sized players. They are lengthy, talented and aggressive and they are also a force on the defensive end. Players like Willie Cauley-Stein and Karl-Anthony Towns are what make this team scary. But let's be honest, The SEC conference is not what it used to be. The Wildcats only faced one ranked team within conference play, Arkansas twice. They had two close calls in overtime against Ole Miss and Texas A&M, both of which they managed to come out victorious. I think come elite eight or even the sweet sixteen, Kentucky will be greatly tested and I am excited to see what they are truly made of.
As my bracket shows, I have Notre Dame beating Kentucky in the Elite Eight round and I stand strong by this pick. The Irish are a tremendous offensive team and I had the privilege to see them win the ACC tournament first hand on Saturday night against North Carolina. Notre Dame is also playing terrific basketball as they have won their last five games including wins over Louisville, Duke and most recently North Carolina to win the ACC tournament. Simple put, the Irish are HOT. Notre Dame is easily one of the most powerful offensive teams in the nation and plenty of that production comes from an outstanding and extremely underrated point guard Jerian Grant. Grant is one of the fastest players in college basketball and his first step off the dribble is almost unguardable. He can make crafty moves around the rim as well as be a floor leader. Notre Dame has a terrific ability to spread the floor and find an open shooter, and I think this poses a huge threat to Kentucky's defense. To complement Grant, Notre Dame also have Pat Connaughton, Steve Vasturia and Demetrius Jackson who can all shoot outside of the arc as well as create their own shot. In the ACC tournament game, all five starters for Notre Dame scored in double figures as they dropped 90 points on North Carolina. The Irish also have a presence inside with Zach Auguste, who can be a last line of defense for Notre Dame as well as provide their offense with a little post scoring. Notre Dame is extremely dangerous on offense and if they can figure a way through the tenacious Kentucky defense, I think Notre Dame wins this game.
First Round Upsets
There are a few first round games that caught my attention immediately as being potential games where the higher seed will come out victorious. Everyone loves an underdog, and March Madness is all about the unexpected.
Yes, the infamous 12-5 matchup. I love this game between Wyoming and UNI and it should be a close game although I like Wyoming with the upset. Wyoming won the Mountain West tournament over a solid San Diego State team. The Cowboys are led by Larry Nance Jr (recognize that name?) and Josh Adams, two terrific players who are capable of putting up huge numbers. Nothern Iowa has explosive guard Seth Tuttle although the UNI panthers are in a sub-par conference in the Missouri Valley Conference and have yet to face strong opponents other than Wichita State. Wyoming with the upset.
I absolutely love Stephen F. Austin. The Lumberjacks are not your typical team but remember in the tournament last year when they upset VCU? The Lumberjacks are led by Thomas Walkup (who ironically looks like he should be wielding an axe). Walkup is an all-around versatile player who can shoot the ball from deep as well as drive to the hoop. I'm going to go out and say that Utah is highly overrated as a team. Their only good win was against Wichita State in overtime. They are 1-5 against top 25 teams and they have lost to Oregon twice. I think SF Austin repeats this year with another upset over Utah.
This may not be much of an upset, but I think Texas as an 11 seed will defeat Butler. Texas has had quite the rough stretch the second half of the season but I think Texas has too much talent not to prevail in this game. The Longhorns have electric guard Isaiah Taylor and big man Myles Turner who I think will be too much for the Butler Bulldogs to handle. Texas is battle tested being in the Big 12 conference, so don't seem surprised if Texas dominates this game.
The Dark Horse
There you have it, I'm letting you know now. The Michigan State Spartans will make a HUGE run this tournament as the 7 seed. You may be thinking how many brain cells I've burned over spring break to pick a 7 seed to make a run but the reality is that seeding is irrelevant when it comes to March Madness. The winner of the NCAA tournament last year were my beloved Uconn Huskies. Oh yeah, and they were a 7 seed who defeated arguably the toughest teams in the tournament last year (Iowa State, Villanova, Michigan State, Florida). Anything is possible in March and I think Michigan State is ready for the challenge ahead. They have so much talent and depth and they showed exactly that against Wisconsin in the Big 10 title game despite absolutely blowing a comfortable lead to lose in overtime. The Spartans are a big team and they are very talented. Travis Trice is highly underrated as a point guard as he is a terrific combo guard who can make the outside shot, drive hard to the lane as well as distribute the ball to other scorers like Denzel Valentine. Michigan State is tough inside with Branden Dawson who averages 9.1 rebounds per game. The Spartans are a well rounded team who can play tenacious defense as well as explode on offense. Michigan State is a dangerous team.
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