You have to hand it to the NCAA men’s basketball tournament selection committee for not only putting four of the sport’s largest coaching personalities in the same region, but also for putting three of them in the same four-team group for first- and second-round play in Providence, Rhode Island. Oh – and, hey, this is probably just a coincidence – but Rick Pitino (now at St. John’s) used to coach at Providence College, and the Red Storm’s second-round opponent could be Arkansas and John Calipari. Now, let’s see: Do Pitino and Calipari have anything in common? Why, yes! Yes, they – um — blue!
Hard to imagine, but this will actually make Kansas’ Bill Self the third-most-famous coach in Providence. And Connecticut’s Dan Hurley, he of the past two NCAA championships, might actually come in at No. 4 in name-recognition in this region, with Memphis’ Penny Hardaway, no shrinking violet, a close fifth.
What, you want actual basketball stuff here? A breakdown of the East Region:
West Region best first-round matchup: Drake vs. Missouri
Drake’s deliberate style of play seems well suited to slow down Missouri, which averages 84.5 points per game (the Bulldogs are allowing an NCAA-low average of 58.4). In addition, the Bulldogs have the kind of player who can almost single-handedly orchestrate the outcome of a game: Junior guard Bennett Stirtz. First of all he basically never leaves the floor. He’s averaging 39.4 minutes per game. In that time, he averages 19.1 points, 4.4 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 2.2 steals.
The question will be whether he and guard Mitch Mascari, who averages more than 38 minutes per game and shoots 41% from three-point range, will be able to stand up against a Missouri team that can go 10 or 11 players deep.
LEFT OUT: Six teams snubbed by the NCAA men’s tournament
UP AND DOWN: Winners and losers from tournament bracket release
West Region potential upsets in first round: Colorado State and Grand Canyon
A more-than-pass-the-laugh-test case can be made for a first round in which No. 10 Arkansas, No. 11 Drake, No. 12 Colorado State and No. 13 Grand Canyon all win. Arkansas has said that point guard Boogie Fland should be back from a thumb injury, and Kansas – for whatever reason – simply seems off the boil against most quality teams this season.
Colorado State has won 10 consecutive games, has an array of players who can shoot from three-point range and a singular talent in guard Nique Clifford, who leads the Rams in scoring, rebounding, assists and steals. Memphis, while sweeping the American Athletic Conference regular season and tournament titles, has a big question at point guard with Tyrese Hunter’s ankle injury. And Grand Canyon is a big, physical team with several key players back from a team that won a first-round game last year as a No. 12 seed. Maryland has tremendous talent but lacks depth.
West Region sleeper: Texas Tech
Take your pick from the four double-digit seeds just mentioned — or, go with Texas Tech. (And, yes, with Florida and St. John’s getting the amount of attention they are rightly getting, the No. 3 seed gets to be considered a sleeper.) These Red Raiders are not just the type of rugged defensive group that they have been in the past. They are averaging nearly 81 points per game, which may not sound impressive — but it’s the best for Texas Tech since the 1994-95 season. They have Big 12 player of the year, 6-9 sophomore forward JT Toppin. And if they have a lead late in a game, fouling them is not likely to help much: They have three regulars who are shooting 84% or better from the free-throw line and two others shooting at least 78% from the line.
West Region winner: St. John’s
The obvious choice here is Florida. The Gators have been playing magnificently since an 88-83 loss at Georgia on Feb. 25. In their six games since then, they have averaged nearly 94 points, while beating Texas A&M, Alabama, Mississippi, Missouri, Alabama again and Tennessee.
But this is a coaches’ regional. Yes, St. John’s is a team that does not have a lot of NCAA Tournament experience. But it is terrific team that has multiple players who can lead the way. And, seriously, how do you pick against a coach who already has two autobiographies, four books on how to succeed and two NCAA championships?