NCAA Tournament South Region Preview
A region headlined by ACC powerhouse and number one seed, Duke, the South is arguably an easy road to Indianapolis and this years Final Four.
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Duke (29-4) will take on the winner of a First Four match-up between Robert Morris and North Florida, who will be making their first NCAA tournament appearance in school history. Regardless of who ends up being Duke’s opponent, and the Blue Devils’ recent early-round issues, I highly doubt this is the first time a #16 defeats a #1.
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West Coast Conference champion Gonzaga (32-2) drew the 2 seed and will face Summit League champion #15 North Dakota State (23-9). The Bison are no strangers to upsets as they took out a 5th seeded Oklahoma team in last years tournament.
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Fred Hoidberg and 3rd seeded Iowa State (25-8) will take on a 14 seed in UAB (19-15), which is fresh off a hot surge that ended in a Conference USA title. The heavily favored Cyclones are looking to make a push this year after last year’s disappointing tournament run ended in a Sweet 16 loss to eventual champion Connecticut. Do-it-all big man Georges Niang and lead-guard Monte Morris have ISU in good position to make a run and should not be slowed in the first round.
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Georgetown (21-10) owns the 4 seed and will look to rebound from an upset loss to Xavier in the Big East Conference tournament by taking on 13 seed and Big Sky champion, Eastern Washington. The Eagles have 26 wins under their belt, including a 2-point win at Indiana.
The infamous 12-5 match-up in the South this year features #5 Utah, starring Delon Wright, taking on #12 Stephen F. Austin. As some may remember, the Lumberjacks took out 5 seed VCU in last year’s first round in a thrilling overtime stunner.
American Conference champion and 6th seed Southern Methodist, fresh off of a 62-54 point win over reigning national champions, Connecticut, will look to extend their win streak against a disappointing #11 UCLA squad. The Bruins have struggled mightily this year but were able to sneak into the field with some solid play down the stretch from Norman Powell and sharpshooter Bryce Alford. SMU will look to counter with big man Marcus Kennedy, who shoots 55% from the floor, and Conference Player of the Year, Nic Moore.
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7th seeded Iowa will take on A-10 regular season champion and #10 seed Davidson. Iowa comes as advertised, with long big men who can rebound. With wins at North Carolina, at Indiana, against Maryland, and sweeping Ohio State, the Hawkeyes have proven they can play. Davidson, a mid-major staple of the tournament in past years, features a four guard lineup with a 6’7″ forward in Peyton Aldridge. Small as they may be, the Wildcats can really shoot it (47.1% from the floor and four 40%+ 3-point shooters) and they rarely turn the ball over as they are third in the country in fewest turnovers.
Finally we have the 8-9 match-up that is always a close contest. 8 seed and Mountain West runner-up San Diego State will take on 9th seeded St. Johns, currently on a two-game slide. St. Johns has not beaten a ranked team all year, and while they have won 7 of the last 10, they also lost their last two by a combined fifty-four points, including a 37-point beatdown at Villanova. San Diego State has a win over Utah, two wins over Wyoming, and pushed Arizona to the brink before falling by two.
Enjoy the tournament, and remember to fill out your brackets!
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And keep up with the action on the AOSN.com NCAA Tournament live blog.