The first two rounds of March Madness are officially in the books, and we're down to just 16 teams remaining. This first weekend provided plenty of thrills, including some upsets no one saw coming. If we're lucky, the rest of the tournament will provide more of the same.
The chase for the national championship is now beginning to truly heat up. This break in the action seems like the perfect time to re-evaluate the remaining teams, and so we shall. Today, we're ranking four teams, one from each region, who have the best chance to win the national championship.
Without further ado, let's get into the list.
4. Tennessee Volunteers (East)
After a chaotic first weekend of March Madness, the East region is anyone's to win. Purdue and Marquette, the top two seeds in the region, are already out, with the former losing to a 16-seed in humiliating fashion. This leaves the region's remaining teams as No. 9 Florida Atlantic, No. 4 Tennessee, No. 3 Kansas State and No. 7 Michigan State. Of those teams, the Volunteers may have the best chance to win it all.
To those who only watched the first round, though, that might come as a shock. Tennessee let its first-round game against No. 13 Louisiana get a little too close for comfort, narrowly winning 58-55. However, the Volunteers rebounded in a big way with a 65-52 second-round win over No. 5 Duke, holding the Blue Devils to their lowest point total ever in a tournament game.
Tennessee's defense has excelled in the tournament so far, forcing 29 turnovers and holding opponents to 30% shooting from three-point range. Senior forward Oliver Nkamhoua had a monster game against Duke, scoring 27 points on excellent shooting. The Volunteers had been a bit inconsistent in recent weeks, but it looks like they are hitting their stride when it matters.
3. Connecticut Huskies (West)
Of all four regions, the West may have the the strongest field remaining in March Madness, with no clear favorite in the group. No. 1 Kansas may have lost, but the team that caused the upset, No. 8 Arkansas, is no slouch either. No. 2 UCLA and No. 3 Gonzaga are also still kicking, set to face off in a rematch of their classic Final Four game from two years ago. Of all the teams left in the region, though, No. 4 Connecticut may be the most dangerous one.
The Huskies were among the most dominant teams in the entire field this weekend. First, they made quick work of No. 13 Iona, scoring 50 points in the second half for an 87-63 blowout. Their following game against No. 5 Saint Mary's was close at first, but they took over late to win 70-55.
UConn has been shooting the ball extremely well this tournament, hitting 50.8% of shots from the field and 44.7% from beyond the arch. Junior forward Adama Sanogo has had one of the most dominant starts to a tournament in recent memory, with 52 points and 21 rebounds in two games. Sophomore guard Jordan Hawkins has also been very clutch, scoring all 25 of his points this weekend in the second halves of games. If the Huskies keep rolling like this, then they will be very difficult to stop.
2. Houston Cougars (Midwest)
Most of the Midwest region's top seeds made it through the weekend unscathed. The top three seeds, Houston, Texas and Xavier, are all still dancing, and while No. 4 Indiana lost, No. 5 Miami is still a very dangerous team. However, it's hard to pick against a team as strong as the Cougars are.
That said, Houston did not look its best early on. The Cougars let No. 16 Northern Kentucky hang around for a while before ultimately winning their first-round matchup 63-52. They then struggled early in their second-round matchup against No. 9 Auburn, trailing by 10 at halftime. However, they then finally played like the dominant team they are in the second half, outscoring the Tigers 50-23 to win the game 81-64.
Houston's outstanding defense was on full display, holding opponents to 32% shooting from the field and 20.4% from beyond the arch. Senior guard Marcus Sasser and junior guard Tramon Mark also found their scoring touch against Auburn, notching 22 and 26 points, respectively. If that second half was a sign of things to come, the rest of the field should fear the Cougars as March Madness continues on.
1. Alabama Crimson Tide (South)
The South region was the region of chaos during the first weekend of March Madness. No. 2 Arizona and No. 4 Virginia both lost in the first round, and No. 3 Baylor joined them in the second. Meanwhile, Alabama, the top overall seed in the tournament, kept on chugging along as usual.
Unlike a certain other No. 1 seed, the Crimson Tide made quick work of their first-round opponent, defeating No. 16 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 96-75. They then did the same in the second round against No. 8 Maryland, winning 73-51. In a tournament full of chaos, Alabama is the only team to win both of its games by 20+ points.
The interesting thing is that the Crimson Tide won each game in very different ways. In the first round, their offense was on full display despite star forward Brandon Miller not scoring a single point. The Tide had five players score in double figures, and shot 47.1% from the field and 45.5% from deep. Then in the second round, the defense took over by holding Maryland to 35.2% from the field and 12.5% from three-point range.
The ability to win games in a variety of ways is part of what makes this Alabama team so dangerous. The Tide were already among the title favorites, and this weekend only strengthened their chances of winning March Madness.
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