Arguably the best sporting event of the year is just a few days away as March Madness will get started on Tuesday night with the First Four, and then the first round will get started on Thursday. Conference tournaments are wrapping up on Saturday and Sunday, and after the conclusion of the final game, the selection show will take place and we will have a March Madness bracket. It's the most wonderful time of the year.
There is so much to love about March Madness, and the first week of the tournament is one of the best stretches in all of sports. Basketball begins at noon and there are countless good games all day and into the night. College basketball fans will be setting up multiple TVs to be able to take in as much March Madness action at once as humanly possible.
The upsets are always special as well. It seems like every season there is at least one underdog team that captures America's heart and makes a surprise deep run in March Madness. For example, #16 seed Fairleigh Dickinson took down #1 seed Purdue last year and ended up putting up a good fight in the second round too. They lost to Florida Atlantic, however. Then, #9 said Florida Atlantic turned into the cinderella team as they marched all the way to the Final Four. Upsets are one of the best parts of college basketball, and something about March Madness brings them out. We will likely have a cinderella team to root for in the next week.
Another great part of March Madness are the historic performances put on by individual players. Every so often we will see a player completely take over a game and put their team on their back, and they sometimes carry their squad all the way to a national title. It's always fun to watch. When it gets to the later stages of the tournament, everyone knows that player is getting the ball, and still, no one can stop him. Those kind of take overs are always extremely fun to watch in March Madness, and one of the best examples is Kemba Walker and his historic performances for UConn.
In 2011, Kemba Walker went on one of the most insane runs that we have ever seen in college basketball. It started before March Madness officially got going with the NCAA Tournament as he also led the Huskies to a Big East title that season, and his insane run began then. UConn rattled off 11 straight elimination game wins to go all the way to the national title game, and they won it. Walker put the team on his back, and it was incredible to watch.
Now, UConn is going back to the tournament and they are looking to defend their national title that they won a year ago. The Huskies are going to be a one seed in March Madness, and they have all the tool to win another championship. Let's go out on a limb and assume that UConn is going to win their first game against whatever #16 seed they play, but let's take a look at what eight, four and two seeds the Huskies should be wanting to see in their bracket.
Ideal eight seed: Northwestern
Northwestern basketball will likely end up being around the eight line when the March Madness bracket comes out on Sunday, and UConn should be hoping that they see the Wildcats in the second round. The reason for this is because Northwestern is dealing with a lot of injuries right now, and history also isn't on their side in terms of making a tournament run.
The Wildcats are missing a couple key players right now as Ty Berry and Matthew Nicholson are both out right now. The Wildcats do have Boo Buie and he has the ability to take over a game, but he hasn't been able to get very much help lately. Buie is capable of leading this team on a run, but he will have to have the game of his life if the Wildcats meet up with UConn in the round of 32.
Another reason why UConn should want to see Northwestern is because of history. The Wildcats have never advanced past the round of 32 in the school's history. There's obviously a first time for everything, but with the injuries and a potential date with the Huskies, it would be mighty difficult.
Ideal four seed: Illinois
Illinois basketball is having a season similar to many that they have had in recent years. However, none of those recent seasons have resulted in a trip to the sweet 16. It's been awhile since the Fighting Illini made it there, and under Brad Underwood, they simply haven't met expectations in the NCAA Tournament. This UConn team has been here before and they know how to win on this stage. Illinois doesn't. Simply put. If the Illini do break their Sweet 16 drought, it doesn't seem like that they would be able to knock off UConn and make it to the elite eight.
Ideal two seed: Tennessee
Tennessee basketball is another team that struggles in March. The Volunteers won the SEC regular title and then as soon as the postseason hit, they laid an egg and dropped their first SEC tourney game by double digits against Mississippi State. Who knows why, but Rick Barnes has not been good during March Madness. Here is his record against the spread in each month of the season since 2005:
November: 52-32-1
December: 48-43
January: 78-74-1
February: 73-80
March: 42-65-4
Trends are made to be broken, but at this point, Rick Barnes and the Volunteers can't be trusted in March Madness. Until they make a run and show that they can compete on the biggest stage in college basketball, other top teams should be hoping to see them in their bracket.
If Tennessee ends up in UConn's region, they would meet in the Elite Eight if they both win every game up to that point. With how Tennessee has looked in March Madness recently, it would be surprising to see them make it that far, and the Huskies could end up seeing a three or seven seed in the Elite Eight. UConn should be hoping that Tennessee is the two seed in their region.
Follow Us
Subscribe