March Madness Bracket 2021: Beginning Prediction, Final Four Pick in South Zone

NCAA Tournament Bracket Pix: South Zone

Best story

Can the boiler bear reclaim its mojo? See, it’s not as rude as the original “Space Jam” has the Monsters stealing the talents of Barclay, Ewing and LJ, but the Baylor have not been a disastrous defensive team until recently. Many trace this to the program’s three-week COVID stagnation that most of their accounts ate in February, but in fact it goes far beyond that. Every opponent has faced it since the comeback, but has reached at least one point per possession, but Byers already had three of his five opponents, and Oklahoma State had only one smiley in their first meeting Had missed This is a program that allowed the opposition only 0.88 points per trip last season, finishing fourth in Division I, and thus the team started this year. It is speculative that the group of Baylor players was at a peak for some time around January of this season. Or it is possible that facing the same group will often lead to the Big 12 coaches having to adjust. Which will not be a problem in this tournament, at least for the time being.

All-region team

Butler, Mitchell and Robinson-Earl were all part of the Sporting News’ 15-man All-America team. It was painful to leave the dynamic Arkansas freshman Moses Moody.

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Best first round game

No. 8 North Carolina vs. No. 9 Wisconsin. The Badgers brought back the majority of the roster that shared the 2020 Big Ten Championship but seemed to be stable; They went .500 in league play and lost all nine matches against conference opponents, who are above them in the NCAA field. They did not get to play in NCAAS as league champions a year ago, so it would be as close to recovering that experience – if they can remember what made them special. They will have a tough challenge against a North Carolina team that responds to a stunning home defeat to Marquette with four wins in the next five, as the Tar Heels youngster joined up with veteran Armando Bacot and Garrison Brooks who became The deepest frontcourt in college hoops.

Seed too much

Number 7 Florida. The line is very rich for the Gators, whose profile seems designed to gain a spot in the game of around 8-9. The Gators were clearly rewarded for avoiding Quad 4 opponents (they faced only one) and for an SEC / Big 12 Challenge win over West Virginia. They finished 14-9, around 40th in the KenPom rankings on both offense and defense. What’s odd, though, is that they would play a No. 10 seed Virginia Tech team that also looked like it was in an 8-9 game. The only difference is that, instead of the winner facing the No. 1 seed in the second round, it would certainly be watching No. 2 Ohio State.

Seed too low

Number 14 Colgate. This committee had little to base their decisions on with the Raiders, who did not play non-conference games and thus gave very little data to everyone by which the team was judged. The NCAA’s own net ranking put the Raiders in 9th place in the country through some statistical quicks that no one who understands is likely to explain. They rank 84th on KenPom.com in Ken Pomoy’s rating, making them the 52nd-largest team to field, placing them 13th. It is unclear what edge North Texas got for that location.

IYER: Using KenPom Ranking to Take Upset, Final Four

Upset special

Purdue at Baylor in Sweet 16. The Boilermakers have a variety of ways in which they can play, including using Travis Williams as a low-post specialist or 7-4 freshman Zach Eddy as a complete change in pace. Freshman wing Jaden Ivey is becoming a game-changing player; Since 1 February, he has gone for double figures in every game, but one. He is still not a consistent shooter, but he is willing to take big shots – and does a lot of them.

Best possible game

No. 2 Ohio State vs. No. 6 Texas Tech in the Sweet 16. It seems that every Game Buckeyes game is a classic, with the Big Ten regular-season champion Michigan at the end of February for their conference tournament semifinals against Illinois at Purdue, which needed overtime. It seems like every game Tech is a classic, with their 76–71 return from a one-point December loss to Kansas against Texas to defeat their one-point Big 12 tournament against LSU. If we get this game, what should we expect but a classic?

Field Construction:
WEST | East | MIDWEST

Best possible player matchup

Jeremiah Robinson-Earl of Villanova vs. Trevion Williams of Purdue, in the second round. Robinson-Earl has not had much of a season in which he was capable; He was still voted third team All-America by Sporting News, showing how vast his talent really is. He is a more mobile big man than Williams, who is capable of doing strep as well as baseline work. Williams is big back-to-the-basket with a full package of skills, especially his low-post moves, and also a tremendous vision as a passer-by. Wildcats coach Jay Wright wants to keep Robinson-Earl away from Williams to avoid foul risk, but that would probably be the most appropriate matchup

Learn

Arkansas Freshman Wing Moses Moody. 6-6 Moody easily grew up in Little Rock and performed well above his estimates – unlike many of the players rated above him in the recruiting class in 2020. He was ranked 45th in his class by 247Sports, but Moody immediately became unavoidable for the Razorbacks, shooting an average of 34 minutes, 17.4 points and 5.9 rebounds per game and 37.9 percent from long range. He was named the SEC’s Freshman of the Year and the league’s bloated (eight-man) all-conference team. They would have made it if the league had done as they had done and only picked five.

Do not be surprised if. . .

The No. 12 seed Winthrop Eagles are able to thwart Jay Wright’s Villanova Wildcats, who won two of the four most recent NCAA championships. The Eagles performed stormily through their schedule with a 23–1 record, but were only able to play two non-conference games. One of them was a win over Southern Conference champion UNC-Greensboro, which earned the No. 13 seed in the East Region. The Eagles won their three conference tournament games at an average of 26 points. This type of dominance is rare in leagues like the Big South, but it is obviously a special group. And it will play the role of a Villanova team, lost to the future with a knee injury after losing twice to star point guard Colin Gillespie.

Sleeper team

No. 8 North Carolina. We’ve all heard of the year how awful the ACC is compared to other leagues and especially their own history. Well, there is definitely no Jordan-Worth-Perkins in the league, or a Laettner-Hurley-Hill. But no one found a team full of top-10 draft picks and experience. What matters is how the ACC compares to the competition. This Carolina team received more from its freshmen (Caleb Love, De’Reon Sharp, RJ Davis, and, more recently, Walker Kessler). An extended NCAA run will accelerate their development.

Last four pick

Purpose. Going deep into this area is a risk for the Final Four pick. To get to that stage of the tournament, the Boilers will have to face Big East champion Villanova, Big 12 champion boiler and perhaps Arkansas, Texas Tech or Big Ten runners-up Ohio State. So, yes, it will not be easy. They are young, deep and perhaps a year away from fielding a true championship contender. They would not have gone into any other bracket. But the opponents’ lineup seems right to get them through the expected four games.