March is Here, and Madness will Ensue

March Madness, college basketball’s NCAA tournament, has fans on the edge of their seats for a month. It is the craziest, wildest, and—according to some—the most exciting event in sports. This year’s tournament is full of elite title contenders, dark horses that can make a big run, and Cinderella hopefuls who may be on the bubble. Before all the craziness begins, we want to give you some insight so that you can keep up with the results, enjoy the action on TV, and maybe even win your March Madness bracket pool.

These are four dark horses that we think can make a big run in the tournament:

Maryland Terrapins

The Terps have one of the most talented rosters in the country, led by top-five center Bruno Fernando and former All-Big Ten point guard Anthony Cowan. They were ranked in the top-15 earlier in the year, climbing all the way up to 13th before dropping two in a row. Lately, they have been inconsistent, with a 5-6 record in their last 11 games. They are the fifth youngest team in the country according to Kenpom, and they have relied on their top 10 recruiting class to build a supporting cast around Fernando and Cowan. The jewel of the class, Jalen Smith, has struggled at times. However, when he scored more than 15 points, the Terps went 10-0. It is not a question of talent with this team, but whether the coaching staff can handle the young team and create open looks, as they have struggled to run good sets and consistent offense. They often go through scoring droughts that lead to losses against higher caliber teams. Often, these droughts have been at the start of games and at halves. This highlights Mark Turgeon and his staff’s inability to create positive in-game adjustments. If the Terps can live up to their potential, they have a good shot to be a second weekend team in this year’s tournament.

Wofford Terriers

Wofford has burst onto the college basketball scene, winning an astonishing 18 games in a row, beginning with their win against WCU on December 29. They are not the most battle- tested team, which is shown by the fact that their strength of schedule is ranked 128th. They play in a relatively weak conference, the Southern Conference. They have a record of 27-4 this season, and they know how to close out wins. They are led by a variety of upperclassmen, including Fletcher Magee, the undisputed Southern Conference player of the year who averages over 20 points per games. Experts are placing their faith in Wofford heading into the tournament because of their record in the difficult games they have played. Wofford is 3-4 in quadrant one games, which are games against college basketball’s best teams. Projected fifth seed, Virginia Tech is only 4-7 in such games.

Auburn Tigers

On senior day, Auburn’s seniors went out with a bang, defeating fifth-ranked Tennessee in the last home game of their college careers. Auburn has relied on its four starting seniors to carry the team all season. Senior guard Bryce Brown has averaged about 16 points per game, with the majority of his points coming from threes. His ability to score double-digits in just minutes gives opposing teams something to fear when playing against the Tigers and allows the Tigers to compete with anybody and come back from heavy deficits. The tremendous defense that they play (averaging 9.2 steals per game) lets this team get out, run in transition, and shoot a high clip from beyond the arc (37.5 percent), making the Tigers a dangerous team in the tournament. Bruce Pearl had his Tigers all the way in the top 10 midway through the season. However, as Auburn’s schedule got tougher, they started to fade. They bounced back, finishing the year with four consecutive wins, solidifying their bid for the title. In an extremely difficult SEC, they finished with an 11-7 record, and their upperclassmen will look to cement their legacy in Auburn as they try to make a strong run in the NCAA tournament.

Syracuse Orange

Syracuse has made a habit of making unexpected big runs in the Big Dance. Led by guards OJ Howard and Tyus Battle, the Orange have shown flashes of the elite team they’re projected to be. They beat Duke at Cameron in a huge signature victory, though Duke was playing without starting point guard Tre Jones. Coach Jim Boeheim has been one of the most successful coaches in college basketball history, but his team has not lived up to the hype this season. Whatever happens, the Orange will be hungry to make a big splash in March Madness.

There are four teams that we think will disappoint in the NCAA tournament:

Kentucky Wildcats:

The Wildcats are a tremendous team with immense upside and the ceiling of a final four team. However, without Reid Travis, or the star center, for the last five games, the Wildcats have looked nothing more than ordinary with no top 25 wins. Though PJ Washington is an extremely skilled player, his recent performances have looked lackluster without Travis’s help. He has been extremely inconsistent as of late. This is a feature that serves as a red flag for an upset. Inconsistency is the most likely cause for any early exit in the NCAA tournament. Freshman guard Tyler Herro is a terrific free throw shooter, and he can be a huge boost down the stretch when they are winning big. The Wildcats are a terrific team with immense talent, but oftentimes the most talented team doesn’t make the final four, which is why this inexperienced team may not be able to get essential wins when it matters most.

Kansas Jayhawks:

When the first AP Poll came out, Kansas was ranked number one in the country. However, a 48-point loss to Duke in their first game of the season certainly changed their outlook on the season. Things for the Jayhawks even got worse as star big man Udoka Azubuike went down with a right knee injury in the middle of the season. He was their leading scorer and rebounder. With Azubuike out, Guard Lagerald Vick stepped up to keep the Jayhawks afloat. However, with five regular season games remaining, he left the team for unknown reasons. With their two leading scorers out, Kansas did not win a share of the Big 12 title for the first time in 15 years. Going into the postseason, the Jayhawks are reeling, losing four of their last six games. The inexperience will take a toll on their depleted roster and freshmen Devon Dotson and Quentin Grimes, none of whom have developed a consistent outside shot; both will be outshone by the premier guards in the tournament.

LSU Tigers:

LSU has been one of the surprise teams this season. Led by point guard Tremont Waters and projected to be a top 10 pick in this summer’s NBA Draft, Nazreon Reid, LSU is looking to continue its impressive season. LSU claimed their first SEC title in almost 10 years and have defeated both Tennessee and Kentucky this season. However, there have been signs of them slowing down as of lately. Florida, a bubble team that will most likely not get into the tournament, took them to overtime. But, most importantly, Will Wade, their head coach, was suspended indefinitely and not allowed to speak to the team after the FBI accused him of making players talk to high school recruits so they would commit to LSU. One of these players is former number one overall pick and Philadelphia 76ers star point guard, Ben Simmons. With their inexperience in the postseason as well as a depleted coaching staff and the young players they rely on, LSU won’t be able to quiet the outside noise and focus on basketball in the postseason. The scandal will affect their play and lead to an early round exit.

Purdue Boilermakers:

Led by the leading scorer in the conference, Carsen Edwards, the Boilermakers are looking to avenge their early round upset last year and make a deep run in the tournament. After preseason projections had them finishing eighth in the Big 10, the Boilermakers won the Big 10 title. Though they were given a soft schedule to end the year, Purdue only lost three games in conference play. But, they rely too much on Carsen Edwards. He takes over 40 percent of the Boilermakers’ shots, and Purdue does not have a proven second scorer to take the weight off of Edwards’s shoulders. In March Madness, teams will make a game plan to stop the Boilermakers’ leading scorer, and they will have no one else to turn to. Though their defense, led by Nojel Eastern, has been elite this season, the Boilermakers will not make enough shots to help Edwards out and make a deep run in this year’s NCAA tournament.

Final Four Prediction:

East Region Winner: Duke Blue Devils

Led by a freshman class that included the three top-rated high school seniors in the country, Duke was billed as one of the best teams college basketball has seen in years. Stephen A. Smith even went so far as to say that “We are looking at a team that could go undefeated.” However, the Blue Devils have been plagued by injuries down the stretch and have lost three out of their last four games, almost losing to a lowly 11-17 Wake Forest team. First, it was star point guard Tre Jones, the number one point guard in the 2018 high school class and who missed three games due to injury. Now, athletic freak and surefire first overall draft pick in this upcoming NBA draft, or Zion WIlliamson, has missed the last three. However, the Blue Devils will hopefully get themselves back on track heading into the NCAA tournament. The only question that remains on the team sheet is Marques Bolden, who went down with an MCL Sprain in Duke’s loss to North Carolina. Some also question if Duke is too inexperienced to be able to win the championship on the national level. Led by four freshmen, their young players will have to grow up fast to make a big run in March. However, they are easily the most talented team in the tournament, and they should be considered favorites.

South Region Winner: Tennessee Volunteers

Under head coach Rick Barnes, the Vols have gone 27-4 in conference play, finishing second in the SEC to LSU. The Vols are magnificent at home, as they have just one home loss throughout the season. They boast a fearsome duo in Grant Williams, who is a junior forward, and Admiral Schofield, who is a senior guard. They combine for about 36 points per game. This duo is great at getting to the free throw line and then hitting their shots there (about 81 percent from the line). This combination of power and touch alongside their experience as upperclassmen provides a daunting task for any opponent. With the great passing of Jordan Bone (a junior guard and who averages six assists per game) and tremendous rebounding of Williams and Kyle Alexander, a senior forward, the Vols are a formidable opponent. The Vols can also threaten in transition, as Bone is one of the fastest players in the NCAA. With their tremendous fire power, the Vols can beat anybody come the NCAA tournament and are the most complete team in the entire tournament.

West Region Winner: Gonzaga Bulldogs

Every year, it seems that Gonzaga, led by head coach Mark Few, is an elite title contender. However, by the time they get to the tournament, they often fall short of the ultimate goal. The closest they came was in 2017, when they lost to North Carolina in the National Championship. Playing in one of the weakest divisions in the country, Gonzaga has the lowest strength of schedule of premier teams at 61st in the country. However, during the non-conference schedule, Gonzaga handed Duke their first loss of the season in the Maui Jim Maui Invitational. The Zags are led by sophomore Rui Hachimura, who looks like a lottery pick in this upcoming NBA Draft. Josh Perkins, the senior starting point guard, has been an elite threat from behind the arc, while he also finds open looks for his teammates. Though their strength of schedule is not elite, the Zags have proven their ability to succeed in this tournament in recent years. Though they just lost the West Coast Conference Tournament Championship, this may serve as a good wake-up call and bring them back down to earth.

Midwest Region Winner: North Carolina Tar Heels

The Tar Heels were not playing up to expectations earlier in the season. Things began to change as the calendar grew closer to March and as the Tar Heels started to flip the page on their early-season struggles. They have risen all the way to the third-ranking team in the AP Polls. In the last few weeks, they have beaten Duke twice, once at home and once on the road. Some of the players who were expected to be big contributors, such as Nassir Little, have been demoted to smaller roles throughout the season. Little, who has come on solidly at the stretch, was expected to be the most talented player on the Tar Heels squad, coming in as the fifth best high school senior according to ESPN. However, Coby White, the starting freshman point guard, and Cameron Johnson, the starting power forward, have led the way for North Carolina’s impressive turnaround. Hall of Fame Coach Roy Williams has also pushed all the right buttons in order to make his team successful; he has taken a team that was getting blown out in their own building by 40 to a perennial title contender.