The overall seed, Auburn, lives here. Although Tigers wobbled a bit at the end of the regular season and the Southeastern Conference tournament with three losses in four matches, they still gathered a huge quad 1 victory from a 28-5 spreadsheet.
They can have the country’s best player in Johni Broome, excellent depth and a great motivation tool memory about their first round loss in March last year to Yale in Spokane. Auburn’s best seems to be a little better than everyone else’s best.
Which does not say that others cannot win in this region. Michigan State has excellent balance and a coach (Tom Izzo) who knows a bit about winning in March. Iowa State will suffocate you with defense, and Texas A&M will recover and defend yourself into the floorboards.
Three Sec teams are among the six best seeds, with Ole Miss there on sex. There is even the potential for one of the most exciting first four games in recent memory on Tuesday night when San Diego State Tangles with North Carolina for the right to play Ole Miss.
Highest shot
If there is an area with concern about Auburn, it is a confidence in Broome. He was an average of 26.7 points per match in the last three matches and took 28 shots against Alabama on March 8. Guys like Chad Baker-Mazara, Miles Kelly and Tahaad Pettiford must rise sooner instead of later.
Michigan State played this season as a program with something to prove for the first time in a while. What it proven is that it can make the final four, even without a real guy. But it may need to do better than 30.8 percent of its 3 points – 325: EI Division I – to leave Izzo its second national title.
Games to watch
No. 8 Louisville against No. 9 Creighton. Cardinal’s comeback season After a few years in hell, they find them in the first round against Bluejays and the 7-foot-1 center Ryan Kalkbrenner. Louisville coach Pat Kelsey will need a lot from a high score of Chucky Hepburn and Terrence Edwards Jr.
No. 11 North Carolina against No. 11 San Diego State. Many bracketologists had neither one in the field after they stumbled into their conference tournaments. Instead, Heels and Aztec’s Tuesday evening in Dayton take place for what might be one of the better four games in a while.
No. 5 Michigan against No. 12 UC San Diego. Tritons gives the US’s finest city two NCAA tournament teams. Well-drilled, well-coached and efficient at both ends, they are facing a highest test in the Big Ten tournaments and their twin-7 feet, Danny Wolf and Vladislav Goldin.
GET TO KNOW
Johni Broome, forward, Auburn. The guy who can be the national players of the year was an average of 18.9 points of 51.3 percent shooting, along with 10.6 returns, 3.1 assists and 2.3 blocked shots. No player affects the national structure of a game like him.
Sean Pedulla, guard, Ole Miss. After helping Virginia Tech winning its first ACC tournament two seasons ago, Pedulla has silently supported it with another two good years. During his first season with the rebels, he leads the team in points and helps to help them commit the third fee transformation in Division I.
Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones, UC San Diego. The team leading Division I in the smallest turnover is led by this guy. Tait-Jones was this year’s Big West player after an average of 19.7 points, 5.3 returns and 3.7 assists. He preserved 57.6 percent of his shots from the field.
Spread the news
No. 11 North Carolina is a 3.5-point favorite against San Diego State in the first four Tuesday evening. Taking Heels has played far down the route, albeit against some bad ACC teams. It is tempting to take them and give the point, but the Aztecs have two wins (Houston, Creighton) which is better than any of North Carolina this season. It almost feels like a sucker venture in some way.
No. 4 Texas A&M weighs in as a 7 1/2 point favorite against Ivy League champion Yale. Aggies are not the best shooting team around so their game tends to be close. The bulldogs appeared last year in their upset of Auburn, they can play with anyone on any day. Don’t be afraid to say Boola Boola and take points.
No. 2 Michigan State benefits from 18.5 points in its first round with Bryant. While the bulldogs are more athletic than your average America East Outfit with St. John’s Transfer Rafael Pinzon and Memphis Transfer Earl Timberlake, they are prone to turnover. It doesn’t work so well against Sparty.
In the south
Some wonder if Auburn’s latest picture indicates what it will do in the tournament. Don’t think about this, the gang. The tigers are the total seed # 1 for a reason, and they will show it by cutting down networks at the end of the month to make Final Four for the second time under coach Bruce Pearl.
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