Miami head coach Jim Larrañaga was quick to squash any hopes for Miami fans that their star guard Bruce Brown will be available to play in the NCAA tournament.
“No,” Larrañaga said. “He hasn’t played in six weeks. It will take him six weeks to rehab the foot so he can go. You go into the NCAA tournament and play Bruce Brown, you think he’ll play hard? You darn right. That would put him in danger of reinjuring it. There’s no chance that he’ll play Thursday.”
Larrañaga also said that Brown was to get an evaluation on Monday morning.
Missouri forward Jordan Barnett has been suspended following a DWI arrest last weekend.
With Barnett out, this opens up the door for Michael Porter Jr. to step in and start. Martin would not confirm if that is the plan.
“He will be out and it’ll be the next man (in) and we keep moving,” Martin said Sunday, via the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “It’s what it is. We’ve managed to get to this point. You have (Michael Porter Jr.) there in the fold. Jordan’s out, Mike’s in. I’m not sure how we’ll start lineups. I don’t know about that.”
Barnett will be allowed to travel and practice with the team during the suspension, and he will only be out for one game. If Missouri wins and gets to the second round, Barnett will be able to play against what will liking be Xavier.
John Calipari is not hopeful that one of his stars, freshman Jarred Vanderbilt, will be available to play this weekend.
Vanderbilt suffered a sprained ankle prior to the start of the SEC tournament.
“My guess would be hard this weekend,” Calipari said, via SEC Country. “He wants to play but I just don’t see it right now, putting him in there and being comfortable about it.”
“He knows if he’s not able to go full bore, I’m not playing him — for him or for us. If he’s at 85-90 percent, I don’t think I play him. He’s proven who he is as a player, but more importantly, anyone that steps on that court that can’t bring it, these tournament games are life and death and the other team is gonna bring it.”
Vanderbilt’s integration into the Kentucky lineup sparked a late-season surge for the Wildcats, but Kentucky went on to win the SEC tournament without him.
Brian Snow joined Rob Dauster for another stirring rendition of the Why Your Team Sucks podcast, only this time they breakdown the entire NCAA tournament bracket, giving picks for every single game and even giving you a full bracket to use for your convenience. The rundown:
OPEN: The South Region
17:35: The West Region
33:15: The Midwest Region
48:20: The East Region
1:00:50: The Final Four
The Midwest Region immediately became the most intriguing in the tournament when three of college basketball’s powerhouses — Kansas, Duke and Michigan State — were all placed there.
And what made it even more interesting is that the four, five and six seeds in that part of the bracket are just kind of whatever.
Auburn, Clemson and TCU were teams that I was always planning on picking to lose in the first round of the tournament before the brackets came out, and they all ended up in the same spot.
So we’ll see how that plays out.
But I will say this: I’m not sure that there will be a more expensive ticket for the second weekend of the tournament that for what it will cost you to get in the door in Omaha.
With Kansas and Michigan State drivable from campus and Duke fans spread throughout the entire country, it will be loud and crowded in the CenturyLink Center.
THREE STORYLINES
- How much attention is going to be paid to off-the-court issues?: This is the bracket of distraction. Michigan State was dealing with the fallout of the Outside The Lines report on sexual assaults within the athletic department before Yahoo’s report that Miles Bridges accepted impermissible benefits. Auburn has had two players miss the entire season and could lose head coach Bruce Pearl for their involvement in the FBI investigation. And if you talk to people in basketball circles, the most shocking thing about the FBI’s involvement in the sport is that Kansas has more or less been kept out of it. Throw in the presence of Trae Young, and you have to wonder what percentage of the conversation about this region is going to be about basketball?
- Duke solved their issues, can Michigan State?: Duke went to a zone to combat the problems that they had on the defensive end of the floor, and it changed them from a tantalizing team without any potential to quite possibly the best team in the country. The Spartans are just as tantalizing, and Tom Izzo has had two weeks to try and solve the problems that are inherent in his team.
- Is Udoka Azubuike healthy?: Kansas lacks depth in their front court already, and now the guy that’s taken over the roll of low-post hoss is dealing with a sprained MCL? Yikes. The good news is that Kansas can probably survive without him until the Elite 8. Rest up, big fella.
THE ELITE 8 MATCHUP IS … No. 1 Kansas vs. No. 2 Duke
The way this bracket broke for Kansas is nice. They’ll have some trouble with Seton Hall if that matchup comes to fruition because Seton Hall is tough and physical, especially in the paint, but I can’t see either Auburn or Clemson really challenging the Jayhawks in the Sweet 16. Michigan State-Duke in the Sweet 16 would be a terrific rematch of a game played earlier this season in the Champions Classic, but that matchup would not be in Michigan State’s favor this time around. They really don’t pass it well, especially their big men, and that’s the thing that you need to do to be able to break down that Blue Devil zone.
THE FINAL FOUR SLEEPER IS … No One
I’m sorry, but there just isn’t one in this region. I’m not picking a short-handed Auburn team with no size to make a run. I’m not picking a Clemson team that lacks high-end talent to make a run. I’m not picking TCU to beat Michigan State, then Duke, then Kansas. Do you think Trae Young can win four games in March? I don’t.
HERE ARE YOUR UPSETS
- No. 12 New Mexico State over No. 5 Clemson: This is last year’s version of Middle Tennessee State vs. Minnesota. The Aggies have some high-major talent on the roster while Clemson lost Donte Grantham and just has not been impressive to me this season.
- No. 13 Charleston over No. 4 Auburn: The way to beat Auburn is to overpower them in the paint, and Charleston does not have the bigs that can do that. They do, however, have a sensational back court in Grant Riller and Joe Chealey. I think Auburn can be beaten, and I think Charleston has the horses to out-Auburn Auburn.
BUT DON’T PICK THIS UPSET
I already have to pick one of Arizona State or Syracuse to win in the play-in game. I cannot imagine a scenario where I would pick one of those two teams to win two games in a row.
THE STUDS
- MARVIN BAGLEY III, Duke: Have you heard of him?
- DEVONTE’ GRAHAM, Kansas: There is an argument to be made that he had a better season this season and was more important for this Kansas team than Frank Mason III was last year.
- MILES BRIDGES, Michigan State: He was the preseason National Player of the Year, and while he has not quite lived up to the hype, the hype wasn’t necessarily warranted. He’s a very good year in his role.
THE STARS OF MARCH
- ANGEL DELGADO, Seton Hall: If Seton Hall can get past N.C. State in the first round, I think they’ll have a chance against a depleted Kansas front line because Delgado is an absolute monster in the paint. If Azubuike is out he might grab 30 rebounds.
- ZACH LOFTON, New Mexico State: Lofton has been to five schools since his freshman season as San Jacinto JC in 2012. He’s now in the NCAA tournament and averaging 19 points for the Aggies.
ONE GAME TO WATCH
While NMSU is the most likely upset, I do think that Auburn-Charleston is going to be the most aesthetically-pleasing first round game in the Midwest.
ONE GAME THAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN
We really need Duke to run the gauntlet here: No. 10 Oklahoma in the second round, No. 3 Michigan State in the Sweet 16 and No. 1 Kansas in the Elite 8. Make it happen, basketball gods.
AND THE WINNER IS …
Duke. For my money, the winner of a Final Four matchup between Villanova and Duke is going to win the national title.
For me, the West Region is the most interesting of them all, and for some reason, it feels like it plays out this way every year.
It starts with the simple fact that Chris Mack, the head coach of the No. 1 seed Xavier Musketeers, has never made a Final Four. He’s also never been a No. 1 seed before, so if he is in the mood to end his personal bugaboos, this may be the last time we mention his name in the “Best Coach Without A Final Four” category.
But if Xavier is going to make it to the final weekend of the college basketball season, they are likely going to have to go through at least one of a trio of Hall of Fame-caliber coaches to do it.
Mark Few and Gonzaga is the No. 4 seed in the West.
John Beilein and Michigan is the No. 3 seed.
Roy Williams and North Carolina is the No. 2 seed.
There are a lot of wins — and a lot of wins in March — on the resumes of those gentlemen.
We shall see how it all works out. Until then, enjoy what should be the most open region of them all.
THREE STORYLINES
- Is this the last we’ll see of Chris Mack at Xavier?: Ooooh boy, are Xavier fans not going to like me for this. But at this point, I think it may be the biggest question of the region. It’s not a secret that Louisville has an opening, nor is it a secret that Louisville and Mack may have a mutual interest in each other. The fit makes sense. Will Mack be willing to leave his alma mater to take over a program that could be facing another lengthy NCAA investigation?
- Mark Few and Roy Williams are back in the mix again: Few and Williams squared off for the national title last April, and I think everyone more or less assumed that both of those teams would take a step back this year with the unexpected talent drain and the loss of key seniors. But they’re back, Roy Williams as the No. 2 seed and Few as the No. 4. There’s a reason Williams is in the Hall of Fame, and there’s a reason that Few will likely end up joining him there one day.
- Which Michael Porter Jr. is going to show up?: Porter is back. He played in the SEC tournament opener. He looked like a kid that missed four months following back surgery. I’m not sure what a week-long layoff without any games is going to do for someone that needs game-action to shake off the rust, but here we are. The good news? There’s absolutely nothing scary about Florida State as a No. 9 seed. Porter should get two more games.
THE ELITE 8 MATCHUP IS … No. 1 Xavier vs. No. 2 North Carolina
This is the hardest Elite 8 matchup to pick because the Sweet 16 out West should be tremendous. Xavier-Gonzaga has the chance to be a shootout with Trevon Bluiett going up against a trio of versatile, athletic future NBA forwards, while North Carolina-Michigan is a matchup between an offensive juggernaut winning games with their defense and a team known for their overpowering big men playing small(ish) ball.
THE FINAL FOUR SLEEPER IS … No. 6 Houston
It’s hard to pick a sleeper in this region because I don’t think that any of the top four seeds can count as sleepers. I also don’t think that Ohio State gets out of the first round (more on that in a second) or that Texas A&M has the guard play to do anything of relevance. So I’ll go with Kelvin Sampson and the Cougars, who have one of college basketball’s most underrated lead guards in Rob Gray — who has one of college basketball’s most underrated hairdos — and that came one errant pass away from potentially ending Championship Week with an AAC tournament title. They’re coming in hot, and you know how much I love picking teams that are doing just that.
HERE ARE YOUR UPSETS
- No. 12 South Dakota State over No. 5 Ohio State: This is my favorite upset pick of the entire bracket. The Jackrabbits have the four things that I think you need to have to win a game as a smaller school: 1. A stud in Mike Daum; 2. A team that shoots the leather off the ball; 3. A back court that doesn’t commit turnovers; 4. A front line that clears the defensive glass. Throw in the fact that Ohio State’s bigs are immobile, and this has upset written all over it.
- No. 10 Providence over No. 7 Texas A&M: Ed Cooley is a masterful head coach who has a sensational point guard in Kyron Cartwright going up against a team that has had their back court miss more games than they’ve played.
- No. 11 San Diego State over No. 6 Houston: The only team in the country that may actually be hotter than Houston right now is San Diego State. They beat MWC regular season champ Nevada by 30 in the conference tournament and are playing their best basketball in years.
BUT DON’T PICK THIS UPSET
I think it’s very difficult to picture a scenario where Michigan is not in the Sweet 16. Their point guard, Zavier Simpson, can absolutely snuff out any kind of success that an opposing ball-handler will have, and both Montana and Houston are teams whose best players is the lead guard. That’s a tough matchup for them.
THE STUDS
- TREVON BLUIETT, Xavier: There is not a player in the tournament that I feel more comfortable saying will put the team on his back for three, four, five or six games than Bluiett.
- JOEL BERRY II, North Carolina: Luke Maye is UNC’s all-american, but Berry is their rock, their heartbeat, their soul. He’s all the clichés.
- MOE WAGNER, Michigan: Wagner is going to be a March darling if the Wolverines make a run because of his story: He’s German, he plays like Dirk and he also has a big goofy smile on his face that makes him look like the world’s largest nine-year old.
THE STARS OF MARCH
- MIKE DAUM, South Dakota State: The big fella averaged 24 points and 10 boards while shooting better than 41 percent from three, and he plays on a team that could very well end up winning a game or two in the Big Dance.
- KYRON CARTWRIGHT, Providence: The Friars aren’t exactly a mid-major, but they are a No. 10 seed that has a chance to win a couple of games.
ONE GAME TO WATCH
For me, the best first round matchup is between Ohio State and South Dakota State, but I also think that Houston-San Diego State has a chance to be really good as well.
ONE GAME THAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN
I just want the Sweet 16 out West to be the top four seeds. All the matchups in that situation would be perfect.
AND THE WINNER IS …
North Carolina. I’ll bet on Joel Berry II, Roy Williams and the Tar Heels, but you can pick any of the top four seeds and I’d probably be fine with it.
Bagikan Berita Ini
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