By Aidan Mastandrea
Staff Writer
“Selection Sunday” is one of my favorite days of the year. It’s the start of one of the best months in sports. Teams wait and watch anxiously with the rest of the country as CBS announces who has made “the big dance.” As a little boy, I can remember putting my paper bracket up on the fridge every year. In high school, I sneakily put the games on my computer just to get a taste of the action with my friends.
The year was 2011. That was the year that Virginia Commonwealth University and Butler, two 11 seeds, made the final four. I still remember Butler guard Gordon Hayward’s missed halfcourt shot against Duke to lose in the championship 61-59. That’s what this tournament does — it captivates you. Whether it was a last second heroic shot to send a team to the next round, a polarizing player doing something special or a team with an amazing underdog story making the final four, everyone has a moment that made them fall in love with March.
The passion and emotion that comes in March makes this madness must watch television and this year will be no different. As people fill out their brackets, they will see that Gonzaga and Baylor are both one seeds for the second straight year, as they try to make it back to the championship game again. Kansas and Arizona, after winning the Big-12 and Pac-12 conference tournaments respectively, round out the one seeds.
Controversy arose on Sunday, “Selection Sunday” — as Tennessee will be a three seed this year despite winning the SEC tournament, while Kentucky and Auburn in the SEC are both two seeds. Another surprising moment on Selection Sunday out of the SEC was Texas A&M being left out of the bracket while a team like Michigan, who sputtered out early in the Big Ten tournament, made it safely.
Teams could argue until next season about why they should have made it instead of others, but now, the focus shifts to this Thursday — the day of the first tip off.
My Predictions
West Region
Gonzaga and Duke, the two top seeds in this region, have been powerhouses in the country for years behind head coaches Mark Few and Mike Kryzewski. I, however, have Texas Tech coming out of this region and reaching the final four. Despite their coach leaving in the offseason for cross state rival Texas, the Red Raiders have had a tremendous year — going 25-9 in a tough Big 12 conference with wins over Kansas and Baylor.
Early in the year Gonzaga defeated Texas Tech 69-55 as the Red Raiders had an abysmal shooting night. That being said, Texas Tech being battle-tested in the Big-12 while Gonzaga had an easy conference schedule in the WCC will ultimately be what puts them over the top.
South Region
I believe Arizona is above everyone else's level in this region. Led by National Player of the Year Candidate, Benedict Mathurin, the Wildcats have been dominant this season and are poised to make a deep run. The 12 seed UAB(The University of Alabama at Birmingham) is a team to look out for led by Conference USA player of the year Jordan “Jelly” Walker, and I have them upsetting Houston and making a run to the Sweet 16.
Midwest Region
This region is interesting, as I predict that five teams have a solid case at being the last one standing. Kansas, the one seed for obvious reasons, as they won the Big 12 regular season and conference tournament behind the play of forward Ochai Agbaji. Five seed Iowa went through the gauntlet of the Big Ten this year and led by star Keegan Murray, won their conference tournament.
Wisconsin, the three seed, who also battle-tested out of the Big Ten, was a team nobody saw being as good as they are — but have proven they can beat anyone. Providence, the four seed, had a phenomenal record this season at 25-5, and I believe they can win a championship. However, I have them being upset in the first round by 13 seeded South Dakota State.
With all that said, I have Auburn making it to the Final Four out of the region. When they click, this team may be the best in the country. With future NBA top pick Jabari Smith and UNC transfer Walker Kessler handling things in the paint, and guards K.D Johnson and Wendell Green Jr., this team led by veteran Head Coach Bruce Pearl is dangerous.
East Region
This pick was easy — Kentucky. The Kentucky program has failed me in March’s past when I thought they could win it all, but this year feels different. Coach Calipari has brought in excellent transfers such as Kellan Grady from Davidson and Sahvir Wheeler from Georgia.
None more important, however, than West Virginia transfer Oscar Tshiebwe. Tshiebwe, the front runner for National Player of the Year, averaging 17 points and 15 rebounds per game has been the rock for this Kentucky team all season. I believe they have a fairly easy path to make the Final Four in New Orleans.
I struggle writing this, as putting my predictions out to the world could backfire if I am horribly wrong. But that is the greatness of this tournament. An expert that gets paid to study this sport every day could be very wrong, while the guy that has not watched a game all year and chose his teams based on which mascot was cooler could predict 95 percent of the games correctly.
It truly is madness.
