Illustration by Sean Rogers
One of the most exciting college sports events is upon us, the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, otherwise known as March Madness. This season in college basketball has been extremely entertaining. With teams moving conferences, to the number of upsets this season, it definitely keeps you on your toes. Here are some of the teams that have potential to make a run in the tournament.
UCONN has been at the top of the AP poll for six consecutive weeks. There is no doubt that they are a team to be reckoned with this season. Their five starters average 10+ points a game, and one of their biggest strengths is their depth from the bench. Leading the team are senior guards, Tristen Newton and Cam Spencer. They are 25-3, making them #1 in the Big East Conference. They lost at #5 Kansas, at unranked Seton Hall, and recently at #15 Creighton. They have won against five ranked opponents, all of those games being home games for the Huskies. However, the Big East Conference is currently ranked sixth for strength of schedule. This is significant leading into the tournament, where they will have to face harder opponents more frequently.
The conference currently leading the rankings in strength of schedule this year is the Big 12 Conference. Any game in the Big 12 Conference is an entertaining one to watch. Most of the teams in this conference have been losing when on the road, but often win at home. With 9/12 teams being ranked in the AP top 25 poll this season, these will likely be the teams to watch during the tournament as nine of the teams are projected to make it into the tournament.
Leading the Big 12 with a conference record of 11-3 is the Houston Cougars. Leading the Cougars are senior guards L.J. Cryer and Jamal Shead. Cryer and Shead are averaging 15 and 13.3 points per game respectively. Despite their hard conference, the cougars have only lost on the road against unranked Iowa State and TCU in close games. They also lost at #8 Kansas by 13 points. Houston and Kansas are set for a rematch at Houston before March Madness begins. However, they have one less win against ranked opponents compared to UCONN. Houston has won against 4 ranked opponents so far compared to UCONN’s five, but two of those wins were away. This is impressive considering other teams inability to do so. Despite this, Houston will remain a strong contender for the national championship, and will likely hold a #1 seed going into the tournament.
Another team from the Big 12 to look out for is the Kansas Jayhawks. The Jayhawks have remained in the AP top 10 for the entire season. However, they have had some tough losses during conference play. Five out of their six losses were on the road, adding to the narrative that playing Big 12 teams on the road is tough. One unique thing about Kansas is that they have the most wins against ranked teams this season with seven wins. These include wins against UCONN and Houston. However, their leading scorer, Kevin McCullar Jr. has been battling a knee injury for several weeks, and it is likely that he will have to play through the pain during March Madness. Luckily, the Jayhawks still have Hunter Dickinson, who averages 18.3 points per game, and usually doesn’t have a game where he doesn’t get a double-double. Their guard Dajuan Harris is usually referred to as the “best point guard in the nation” by several ESPN announcers and critics, averaging 6.5 assists per game. The Jayhawks are trying to get more out of their bench, especially with McCullar Jr. injured, and they face a challenging rest of the season as they must face #25 BYU at home, and #11 Baylor, and #2 Houston on the road. It is likely that they will be a #2 seed going into the tournament.
An additional team I think will be fun to watch includes the Marquette Eagles. They’ve beaten four ranked teams, one of those being #1 Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse, where Kansas is 765-110 (.874) overall. The Eagles are 12-4 in conference play, and are second behind UCONN in the Big East. They are led by Kam Jones (15.8 ppg) and Tyler Kolek (15.1 ppg, and 7.7 assists per game). One thing about Marquette that stands out is their ability behind the three point arc, where some of their players have impressive three-point percentages when they’re on their game. If they carry this into the tournament, they’ll be a strong competitor.
Of course, there are many other teams that have a decent shot at a national championship. These include Purdue, North Carolina, Duke, Arizona, Creighton, Iowa State, and Baylor. March Madness also wouldn’t be March Madness without a Cinderella story, so there is that to look out for as well. There have been many upsets so far this season, and it is likely that this trend will continue moving forward. March will be nothing short of mad this year, and I am excited to see who will lift the national championship trophy at the end.
