Ranking the regions

[Alsacs]

Hardest regions in order for me.

1. East
2. Midwest
3. South
4. West

1. The East is loaded
Michigan has the toughest bracket
LSU should have Florida’s seed.
St. Bona is a conference champ.

4 seed Florida State
Lower half
2 seed Alabama conference champ
3 seed Texas conference

This region is the hardest to pick.

2. Midwest
Illinois didn’t get an easy region
Loyola-Georgia Tech is a tough second round game.

They got the best 4 seed in Oklahoma State

Bottom half

2 seed Houston conference champ
3 West Virginia good team.


3. South
Baylor didn’t get the hardest bracket.

I think UNC gets love but they will lose to Wisconsin and Baylor is fine with them.

4 seed Purdue is a solid team but not scary for Baylor.

2 seed Ohio State
3 seed Arkansas
These teams aren’t too tough for Baylor.

4. West
Gonzaga got a cakewalk.

Oklahoma-Missouri is frisky second round opponent.

4 seed Virginia already got destroyed by Gonzaga.

Bottom half
2 seed Iowa got destroyed by Gonzaga
3 seed Kansas got destroyed by Gonzaga.

I think the Zags bracket is the only one I am not really worried about.

 

[Cusefan0307]

I think this is the year the Zags finally get it done.

 

[bballbeadle]

I think this is the year the Zags finally get it done.

I actually hope they do. It’s a good story.

 

[orangenauburn]

I think this is the year the Zags finally get it done.

I have Virginia topping them.

It's been a long time since they played. Virginia got better as the year went along. Gonzaga played lesser comp and haven't been tested since.

I see Virginia getting payback.

 

[Cusefan0307]

I have Virginia topping them.

It's been a long time since they played. Virginia got better as the year went along. Gonzaga played lesser comp and haven't been tested since.

I see Virginia getting payback.

It could happen, but that would be a huge upset. Gonzaga is going to be a 10-12 point favorite even against UVA, a 12-14 point favorite against Kansas and a 5-6 point favorite against Iowa in that region. BYU is comparable to UVA and Kansas and they couldn’t keep it in single digits. If Gonzaga plays like they did in December there will be no team that can beat them.

 

[Ggaenzle]

I have Virginia topping them.

It's been a long time since they played. Virginia got better as the year went along. Gonzaga played lesser comp and haven't been tested since.

I see Virginia getting payback.

Virginia will feel the wrath of Jason Preston and lose in the first round

 

[ROCuse]

I think this is the year the Zags finally get it done.

I know it's petty but I don't like the thought of another school/coach getting their first and catching up to Syracuse/JB. It'd be so much easier if Syracuse had '87, '03, '10, and '13. Then, in good faith, I could cheer for some of these other schools to get one.

 

[Jasoncuse]

Gonzaga vs Illinois

 

[bpo57]

It is incredible how soft the West region is. I'm not sure I'd put any of 2-16 in the top ten. Virginia has covid issues and are not that good anyway. If Gonzaga gets beat it will be by a more athletic team and UVA and Iowa don't fit that description. KU is possible but they have covid issues too. It's almost as if they wanted to make sure that the undefeated storyline travels into the F4.

 

[Cusefan0307]

It is incredible how soft the West region is. I'm not sure I'd put any of 2-16 in the top ten. Virginia has covid issues and are not that good anyway. If Gonzaga gets beat it will be by a more athletic team and UVA and Iowa don't fit that description. KU is possible but they have covid issues too. It's almost as if they wanted to make sure that the undefeated storyline travels into the F4.

Yeah I tend to think the only teams that can beat Gonzaga are Illinois and Baylor. Michigan had a shot until Livers got hurt.

 

[bpo57]

It could happen, but that would be a huge upset. Gonzaga is going to be a 10-12 point favorite even against UVA, a 12-14 point favorite against Kansas and a 5-6 point favorite against Iowa in that region. BYU is comparable to UVA and Kansas and they couldn’t keep it in single digits. If Gonzaga plays like they did in December there will be no team that can beat them.

I'd say UVA will be the biggest dog of those three at 12-14 with the other two just inside ten.

 

[Cusefan0307]

I'd say UVA will be the biggest dog of those three at 12-14 with the other two just inside ten.

I was just going by KenPom and correlating to what it would open at. Kansas is about 1.5 points worse per 100 possessions than Virginia according to the numbers.

 

[bpo57]

I was just going by KenPom and correlating to what it would open at. Kansas is about 1.5 points worse per 100 possessions than Virginia according to the numbers.

Maybe it will play out that way, not sure. My logic is based on the fact that KU plays in a much tougher league than UVA, played Gonzaga a lot tougher when they met than UVA did and is less of a dog to win the NCAAT (+3500 vs +4000).

 

[Briancuse]

Virginia will feel the wrath of Jason Preston and lose in the first round

I have Ohio in the s16.

 

[bpo57]

I have Ohio in the s16.

that line has gone from 10 to 7.

 

[Newhouser]

Seems to me too many people are on the Ohio bandwagon. I tend not to trust any conference tournament winner in the real tourney as I think it is hard to maintain winning streaks.

 

[EnviroSciGuy]

Yeah I tend to think the only teams that can beat Gonzaga are Illinois and Baylor. Michigan had a shot until Livers got hurt.

Cuse.