Gonzaga, UNC start journey near home
San Diego State, Providence poised to challenge higher seeds
Xavier came up just short of the Final Four a year ago, losing to eventual finalist Gonzaga in the Elite Eight.
The Musketeers could be poised to break through this season.
Following one of the best regular seasons in program history, Xavier earned its first NCAA Tournament
No. 1 seeding despite losing in the Big East Tournament semifinals.
The Musketeers (28-5) are No. 1 in the West Region and will face the First Four winner between North Carolina Central and Texas Southern on Thursday in Nashville.
Here are things to know about the West Region:
Carolina close to home
It has become an NCAA Tournament tradition: North Carolina opening close to home.
The Tar Heels, the No. 2 seed in the West, will face No. 15 seed Lipscomb in Charlotte on Thursday despite losing 10 games.
North Carolina opened last year’s NCAA Tournament in Greenville, South Carolina, on the way to the national title and played its first two games in Raleigh in 2016. The Tar Heels are 33-1 in NCAA Tournament games in their state, the loss coming in 1979.
North Carolina (25-10), No. 12 in the AP Top 25, tied for third during the ACC regular season at 11-7 and won nine of 11 before losing to topranked Virginia in Saturday’s ACC title game. chance.
He was always going to choose the state of Texas and being closer to his three daughters, always going to side on the allure of Big 12 power and riches, always going to embrace Power 5 over Mountain West.
Doomed from start
It has since been proven that Tina Kunzer-murphy, then UNLV’S athletic director, made a great choice in Beard. She didn’t control the regents or the stupid hiring rule. That part wasn’t on her.
And yet what came before offering Beard the job — wrongly firing Dave Rice at midseason and first offering the position to a terrific coach in Mick Cronin of Cincinnati, but who assuredly used it as a leverage ploy and was never leaving his daughter or the Bearcats — more than muddled the process.
Fact: Comparing what Beard has done in Lubbock to the first few UNLV seasons under Marvin Menzies is beyond pointless and inequitable, unless there is some way the Rebels can figure out how to defend to at least 50 percent of the level the Red Raiders do.
Beard, who inherited an NCAA Tournament team where several key names returned, didn’t experience a mass exodus of players at Texas Tech as Menzies did.
The Red Raiders at the time were poised for such a run as this current one.
Potential upsets
The West Region has three games that will be popular upset picks.
One comes in Charlotte on Thursday, when No. 10 Providence faces
No. 7 Texas A&M. The Friars (23-10) had one of the conference-tournament season’s biggest upsets, taking down Xavier in overtime of the Big East semifinals. The Aggies (20-12) have been inconsistent this season, matching the program’s highest ranking by reaching No. 5 in the AP Top 25 before going 9-9 through the SEC.
No. 5 seed Ohio State could have its hands full with No. 12 South Dakota State in Boise.
Due to the early start of the Big Ten tournament this season, the Buckeyes (24-8) will have a 12-day gap between games before facing the Summit League-champion Jackrabbits.
Also keep an eye on No. 6 Houston and No. 11 San Diego State in Wichita, Kansas. The Aztecs had some struggles earlier in the season but carry a nine-game winning streak into the NCAA Tournament after beating New Mexico in the Mountain West Conference Tournament.
Houston, No. 21 in the AP Top 25, knocked off Wichita State before losing to Cincinnati by one in the American Athletic Conference title game Sunday.
Zags in Boise
Gonzaga will have a short trip for its opening game as it tries to get back to the national title game.
The Zags are the No. 4 seed in the West and will open at Unc-greensboro on Thursday in Boise.
Gonzaga won the West Coast Conference regular-season title for the 18th time in 19 seasons and crushed BYU to win the its sixth straight conference tournament.
The Rebels were a complete rebuild.
Menzies has won 31 games his first two seasons — the first year of 11 victories sits solely in the laps of those who allowed for such a convoluted search — to set a foundation.
Through no fault of his own, he’s still in the pouring concrete stage.
Beard, meanwhile, has taken a much better product in one of the nation’s best leagues to lift Texas Tech to its highest ranking (sixth) in history earlier this season, more wins (24) since the Red Raiders went 30-2 and made the Sweet 16 in 1996 and a co-coach of the Year award in the Big 12.
Now, he transports them into an NCAA draw as a 3 seed, having recently agreed to a six-year contract extension for $19 million. He was always getting on that jet, always going home.
At least UNLV received $1 million from Beard as a buyout to his shortterm deal, because we all know the Rebels don’t do things like $19 million coaching contracts.
Which is an entirely different story about why some programs advance and others remain stuck.
Contact columnist Ed Graney at egraney@reviewjournal.com or 702383-4618. He can be heard on “The Press Box,” ESPN Radio 100.9 FM and 1100 AM, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday. Follow @edgraney on Twitter.