ARIZONA HAS RECIPE TO MAKE A STIRRING RUN
Okla. State looms as early hurdle
Best round of 64 matchup: It’s hard to know what to make of Baylor. The very athletic Bears are capable of inexplicably bad stretches, like a late January slump that included five consecutive losses. But when they’re playing well, as they did in winning 10 of their last 12 games, the combination of length and talent is a difficult matchup for almost anyone. Nebraska’s return to the NCAA tournament is one of the season’s better stories. But for a microcosm of the Cornhuskers, look no further than the Big Ten tournament, which featured a come-from-ahead loss to Ohio State, when an 18-point lead evaporated in the last 13 minutes. Who wins? Who knows? Baylor and Nebraska are absolutely unpredictable, which could make for a really fun meeting. Potential upset: Arizona didn’t get rewarded with its potential opponent in the round of 32. Of Oklahoma State’s 12 losses, 10 came by six points or fewer or in overtime. Led by a potential lottery pick in sophomore guard Marcus Smart, as well as underrated sidekick Markel Brown, No. 9 seed Oklahoma State rebounded in a big way from a midseason funk. After seven consecutive losses — and losing Smart to a three-game suspension after shoving a fan in a loss at Texas Tech — Oklahoma State has won five of its last seven, including a win vs. Kansas. The two losses were in overtime, at Iowa State and to Kansas in the Big 12 tournament. If the late-season run continues, the Cowboys are very capable of knocking the Wildcats out and making a deep run. The sleeper: The West is full of teams that overcame alarming slumps and played well down the stretch. No. 7 Oregon rebounded with a late-season run that included a win vs. Arizona. Dana Altman cobbled together another band of hot-shooting transfers. The Ducks don’t always play defense or rebound, but, led by junior guard Joseph Young (18.6 points, 41.6% from three-point range), when they get hot, they’re tough to handle, hitting almost 40% of their three-point attempts and 76.6% from the foul line. Oregon has already beaten round of 64 opponent Brigham Young once. The Ducks’ offense vs. Wisconsin’s defense could make for a very entertaining matchup. If they get hot, they could make a deep run. The winner: Never mind the loss to UCLA in the Pac-12 championship game. With a battletested squad led by All-America junior guard Nick Johnson (16.2 points a game) and freshman forward Aaron Gordon (12.1 points, 7.8 rebounds), Sean Miller has his best Arizona team yet. After starting the season with a schoolrecord 21-game winning streak, the Wildcats were handed their first loss, to California, on the same night they lost starting forward Brandon Ashley to a seasonending foot injury. But they retooled and, in a deep Pac-12, ran away with the league’s regularseason race. Their four losses were by a combined 16 points. Their devoted fans should travel en masse to San Diego and Anaheim. It won’t be easy, but the Wildcats are the pick to emerge from the West — and maybe to win the whole thing.