LOUISVILLE HAS MOMENTUM
Don’t count out No. 8 seed Kentucky
Best round of 64 matchup: Despite fading a bit down the stretch, Massachusetts earned a surprising No. 6 seed and could very well end up as an underdog to Iowa or Tennessee, who will play in Dayton, Ohio, on Wednesday to get into the main bracket. The Minutemen are fun to watch, playing a fast-paced, frenetic style on both ends of the court that relies on scoring in transition and pressure defense. They also have one of the nation’s most dynamic players in 5-9 point guard Chaz Williams, who averages 15.8 points and 7.0 assists. Iowa and Tennessee, however, are ranked higher in most statistics-based analytic models and could make the Minutemen’s first trip to the tournament since 1998 a short one. Potential upset: Duke should be wary of the Mercer Bears. Much like Florida Gulf Coast last season, Mercer comes out of the Atlantic Sun as a dangerous double-digit seed, with eight wins in its last 10 games. Laden with seniors, the Bears are efficient offensively, make 38.4% of their three-pointers and get balanced scoring from six players, led by guard Langston Hall (14.7 ppg). The Bears also have more size than a traditional midmajor team, with an array of 6-4 guards and 6-10 center Daniel Coursey, who averages nearly 10 points and seven rebounds. Mercer beat Seton Hall and Mississippi in the regular season and lost to Texas by three points, proving they can hang with power conference talent. The sleeper: Can a preseason No. 1 team qualify as a sleeper? Given the outsized expectations for Kentucky, it was a disappointing season on pretty much every level as the Wildcats scuffled to a 24-10 record. Furthermore, Kentucky beat just three NCAA tournament teams (Providence, Louisville and Tennessee) and didn’t play with much cohesion or passion over the final dozen games of the regular season. That’s why they ended up with a No. 8 seed, despite making the SEC tournament championship game. Still, Kentucky has the biggest collection of future NBA talent in the country and showed some signs of putting it together in Atlanta, falling 61-60 to Florida on Sunday. Calipari’s one-anddone factory against experienced and unbeaten Wichita State is a dream round of 32 matchup. The winner: Louisville got a No. 4 seed, at least one line lower than expected, but the bracket shakes out pretty well for the defending national champ. The Cardinals have won 12 of their last 13 games, all but one by blowout margins, and appear to be peaking at the right time. They also have a favorable path to the Sweet 16, where they would potentially face Wichita State in a rematch of last year’s national semifinal. Louisville isn’t quite as good defensively as last season’s champion, but Rick Pitino’s team is shooting well enough to get back to the Final Four. Senior guard Russ Smith has been almost unguardable since playing on the ball more late in the season and has made 13 of his last 20 from three-point range.