BREAKING DOWN THE 4 REGIONS
XAVIER UNLIKELY TO HAVE HOLLYWOOD ENDING IN L.A. WITH MINEFIELDS APLENTY
ZACH BRAZILLER BREAKS DOWN THE REGION
AT A GLANCE: Congratulations on your No. 1 seed, Xavier. The reward: a minefield of a bracket. A potential second-round meeting with Missouri and now healthy stud forward Michael Porter Jr. Under-seeded as a No. 4, Gonzaga could await next, if it gets past No. 5 Ohio State, which has the best player in the region in versatile forward Keita BatesDiop. The bottom of the region is stacked as well, led by defending-champion No. 2 North Carolina, Final Fourcontending Michigan as a No. 3 and underrated Houston as a six. The winner of No. 7 Texas A&M/No. 10 Providence won’t be easy, either. Both teams have sleeper potential.
BEST PLAYER: Keita Bates-Diop (Ohio State). The multi-talented 6-foot-7 forward led one of the sport’s biggest surprise teams and is an inside-out force, a skilled finisher, capable 3-point shooter and high-level rebounder and shotblocker. UNSUNG PLAYER: Kyron Cartwright (Providence). The 5-foot-11 southpaw nearly willed Providence to the Big East Tournament title and led the league in assists for the second straight year. There’s some Avery Johnson in the Compton, Calif., native who is at his best with the game on the line.
BEST FIRST-ROUND MATCHUP: No. 8 Missouri vs. No. 9
Florida State. If you like big men, this is the game for you. In addition to the 6-10 Porter, you have his talented teammate Jeremiah Tilmon against Florida State’s 7-4 junior Christ Koumadje and 7-footer Ike Obiagu. FIRST-ROUND UPSET WATCH: No. 12 South Dakota State over No. 5 Ohio State. Rust will be a factor for the Buckeyes, who will have had two weeks off since getting upset by Penn State in the Big Ten Tournament, and Jackrabbits’ scoring machine Mike Daum will end Chris Holtmann’s successful first season on the bench with a thud. BRACKET BUSTER: No. 6 Houston. Lead guard Rob Gray would be a national name if he didn’t play in the AAC, and the Cougars are an upper-echelon offensive team that shares the ball (15.0 assists per game) and makes 38.9 of its 3-point attempts. Houston will be no layup for Michigan in the second round.
BY THE NUMBERS: 315
Career 3-pointers made by Xavier’s Trevon Bluiett, a school record.
11
South Dakota State’s winning streak.