2017 March Madness Preview
Written by : Joe Drake NPAR Correspondent
Welcome back , everyone ! Temperatures are rising , the snow is melting in the north and football is officially on a break . Do you know what that means ? It ’ s time for NCAA March Madness ! Now , even if you ’ re not that into basketball , I ’ m willing to bet that you ( along with just about everyone you know ) fill out at least one bracket every year . You might pick teams based on their uniforms , mascots or even based on where the schools are located , but you never give up hope that yours may be the winning bracket . We just can ’ t help it , am I right ?
This month in the NPAR , we ’ re going to do a brief preview of who and what to watch for in this year ’ s NCAA tournament . First , we ’ ll look at the potential number one seeds in each region . Then , we ’ ll discuss our guesses for the last four teams to make the field . Finally , we ’ ll go over the first four teams most likely to be left out .
The Number Ones For those that don ’ t know , the tournament is initially divided up into four smaller brackets called regions . The teams in each region are seeded from first to 16th . That means we ’ ve got four teams that can capture the prestigious number one seed . Currently , the favorites are Kansas , North Carolina , Gonzaga , and Villanova . The Kansas Jayhawks are ranked third in the AP poll at the time of this writing and first in the RPI . They ’ ve compiled a 25-3 record while playing the 14th hardest schedule in the country . All of that adds up to make the Jayhawks one of the best teams in the land . Gonzaga , UNC , and Villanova all have very similar numbers , which makes them strong candidates for the other top seeds .
The team with the best shot at receiving a number one seed but isn ’ t currently projected to get one is Louisville . The Cardinals are seventh in the AP Poll and fourth in RPI . Although they ’ ve lost six games on the road year , they boast the second toughest schedule in the entire country . With 2 top 50 teams remaining on their schedule , I think the Cardinals could edge out Gonzaga for the final number one seed if they ’ re able to win
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out , or if the Zags stumble .
Last Four In This one is a little tougher . First , we have to decide who will make the First Four In games to open the tournament . Then , the winners of those games will be the Last Four In the tournament . Thoroughly confused ? Perfect . There are a few teams that come up more often than others in this conversation : TCU , Marquette , Kansas State , Wake Forest , Michigan State and Syracuse . These teams are all on the bubble , which means they could go either way at this point . They play in conference tournaments that will likely decide their fates . My money is on TCU , Marquette , Kansas State and Syracuse to find a way to make things work and earn the last four spots of the tournament .
First Four Out Cue the sad trumpet . These are the four teams that would have been next in line to make the tournament field . So close , yet so far . Instead , they will settle for a less prestigious end-of-season tournament like the NIT . Most of the teams from the previous section are also candidates for this one as well because they ’ re so close . I would expect Wake Forest , Providence , Clemson and Rhode Island to make up the First Four Out .