The madness has already started. NCAA Men’s Tournament regulars, Louisville, Duke, and Kentucky will all be watching from home. In a year different than any other, this just feels normal. While the regions will remain, all of the games will be played at one location. The tournament seedings have been announced and the top four seeds are Illinois, Gonzaga, Baylor, and Michigan. Here is a breakdown of how those teams got to the top of their regions.
Illinois
The Big Ten was one of the most competitive conferences in college basketball this season. In their first tournament appearance since 2013, Illinois is back in a big way. Illinois enters the tournament as one of the hottest teams having won seven straight including the Big Ten Championship. The team is full of talent, but it starts with Player of the Year candidate Ayo Dosunmu. The team also has one of the best big men in college basketball in Kofi Cockburn. Cockburn is a traditional 7-foot center and had an impressive performance in the Big Ten semifinals against Luke Garza. Garza, one of the best college players, dominated Cockburn in the past. However, the development was evident when Cockburn dropped 26 points and eight rebounds. More impressively, he learned how to guard Garza without fouling him. Illinois will need to play well in a tough region that includes ACC champion Georgia Tech, Cade Cunnigham and Oklahoma State, and Oregon State. Illinois opens as one of the biggest favorites, -5000 for their first March Madness game against Drexel Dragons. The region is full of powerhouse teams, but also many teams capable of busting brackets.
Baylor
Despite not winning the Big 12 title, the Baylor Bears still secured a number one seed in the tournament. The Bears only lost one game in their conference during the regular season. The team did take a three-week pause during February due to a COVID-19 pause. The team stumbled when it returned to the court, suffering one of their only two losses. Baylor will need to play better than it did in the Big 12 tournament. The Bears had 21 turnovers in the quarterfinal game against Kansas City. In the championship game, Baylor coughed up the lead with eight minutes remaining in the game. They are still a number one seed for a reason and that reason is offense. Baylor has one of the best and most active offenses in college. The Bears average 84.4 points per game and more impressively 8.9 steals per game.
Gonzaga
The undefeated Bulldogs secured the top overall seed in the tournament and could easily remain undefeated. The last team to remain undefeated through the tournament was the 1976 Indiana team. Gonzaga has become one of the most consistent teams in recent tournament history. The Zags have made it to the Sweet 16 round the past five seasons including a title game appearance against North Carolina. This year, Gonzaga has weapons that should make opposing defenses nervous. West Coast Conference Player of the Year Corey Kispert is one of the best shooters in the tournament. Kispert is currently averaging 19.2 points per game. It wasn’t always that way for Kispert and credit should be given to Gonzaga’s player development team. He is one of four Gonzaga players who average double-digit points per game.
Michigan
Like I stated before, the Big Ten conference was really competitive this season. Michigan joins Illinois as a top seed in the tournament. The Wolverines started off the season hot, winning 18 of their first 19 games. However, in the month of March Michigan has lost three games including a loss to Ohio State in the Big Ten championship. Unfortunately, the team will be without forward Isaiah Livers. Livers suffered a stress fracture in the Big Ten quarterfinal game and will be out for the foreseeable future. He has played with the stress fracture since Michigan’s game against Maryland, but aggravated it during the game and had to come out. He did leave a return to the court a possibility but called it a “miracle”. Michigan is definitely on shaky ground heading into the tournament.
