One Question Heading Into Each Regional Final

The opening four days of the NCAA Tournament have come and gone, reminding us why this is the best time of the year to be a sports fan. With upsets galore, this was a historical weekend of College Basketball that will continue into this weekend’s regional final action. There will be a record of 11 different conferences being represented in the Sweet 16, and there are a ton of intriguing storylines and questions to be answered before we crown a champion. With only 16 teams, left here is what you should be looking for heading into each regional final.

South – Can Anyone Take Down Alabama?

Part of what has made the NCAA Tournament great so far, is the fact that we’ve already had two of the four number seeds, knocked out prior to the second weekend. This is only the fifth time in NCAA Tournament history this has occurred, and the first since 2018. One of the two #1 seed remaining is Nate Oats and the Alabama Crimson Tide. Alabama had a very successful regular season, winning both the SEC Regular Season and Conference Tournament title, for the second time in the last three seasons under Oats. Unlike Purdue and Kansas who got knocked out, there hasn’t been a ton of doubt about Alabama ultimately coming out of this region and heading to Houston for the Final 4.

That especially ramped up, after the South’s #2 seed Arizona and #3 seed Baylor got knocked out prior to the second weekend. While San Diego State is a very good team that has accomplished a ton in the Brian Dutcher era, a Mountain West Team hasn’t been to the Elite 8 since the Conference was founded in 1999. In addition, Princeton will be the fourth #15 seed ever, to play in the Sweet 16, trying to match Saint Peter’s run of going to the Elite 8 last season as a 15 seed.

While Creighton does provide some possible matchup problems for Alabama, the Blue Jays have had some trouble playing consistently great basketball this season. It is a legitimate question, if they will be able to match the energy we saw them play with in Denver this past weekend. A big narrative this College Basketball season has been, that there is no clear-cut great team and there are a lot more teams than normal that have the ability to win a National Title. That can still be true, however it can’t be denied that when Alabama is at their best, they are the toughest to stop.

The Crimson Tide have a really nice road to get to their First Final 4 in program history, and if they get there, they will enter Houston as the favorites to cut down the nets. However, on their best night San Diego State and or Creighton, can absolutely give them a game and considering how young and experienced this Crimson Tide team is, they better be ready to go.

East – No One is Talking About FAU as a Final 4 Team…. Can They Do It?

The biggest breakout star of the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament for me, has been Dusty May, the Head Coach of the Florida Atlantic Owls. FAU won their first NCAA Tournament game in program history over Memphis on Friday Night, and will be heading to Madison Square Garden for the Sweet 16. The East Region is a little bit of a mess at the moment, with #1 seeded Purdue, #2 seeded Marquette, #5 seeded Duke and #6 seeded Kentucky all getting knocked out.

This opens up the door for this Florida Atlantic team, which was one of the best teams in the country throughout the regular season. The Owls finished the Regular Season, 33-3 overall and 18-2 in conference play. One of their biggest highlights of the season was going on the road to Florida and knocking off the Gators for the first time ever. It was really impressive how the Owl’s handled the historical circumstance they were in, knowing that the winner of their 8-9 game against Memphis had a wide-open door to the Sweet 16, following Fairleigh Dickinson’s historical upset over Purdue.

After trailing for the majority of the game and facing a ten point deficit with 10 seconds left, the Owls forced a Memphis turnover to get the ball back. This ultimately led to the game-winning layup by Nick Boyd and the Owls experienced a historic moment for their program. While Michigan State, Kansas State and Tennessee all had really impressive victories to get themselves into the Sweet 16, there is no reason why Florida Atlantic cannot win two more games and get to the Final 4.

The Owls are a very athletic and physical team that should be able to hang with Tennessee, if they’re making shots. That’s what made their victory over Memphis very impressive, was the fact that they didn’t particularly play their greatest game and still found a way to win. This Owls team is very good at making shots from the outside, and they will be as well coached as any of the 4 teams playing at Madison Square Garden this weekend. If I was any program looking for a new Head Coach, Dusty May would be the first name that I would call. The Owls are legitimately one of the best teams in the country, with a chance to come out of a wide-open East Region, at Madison Square Garden this weekend.

Midwest – Who Is More Vulnerable Texas or Houston?

Since the bracket was released on Selection Sunday, it’s felt to me that Houston and Texas have been on a collision course to play in the Elite 8. This would be one heck of a matchup considering not only the fact that this would be a regional finals game between two in-state rivals, but also a chance to play in their home state of Texas in the Final 4. While each team is one win away from us getting this very juicy matchup, it will not be easy, considering who they will be facing in the Sweet 16. Primarily, Miami is a team that made the Elite 8 last season and returned a bunch of players to this season’s team that won the ACC Regular Season Title. The Hurricanes showed everyone exactly what they’re made of on Friday Night, when they found themselves trailing #12 seeded Drake, 55-47 with 5:10 remaining in the second half. After trailing for the majority of the game, Miami was able to end the game on a 16-1 run, holding Drake without a field goal during that span.

While Miami has won a lot of games in the NCAA Tournament under Jim Larranaga, none of them were quite like that down the stretch. After gaining confidence Miami was able to control Indiana, and advance to the second Weekend once again. The Hurricanes have the Guards to compete with a very good Houston team, but will also need to hold up physically and cannot turn the game into a rock fight. The presence of Arkansas State Transfer Norchad Oimer made a major impact for the Hurricanes, collecting a combined 31 rebounds in Miami’s two tournament games. This was after he was questionable going into the Drake game, with an ankle injury.

Texas has also looked really impressive throughout their first two NCAA Tournament games, and the Longhorns have now won 6 games in a row and 8 of their last 10, dating back to the end of the Regular Season. However, they won’t have an easy challenge either, facing a battle tested Xavier team, with a ton of offensive firepower. Similarly, to Miami, Xavier found themselves with their tournament lives on life support in their opening round game on Friday. The Musketeers trailed #14 seeded Kennesaw State 61-48, with about 10 minutes to play in the second half. Xavier then countered with a 15-0 run, in the next six minutes and the rest was history. The Musketeers then responded with a dominant effort in their Round of 32 victory over Pittsburgh, showing us that when their offense is on, this is one of the scariest teams in the country.

The other scary thought that should be creeping into Texas’ head right now is the fact that Souly Boum and Jack Nunge who average a combined 30 points per game, on over 40% from three, went a combined 2/17 from three in Xavier’s opening two tournament games. They are bound to get hot really soon, which could cause trouble for the Longhorns. While Houston Texas for a chance to come home for the Final 4 would be a great storyline, it is very possible that we never get to see that much anticipated matchup.

West – Which National Brand Is Getting Over The Hump?

The thing that stands out about the four teams that will be playing at the West Regional in Las Vegas on Thursday, is the fact that they’re all great brands that are trying to get over the hump. Arkansas has had a ton of success in the NCAA Tournament in recent years, but are still looking to get to their first Final 4 since 1995, after losing in the Elite 8 in each of the last two seasons. In addition, this will be UConn’s

first Sweet 16 appearance since the 2014 season when they ended up winning the National Championship.

This is a unique matchup, considering Arkansas struggles to shoot and loves to finish at the rim. UConn’s biggest strength is having great size, with their two big men of Adama Sanogo and Donavan Clingan, which might force Arkansas to take some outside shots. The Razorbacks however, do have a legitimate chance in this game, because Eric Mussleman is on the sidelines. There aren’t many better coaches in the month of March, if any, than Muss, who has already won eight tournament games since arriving in Fayetteville in 2019.

With his NBA background, Muss is great at attacking mismatches and finding whatever works best for his team to get the job done. That included moving struggling five star recruit and projected top pick in the NBA Draft Nick Smith, to the bench on Saturday against Kansas. This is something not everyone in the country would’ve done in this situation, but the duo of Ricky Council and Devo Davis was still enough to lead the way for Arkansas. While UConn looked like one of the more impressive teams in the country this past weekend, I’ve learned way too many times not to count Muss and Arkansas, out of any tournament game they’re in.

The second half of the double header is a game nearly 17 years in the making, between two teams with a ton of tournament history against each other. Gonzaga will take on UCLA, 17 years to the day of the epic 2006 Sweet 16 game. Both teams are in very interesting spots, as this will likely be Tyger Campbell, Jaime Jaquez and Drew Timme’s, last chance at winning a National Title, before their college careers come to an end. These three along with Mick Cronin, Mark Few and a handful of others, were also on the court together in 2021, when Gonzaga’s Jalen Suggs, hit one of the most epic shots in NCAA Tournament history, to lift the Zags over UCLA and send them to the National Title game. This is Gonzaga’s eight consecutive Sweet 16, however they are still looking for that first National Title in the Mark Few era. It is interesting to compare the spot Gonzaga is currently in right now compared to some other seasons of the past, and they do feel a little bit under the radar, with not a ton of pressure. This is despite the fact that Timme is as still as dominant as ever, including 28 points to beat TCU.

UCLA also had a very impressive weekend, collecting wins over UNC Asheville and Northwestern. Mick Cronin has now won 9 NCAA Tournament games in three seasons, since taking over as the UCLA Head Coach and he is attempting to win his first National Title. The Bruins have a really good mix of tournament experience in guys like Campbell, Jaquez and David Singleton, plus young talent, with guys like Amari Bailey and Adem Bona. Despite winning and controlling both games they played in Sacramento rather easily, I didn’t learn a ton of new things about this Bruins team and really want to see this current version of themselves really challenged. We will definitely see that against Gonzaga. The one concern for UCLA entering this game is the number of injuries, with Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year Jaylen Clark already ruled out for the season, alongside Bona and Singleton, who are currently dealing with nagging injuries as well.