State Your Case: Which No. 1 seed will be first out of the NCAA tournament?
INDIANA
CURTIS LUNDSTROM, sports editor
A large number of fans across the country have picked Indiana to go to the Final Four and beyond. I can’t say I blame them with how frequently they’ve been ranked No. 1 this season.
I can, however, tell you that the Hoosiers will be the first No. 1 seed to fall this postseason. Those who believe Indiana has the easiest road to Atlanta might receive a bit of a shock come the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight.
If I were bold enough I’d say they’d go down sooner, but James Madison won’t touch them, and N.C. State or Temple can run with them for awhile, but ultimately the Hoosiers win.
Indiana has been upset most this season and I expect that trend to continue. I don’t expect the Hoosiers to survive Syracuse, but they for sure won’t get past Miami and/or Marquette
– curtislundstrom@gmail.com
Twitter: @CurtisLundstrom
LOUISVILLE
MARK HOPKINS, sports senior writer
Every year there’s a high-profile team that enters the NCAA tournament with a couple big wins and is suddenly invincible. It doesn’t matter what else they’ve done – the media instantly sees no flaws and even the president picks them to go to the finals.
The media has now talked about Louisville twice this year: first when they were No. 1 for a week and then lost three times in a row, and secondly now that they’ve won the Big East Conference tournament.
Their “cardinal opposite,” however, are the Saint Louis Billikens, the No. 4 seed in the same section of the bracket and one of the hottest teams in the nation, having lost three games since their head coach Rick Majerus died at the start of December. The two will meet up in the Sweet 16, and whatever a Billiken is, that will be the team playing on to the Elite Eight.
– m.hop@aggiemail.usu.edu
Twitter: @legendarymhops
GONZAGA
CONNOR COMEAU, staff writer
Having Gonzaga as a top seed is pretty cool, but they are not national-championship worthy.
One thing that stuck out was their strength of schedule. As a No. 1 seed, the Bulldogs have a 75 strength of schedule. Compare that to New Mexico, who only had 3 more losses than Gonzaga and had the second-hardest schedule this season.
Also, Gonzaga is from the West Coast Conference, which has only two members in the tournament, the other being Saint Mary’s. The Bulldogs haven’t played many quality teams other than Butler, who they lost to at the buzzer.
A lower strength of schedule and a lack of wins against quality teams leads me to believe that Gonzaga will pack their bags very soon.
– connor.comeau@aggiemail.usu.edu
Twitter: @Connor_Comeau
KANSAS
SEAN O’SULLIVAN, staff writer
This year it’s Kansas.
First, look at this season. They had a three game losing streak right in the middle of conference play, including losses to a terrible TCU team and an Oklahoma team that was only two games above .500 in the Big XII.
Then, think about the Jayhawks’ recent tournament play. In the last four years, they haven’t been lower than a three seed but have lost to a No. 11 seed and a No. 9 seed. Sure they made the finals last season, but they lost key pieces from that team including Thomas Robinson and Tyshawn Taylor.
Having a great coach goes a long way in the tournament, and Bill Self is a great coach. But he has shown he can be outcoached in the tournament, and this year will be no different.
Kansas is going to lose in the Sweet 16.
– sean.osullivan@aggiemail.usu.edu
Twitter: @seansy89