Monday through Thursday this week, The Blue Zone will be breaking down each region in this year's NCAA tournament. Today we continue with the Midwest.
The No. 1 Seed: Kentucky (34-0, 18-0 in the SEC). The Wildcats will enter the tournament looking to cap off their historical season by becoming the first team since the 1975-76 Indiana Hoosiers to go undefeated. Despite a couple of close calls in conference play, it was smooth sailing for Kentucky during the regular season as evidenced by their 20.9-point margin of victory. Although there are some worries about how the inexperience of the Wildcats young squad will affect them along with the pressure of being the top overall seed in the tournament, Kentucky is led by three returning players—Andrew Harrison, Aaron Harrison and Willie Cauley-Stein—that will be eager to avenge their bitter defeat in the national title game a year ago. On the court, expect the Wildcats’ length—with a staggering seven players standing taller than 6-foot-8—and overwhelming defense and depth to make them the prohibitive favorite to reach the Final Four.
The other contenders: Finding teams that can knock off Kentucky is made especially tough by the fact that the Midwest is perceived by some to be one of the weaker regions of the bracket and has very few teams with big men that rival the Wildcats'. No. 2 seed Kansas emerged as the regular-season champion in the Big 12 and recorded a solid 9-5 record against teams with top-25 RPI ratings and navigated the toughest schedule in the country. Third-seeded Notre Dame showed just how dangerous it could be this past week as the Fighting Irish won the ACC tournament behind a series of surgical offensive displays. With star guard Jerian Grant leading the way, the Fighting Irish will certainly be a tough out for any squad. The strong backcourt of fourth-seed Maryland and the tournament experience of seventh-seeded Wichita State also make the two teams potentially dangerous on any given night.
The potential Cinderella: No. 12 seed Buffalo. The Bulls—coached by former Duke standout Bobby Hurley—are led by forward Justin Moss, who averages 17.7 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. Buffalo has been able to offset its poor perimeter shooting all season by attacking the basket and capitalizing at the free-throw line. Having held halftime leads on the road against tournament one-seeds Kentucky and Wisconsin earlier in the year, don’t expect the Bulls to be fazed by the pressure of their first ever trip to the tournament. Buffalo will get a shot at the No. 5 seed West Virginia—which has lost three of its past four—before potentially facing Maryland in the Round of 32. With the Terrapins susceptible to cold-shooting stretches, a rematch with Kentucky in the Sweet 16 is certainly a possibility.
Region Narrative: History. The Midwest is full of teams that will look to foil the Wildcats magical season. Although Kentucky has had its fair share of close calls this season, a Wildcats' loss—especially in the first weekend— would go down as one of the greatest upsets of all time. Yet, with Kentucky sporting a nine-man rotation of high school McDonald’s All-Americans and a historically great team, there doesn’t seem to be any team capable of impeding the Wildcats journey to Indianapolis unless something extraordinary occurs—but that's why they call it March Madness. .
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