Men’s Tournament Picks: Who can win it all?
It’s finally time for March Madness, and this year will be unlike tournaments of the past. Dan Wolken tells Tony Anderson who he likes to win it all.
USA TODAY
It’s the same song and dance every year — and no, we’re not talking about “One Shining Moment.”
You pore over stats and standings, meticulously picking your bracket. You have dreams of winning the cash prize and bragging rights over your friends.
Then, inevitably, some team comes along that you’ve never heard of (ahem, UMBC) and all hell breaks loose. Suddenly, the person in your pool who can’t even pronounce “Gonzaga” correctly has been crowned the victor, all because they liked some random double-digit seed with a weird mascot. What is a Paladin anyway?
We digress.
This is designed to give you a leg up on the competition. Here we present five teams that could break your bracket — in hopes that you pick them ahead of time and emerge victorious in your office pool.
If and when any or all of these teams go on a run, don’t say we didn’t warn you.
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Texas A&M, No. 7 in Midwest
The Aggies were criminally under-seeded considering they’ve won 10 of their last 11 games and finished second in the SEC during the regular season. Yes they got blown out by overall No. 1 seed Alabama in the SEC tournament championship — and that’s exactly why they’ll be poised to make a run, to get that bad taste out of their mouth.
Texas A&M had a great case as a 4 seed, and is likely to take out their frustration first on Penn State, then on in-state (and soon-to-be SEC) rival Texas. To make a run and ruin brackets they’ll need to get big-time play from Wade Taylor IV (16.5 points, 2.7 rebounds, 4 assists and 1.8 steals), a high-risk, high-reward sophomore guard.
Memphis, No. 8 in the East
The Tigers smoked Houston in the AAC championship over the weekend, and while Houston might not have been at full strength, that type of win can be exactly what you need to kickstart a deep run in the tournament.
The victory gives Memphis plenty of confidence. Plus the Tigers are certainly hungry to improve on last year’s second-round exit. Memphis has a great one-two punch in two fifth-year seniors with guard Kendric Davis (22.1 points, 5.6 assists) and forward DeAndre Williams (17.8 points, 8.0 rebounds) giving teams fits inside and out. Memphis definitely wins its first-round game vs. 9-seed FAU, and could take out the first No. 1 seed in Purdue. After that, it’s all blue sky until the Final Four.
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REGIONAL BREAKDOWNS: East | South | Midwest | West
MAJOR SURPRISES: 10 bold predictions for March Madness
<p><span class=”exclude-from-newsgate”><strong>REGIONAL BREAKDOWNS:</strong> <a href=”https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaab/2023/03/12/east-region-ncaa-tournament-predictions-purdue-duke/11428216002/” target=”_blank”>East</a> | <a href=”https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaab/2023/03/12/south-region-ncaa-tournament-predictions-alabama-creighton/11428325002/” target=”_blank”>South </a>| <a href=”https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaab/2023/03/12/midwest-region-ncaa-tournament-predictions-houston-texas/11428249002/” target=”_blank”>Midwest</a> | <a href=”https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaab/2023/03/12/west-region-ncaa-tournament-predictions-kansas-ucla/11428335002/” target=”_blank”>West</a></span></p>
<p><span class=”exclude-from-newsgate”><strong style=”margin-right:3px;”>MAJOR SURPRISES: </strong><a href=”https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaab/2023/03/14/march-madness-2023-bold-predictions-mens-ncaa-tournament/11467192002/” target=”_blank”>10 bold predictions for March Madness</a></span></p>
<p><span class=”exclude-from-newsgate”><strong style=”margin-right:3px;”>STARS TO SEE: </strong><a href=”https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaab/2023/03/14/ncaa-tournament-best-mens-players-watch-march-madness/11463344002/” target=”_blank”>The 15 best players to watch in the tournament</a></span></p>
<p><span class=”exclude-from-newsgate”><strong style=”margin-right:3px;”>FIRST-TIMERS: </strong><a href=”https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaab/2023/03/14/ncaa-tournament-first-time-winners-houston-purdue-alabama-texas/11463180002/” target=”_blank”>Nine teams with great opportunity to win their first title</a></span></p>
Arizona State, No. 11 in West
This is one of those sneaky picks that can score you extra points if you first pick Arizona State over Nevada in Wednesday’s play-in game.
Playing what’s essentially a warm-up game can give teams a little bit of an edge when the full tournament tips off Thursday. The Pac-12 had somewhat of a weird year, but Arizona State looked good at the conference tournament in Vegas, upsetting third-seeded (and fellow bubble team) USC, 77-72.
The Sun Devils best win came on Feb. 25 at Arizona. It drew eyeballs for the crazy, game-ending buzzer-beater that allowed ASU to sneak away with an 89-88 win. But it’s what happened before that that was most impressive — the Sun Devils kept it competitive for 40 minutes in McKale, one of the toughest environments in college basketball. This team knows how to win, and is led by a former Final Four most outstanding player in eighth-year coach Bobby Hurley.
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Oral Roberts, No. 12 in South
Here is where 12 over 5 works well. Duke is playing its best basketball of the season, but no one wants to deal with Max Abmas, the best mid-major player in the tournament.
Abbas was a sophomore when Oral Roberts made a Sweet 16 run in 2021 as a 15 seed. That year he became the first player since Davidson’s Steph Curry to score 25 points or more in his first three NCAA Tournament games. You think he’s going to be intimidated going up against one of the most historic programs in college hoops? Hardly.
Experience matters, and the Golden Eagles have a lot of it. They’ve also got a lot of wins, having dropped just one game since Thanksgiving. Don’t just pick ORU to upset Duke in the first round — this team has a great shot at making it to the second weekend.
Furman, No. 13 in South
We promise we didn’t pick this just because sending Virginia home in the first round is something we’ll always consider after the disaster in 2018. Picking a 13 over 4 is the new 12 over 5. Trust us — especially when it comes to this particular matchup.
Everyone knows Virginia likes to slow down the game and cripple teams’ offense with their defense and pace of play. One way to avoid that is to run, which Furman likes to do and is good at; the Paladins score 82.1 points per game, 11th-best in college hoops and haven’t scored less than 65 in any game this season.
Furman will also need to take care of the ball, because possessions are precious against a team that likes to slow down tempo. Big scoring outputs from Jalen Slawson, the 2023 Southern Conference player of the year, are key.
