Today is March 1st! Man, has the first two months of 2016 have flown by and today officially begins March Madness! For any college hoops fan, that is music to their ears, so for the month of March, I will be helping you guys some with the picks, to help you win your office pool! Since there are no brackets out right yet, for the next two weeks, I will be giving you some teams to watch out for, but today I will be telling you who are my top four teams are, my number one seeds, if the season ended today.
Number 1 seed in the Midwest- Kansas (26-4)
Best Win- 76-72 win at Oklahoma
Worst loss- 86-67 loss at Oklahoma State
Case for a one seed- The argument can be made that Kansas has been the most consistent team, in a year with not much consistency. They have two wins over top ten team, Oklahoma, a win over Kentucky, and a win over West Virginia. The ugly blowout loss at Oklahoma State, was avenged by a 27 point win over the Cowboys at Phog Allen, proving the point the Jayhawks had an off night. Kansas is fresh off a 86-56 trouncing of top 25 Texas, at Texas last night. The Jayhawks have a great mix of guards and big men, and the right senior leadership, with Perry Ellis, to be the best team in the Country.
Number 1 seed in the East- Villanova (25-4)
Best win- 95-64 win vs Xavier
Worst loss- 78-55 loss vs Oklahoma in Hawaii
Case for a one seed- Villanova is the only team in the Country without an ugly loss. Their worst loss came at the hands of a top ten team, in Hawaii. They lit up Xavier, but they did lose to them in the second matchup in Cincinnati. Many people discount Villanova because they are in a watered down Big East, but every big game they have had they have taken care of business. Villanova was knocked out by Tobacco Road’s own NC State in the NCAA tournament, Nova will be looking to improve on a second round exit from last season.
Number 1 seed in the South- Virginia (22-6)
Best win- 79-74 win vs UNC
Worst loss- 73-68 loss at George Washington
Case for a one seed- Virginia is a Grayson Allen buzzer beater away from being in the driver’s seat for a third straight ACC regular season championship, but we all know how that game ended. UVA also lost to Miami late in the season, but that win over UNC got them their mojo back. They know they can compete with the best teams in America now. If Malcolm Brogdon continues to perform the way he has so far this season, Virginia can easily be the best team in the Country, because the way they play defense. Virginia has one of the best defenses in the Country, and they showed it against UNC. Do not sleep on the Cavaliers.
Number 1 seed in the West- Michigan State (24-5)
Best win- 79-73 win vs Kansas in Chicago
Worst loss- 72-71 loss vs Nebraska
Case for a one seed- Michigan State took advantage of the chaos in the polls and climbed from sixth to second in a week’s time. MSU still led by Denzel Valentine has been hot and cold this season, but most of that being due to injuries. The Spartans have played games without Valentine, Tum Tum Nairn, and now will have to play without Kenny Goins for two to four weeks. But just in Tom Izzo fashion, his team is peaking in March. No they aren’t atop the Big 10 standings, but neither is Virginia. Michigan State is always a dangerous team come March, because of their coach, Tom Izzo. The final one seed is highly debated between, MSU, UNC, Oklahoma, and Xavier, but right now MSU has the upper hand, but there is still two weeks to go till selection Sunday.
If you disagree, or have any question, feel free to comment on your one seeds! Tell me why you feel your team is in line for a one seed!
Good to get some college basketball coverage/posting on here at the site and good work Bryson Gordon…The North Carolina Tar Heels have to be at or near the top and on there somewhere or the fans from this state will not even follow the “March Madness” in masses…It just works that way and has for years…Heels have to be in the hunt and at the top or this state goes silent….
Duke is from New Jersey…(Or at least their fan base and student body are.)
@Bryson
You told me before the season that West Virginia wasn’t worthy of being in your top 25, and now you say that beating WVU was a quality win for Kansas. Which is it?
West Virginia has turned into a great team. That was several months back. They were not expected to be this good, but I will give you credit. But the team you said they should replace is Miami, which we both could agree is a better team than WVU.