By Jeff Arnold

Games:

#1-Wisconsin vs. #16-Coastal Carolina

#8-Oregon vs. #9-Oklahoma State

#5-Arkansas vs. #12-Wofford

#4-North Carolina vs. #13-Harvard

#6-Xavier vs. #11-Ole Miss

#3-Baylor vs. #14-Georgia State

#7-VCU vs. #10-Ohio State

#2-Arizona vs. #15-Texas Southern

Three Games to Watch:

#8-Oregon vs. #9-Oklahoma State
After losing one of the best players in recent college basketball history in Marcus Smart, Oklahoma State comes into the tournament losing six of their last seven. Although cold, the Pokes still have the capability to light it up from the field with Phil Forte III, a three-point specialist junior guard, and Le’Bryan Nash, a do-everything senior forward, leading the way. The key for Oklahoma State in this game will be seeing shots go in early. Offensive inconsistencies, highlighted by erratic scoring from Forte, have been a large part of why they have struggled down the stretch. Oregon was red-hot entering the Pac-12 tournament, winning five in a row, and then continued their hot streak by advancing to the tournament title game before being blown out by Arizona. Despite this, the Ducks should still be feared as they are led by Pac-12 Player of the Year Joseph Young. As one of the most explosive offensive forces in the country Young has played superbly as of late and has the ability to single-handedly win games. The big issue for the Ducks, however, is size as they don’t have any player over 6’7” that plays regular minutes. Despite this, I’m taking the Ducks to stay hot and advance to play Arizona.

#7-VCU vs. #10-Ohio State
It’s been four years since VCU made a Cinderella run to the Final Four led  by coaching newcomer Shaka Smart. This season the Rams seemed to be poised to make another strong tournament run before losing Briante Weber at the end of January. They have been up and down since then losing three straight games at the end of February and into March before winning the Atlantic-1o tournament. Treveon Graham leads the team in scoring and rebounds. Ohio State is one of those teams that is both extremely frustrating and extremely fun to watch. Freshman D’Angelo Russell leads the team in points and rebounds and is one of the best prospects in college basketball. Against inferior opponents, the Buckeyes, henceforth known as the D’Angelos, look dominant. They score easily and force turnovers. As soon as the D’Angelos step on the floor against eqaully as good and better teams though, they fall apart and show how dependent on Russell they are. Because of this the D’Angelos performance in the tournament almost entirely depends on his play, if he plays well, which I think he will, I expect them to win against VCU and possibly give Arizona a game in the second round.

#6-Xavier vs. #11-Ole Miss

I had an entire preview written up at halftime of the Ole Miss, BYU play-in game. I mentioned how BYU was an offensive juggernaut led by Tyler Haws and Chase Fischer who both could not miss from beyong the arc. I talked about how Xavier was screwed and the West would have to watch out because Tyler, Chase, and Kyle Collinsworth were taking names. Then the second half happened and I was forced to delete that beautful paragraph. So what did we learn? Ole Miss is a gritty, physical team who, if they get hot can beat anybody. Consider this, in the first half they scored 32 points. That’s not bad per se, but their defense, especially on the perimeter was actively terrible and because of that they dug themselves a 17-point hole. Then all of a sudden in the second half they caught fire, but not only did their offense heat up, but so did their defense. They forced turnovers, closed out better, and were more physical underneath the basket. Contested mid range and outside shots ignited the rally, but it was turnovers and the easy looks they got as a result that allowed them to stay in the game and eventually pull it out. Xavier can do whatever they want but, if the Rebels play like they did in the second half, they will win easily. I think that will happen and Ole Miss wins easily.

Other Storylines:

Sean Miller and his quest for a Final Four appearance: In the few years that Sean Miller has coached the Arizona Wildcats he has completely reinvigorated a sputtering program. This year’s team, led by T.J McConnell, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, and Stanley Johnson, is perhaps his most talented yet and has a serious shot to win a title if they either A) somehow beat Kentucky or B) never have to play Kentucky because of a miracle early-round upset. The issue for Miller though is that bad luck seems to follow him everywhere in the tournament. Just last season a crushing overtime loss to Wisconsin is what kept the Wildcats from making a Final Four appearance.

Harvard’s Tournament Run: After not making an appearance since 1946, the Crimson have now made four tournaments in a row and have quickly turned themselves into a serious basketball program. Although I fully expect Marcus Paige and the Heels to win fairly easily, it’s still impressive nonetheless. Sidenote: Eight to ten years ago Boston College was legitimately one of the best teams in the country behind the triumvirate of Jared Dudley, Craig Smith, and Sean Williams. Now, they are the third best team IN BOSTON. Funny how the tables have turned.

Ole Miss vs. BYU Play-In Game: I cannot stress enough how incredible of a game it was. Sure, not much defense was played, but, because of that it was the best game I’ve seen all year. There has been much superior basketball played obviously, but nothing came close to that exciting. For everything that is wrong with the “First Four,” that game made it all okay.

Picks (winner in bold):

#1-Wisconsin vs. #16-Coastal Carolina
#8-Oregon vs. #9-Oklahoma State
#5-Arkansas vs. #12-Wofford
#4-North Carolina vs. #13-Harvard
#6-Xavier vs. #11-Ole Miss
#3-Baylor vs. #14-Georgia State
#7-VCU vs. #10-Ohio State
#2-Arizona vs. #15-Texas Southern