March Madness Preview Predictions

March Madness Breakdown

By: AJ Mahoney

It's everyone's favorite time of year, March Madness has officially started with the first set of play in games taking place Tuesday evening. I thought it would be right to give a few of my predictions for every sports fan's favorite month throughout the year, and remember We Sleep in May.

Potential Sleepers

(12 seed) Charleston: Throughout the season Charleston has gotten to the heart of college basketball fans. Starting the season 21-1 the Cougars were one of the hottest teams in the country with their only loss at the time coming to then ranked #1 North Carolina by 16. Their whole starting five average 10 or more points a game and rank 14th in the country with 81 points a game as an offense combined. They have a tough matchup with a very physical and defensive Aztecs team led by Matt Bradley who averages 12 points per game. If Charleston can manage to upset San Diego State on Thursday, they would get the winner of Virginia and Furman who both have great defenses similar to SDSU.

(15 seed) UNC Asheville: Led by Senior Forward Drew Pember the Bulldogs dominated the Big South conference this season. They opened the season with a huge win at UCF but went on to finish non-conference play 8-5. They started conference play 1-1 while losing to Winthrop at home, they rattled off 17 wins in their last 18 games leading up to a star-studded UCLA Bruins team. The Bruins have lost the best defender in college basketball in Jaylen Clark as well as Freshman center Adem Bona for the season. Pember has proven this season that he is one of the best Bigs in the country as he averages a double-double a night, while also dishing out 3 assists.

Potential Busts

(6 seed) Kentucky: It has not been a season to remember once again for the Wildcats. From losing to 15 seed Saint Peters last tournament to being a 6 seed and finishing 6th in the SEC this go round. They’ve battled adversity all season between injuries and inconsistent play from the players and Coach Calipari, as well as insiders saying there is a rift in the athletic department. They take on a good Providence team in what is a Bryce Hopkins revenge game, as the sophomore transferred to the Friars from Lexington last offseason. With this being a revenge game, the odds are in Providence's favor because of the inconsistent play from the Wildcats. The Question for Kentucky is how healthy are Cason Wallace and CJ Fredrick?

(1 Seed) Purdue: The Boilermakers are a great team, do not get me wrong, holding the one seed for a good part of the year. But this is not a tournament-built team this season. They have the presumed National Player of The Year in Zach Edey, but they lack experience in the back Court with freshman duo Fletcher Loyer and Braden Smith. They are guaranteed a tough matchup in the second round with both Memphis and Florida Atlantic being great defensively and have the ability to shut down Edey and beat them behind the arc.

Players Of the Tournament

Brandon Miller: Miller is a no brainer as long as the Crimson Tide do not get upset in the earlier rounds. He is the number one option on the top team and is the reason why they took the number one overall seed.

Adama Sanogo: UConn’s leading scorer this past season, Sanogo will be the reason why Uconn could make a Final 4 this season. The way he is able to get back on the defensive end to make a big play and prevent points as well as using his strong frame in the post to convert tough buckets and get and-one opportunities.

Final Four Predictions

1. Alabama vs (5) Duke

2. Texas vs (4) Uconn

National Championship Prediction

1. Alabama vs (2) Texas

Both teams have the ability to make it to Houston. Brandon Miller may be the best pure scorer in the country, while Texas has one of the best lineups and offenses in the country. The key to the game is Timmy Allen, as long as he is healthy Texas can make this run. He is the main piece in that defensive front along with fellow forward Dylan Disu. In the KenPom rankings Alabama is ranked as the 37th luckiest team while Texas is ranked at 131st.

My Prediction: Texas wins 74-69 to capture the Longhorns first National Championship in Program History and proving that all around talent sometimes doesn’t need luck.

Player of the Final: Marcus Carr

This year's March Madness is setting up to be an all timer, with no clear favorite and more mid-major teams than ever that have the ability to make a run, from Oral Roberts to Charleston the mid majors are the strongest they have ever been. Enjoy the tournament and let’s see how these predictions turn out.