March Madness Bracketology

By Graham Helgans 

Let the madness begin! It’s time to get your pencil (not a pen) out to start marking away at your brackets, a sheet that will be edited and looked at more than any term paper ever created. With March Madness impending, Bracketologists, as they are called, are treated like royalty making bold predictions that may, but probably will not, win you your friendly, or not so friendly, competition. This task can be very stressful; upsets are bound to happen, but they aren’t random as one may think. It’s tempting to go out on a limb and have #1 Gonzaga lose to #16 Southern University in the first round, however, never in the history of the NCAA tournament has a #1 seed lost to a #16 seed.  Here are some tips for this year’s bracket that will hopefully give you a better chance of cutting down the nets at the end of it all.

First off, over the last 22 years a  #12 seed has upended a #5 seed at least once. This year’s #5 and #12 seeds are…

#5 and #12 seeds

#5 Oklahoma State -- #12 Oregon: UPSET ALERT Oregon is one of the grittiest teams in the NCAA tournament and have a good chance of beating Oklahoma State. If Oregon avoids their average of 15 turnovers of a game, they have a great chance of beating Oklahoma State

 

#5 Wisconsin -- #12 Ole Miss: Wisconsin doesn’t have one dominant player so they rely on a collective effort from the team. This hasn’t been a problem as they have beaten #1 Indiana and #4 Michigan already this year. On the contrary, Ole Miss relies heavily on the 3pt shooting ability of Marshall Henderson. If he doesn’t perform this team is bound to lose.

#5 VCU -- #12 Akron: VCU is an interesting team as they have experience in the tournament. The one difference, in years past they were a high seed Cinderella team. Shaka Smart, one of the most entertaining coaches in college basketball, leads the squad. Akron is a good team with height. With two players above 6 ft 7 they dominate in rebounds and blocked shots.

#5 UNLV -- #12 California: Freshman Anthony Bennett leads this UNLV team and has a potential chance of being a #1 draft pick for the NBA in the future. While this team has struggled for consistency, if they come out firing, they can beat anyone. California doesn’t make many 3s and aren’t known for forcing turnovers but they are a well-rounded team and have a decent chance of derailing UNLV’s championship hopes.

3s, 3s 3s

The 3 pointer can be one of the most crucial parts of a basketball game. Lethal sharpshooters from long range can get hot and decimate other teams. In the past, Cinderella teams that make long runs such as VCU and Davidson can really shoot the ball from beyond the arc. Here are some teams that are deadly from three land…

Michigan: Trey Burke, Tim Hardaway Jr., and Nik Stauskas, all are amazing 3 pt shooters that help Michigan be one of the best three point teams in the nation.

Creighton: Known for shooting the three, they have shot 41% from behind the arc in their past 3 games.

Indiana: While they have one of the best big men in the country in Cody Zeller, they shoot 42% in away games.

Players to watch in the tournament

-Shane Larkin: One of the most exciting players to watch in college basketball, Larkin lead his Miami Hurricanes team to be ACC Regular Season champs and to win the ACC Tournament Champions. Miami with Larkin has a great chance to make the Final Four and even win it all.

-Victor Oladipo: A junior guard out of Indiana, Oladipo, along with his counterpart Cody Zeller , has taken over the Big Ten and now the Hoosiers are a #1 seed in the tournament.

-Trey Burke: An amazing shooter, Burke has been debated as one of the best players in the country. Leading Michigan, they were one of the best teams in the Big Ten behind Indiana. Look for Burke to shoot early and often, looking to win his team a championship.

Hopefully this information will help you complete the perfect bracket. Good luck and have a fun-filled March Madness.