Tourney breakdown: Previewing the South
Selection Sunday is officially in the books, and the NCAA Tournament is upon us. In the buildup to the opening round, theScore is previewing each region to prepare you to pick your bracket. After previously looking at the East, West, and Midwest regions, we dive deep into the South and No. 1 Houston.
Top teams
No. 1 Houston
Houston grabbed a No. 1 seed for the second straight year after compiling a sparkling 30-4 record. However, the Cougars are limping into the tournament, scoring only 41 points in a 28-point blowout loss to Iowa State in the Big 12 title game. Kelvin Sampson’s imprint is again all over this team, with Houston ranked as the second-best defensive program in the country, per KenPom. The Cougars take their intense approach from star Jamal Shead, one of the best two-way players in the nation. Add in Baylor transfer L.J. Cryer, and Houston has one of the top backcourts.
No. 2 Marquette
Marquette’s hopes for a deep tourney run lie almost solely in Tyler Kolek’s health. The star point guard leads the country in assists, but an oblique injury has sidelined him since the start of March. Coach Shaka Smart said Kolek would’ve played in the Big East final loss to UConn if it was the NCAA Tournament, so he should be set for the opener against Western Kentucky. However, the Golden Eagles have plenty of other options on offense should the injury limit Kolek, with leading scorer Kam Jones connecting on over 41% of shots from deep. Marquette’s depth should be enough to ease Kolek back into the lineup, but the club needs him fully healthy should a date with Kentucky loom in the Sweet 16.
No. 3 Kentucky
Kentucky has arguably the best offense in the country, as five players average double-digit points. Steady senior Antonio Reeves is the leading scorer, but star freshmen Reed Sheppard and Rob Dillingham are grabbing plenty of attention from NBA scouts. The Wildcats will likely need explosive offense to make a deep tournament run since their defense ranks second-worst of any major conference team in the NCAA Tournament field, per KenPom. Still, Kentucky has shown it can play solid defense for stretches when engaged. It’ll be up to coach John Calipari to get that buy-in.
Bracket-busters
No. 11 NC State
There’s no team hotter in the country right now than NC State – much to the surprise of anybody who paid attention to the Wolfpack this campaign. NC State finished the regular season with a dismal 2-9 record in its last 11 contests and had almost no chance of making the NCAA Tournament. But the Wolfpack caught lightning in a bottle and ripped off five wins in five days en route to claiming the ACC Tournament title. The duo of D.J. Horne and D.J. Burns are sure to capture America’s attention – especially the 6-foot-9, 280-pound Burns and his clinical low-post game. That could be a major issue for No. 6 Texas Tech with center Warren Washington uncertain for the opener due to injury.
No. 12 James Madison
James Madison enters the tourney with a sizzling 31-3 record and rostering one of the most explosive offensive units in the country. Led by the thrilling backcourt of T.J. Bickerstaff and Terrence Edwards, the Dukes pour in 84 points per game. The program showed it isn’t intimidated by major competition by starting the season with a shocking win at Michigan State. That’s bad news for opening-round opponent Wisconsin, a team that has lost nine of its last 15 games.
Players to watch
Jamal Shead, Houston
Shead is one of the toughest to play against in college basketball, running Houston’s offense on one end and locking down the opposition’s best perimeter player on the other. The senior is averaging 13.1 points and 6.2 rebounds this season while ranking 16th nationally with two steals per contest. Should the Cougars face a surging Nebraska in Round 2, look for Shead to have a big game defensively against a squad ranking 107th in turnovers this campaign.
NC State’s pair of DJs
The DJ duo is the engine driving the NC State wagon and has already performed some March Madness with the incredible run to the ACC Tournament title. Horne capped a strong tourney with a brilliant performance Saturday versus North Carolina, scoring 29 points in the upset. Burns is an absolute beast to deal with in the post, with the nimble big using his size to pull off an array of moves that puts opponents in a blender. The senior forward scored 39 points on a remarkable 17-of-23 shooting in the final two games of the conference tourney.
Kentucky’s freshmen
While NC State’s powerful pair are both seniors, youth is served on the Kentucky roster in the form of two exceptional freshmen who have NBA scouts keeping a close eye. Sheppard connects on an absurd 52% of shots from beyond the arc, while Dillingham is close behind at 45%. Both players are also coming into March Madness on fire. Sheppard hit 10 of his last 16 triples, and Dillingham torched the net at a 9-for-16 clip. This will likely be the duo’s only trip to the NCAA Tournament with the NBA lottery looming, so they’ll certainly push to make an impact from the jump.
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