2022 NCAA Tournament Region Breakdown (West) - Straight To The Point, Gonzaga Won't Make The Final Four Again
I’ll be looking at each region over the next couple of days as the NCAA Tournament gets ready to tip. We’ll look at matchups to watch, previews, picks, players to watch and what team could be a sleeper to come out of each region. I’ll be releasing my entire bracket on Thursday morning so there won’t be a ton of revealing here.
West Region
Storylines
1. Who will put K out to pasture and what will his bullshit remark be? - I don't want to live in a world where K is in the Final Four during his final year. I also know that we've seen K pull a dickhead move after losing in the NCAA Tournament. Part of me wonders if Davidson or Michigan State catches them in the second round, mostly because Davidson's motion offense is designed to destroy Duke's mediocre defense.
2. Gonzaga won't make a Final Four - Listen, it's really fucking hard to make a Final Four. This isn't anything against Gonzaga or Mark Few. I go quite a bit to defend them. But this draw is designed for them to get to the Sweet 16/Elite 8 and then lose. I understand the defense is improved. I understand they still have Timme and Nembhard and Chet and everyone else. But it's really fucking hard to go to a Final Four back-to-back years!
3. UConn is forgotten about - When talking about this entire region somehow, someway UConn is the one that no one is mentioning. It's fine, I mean they are a 5 seed. But we're talking about all 5 seeds yet not UConn. We're talking about Arkansas and Tech and everyone else.
4. Alabama will not save its season - Everyone keeps waiting for Alabama to save its season with a run in the NCAA Tournament. What makes you think they'll do that? Sure, they can get hot and make a bunch of threes. They can't really defend. That's the secret from last year to this year. Last year they were really good defensively. They aren't this year. Sure a win and a loss in the Round of 32 would play to seed, but it also just feels like a failure.
5. I'm not gonna buy Memphis - I've been preaching that Memphis feels overvalued because they went 2 outta 3 against Houston and beat some bad teams. I understand the whole addition by subtraction thing with Emoni Bates, but it's still an average team. Boise State is going to turn them over. Most people don't even know Boise State has a basketball team, they just assume it's a football blue field.
Players to Watch:
There are a couple ways to look at this, but I’m looking at this strictly as an intrigue factor. These are players that could be lottery picks in the NBA Draft, could put a team on their back or are just flat out good players. I'll try to avoid the obvious like Chet Holmgren or Paolo Banchero.
1. Bryson Williams (Texas Tech) - I love everything about his game. He's averaging 14 and 5, can be a bit of a mismatch and can step out and shoot some threes. For a Texas Tech offense that can get somewhat flat, Williams is a dude they can just give the ball to.
2. Ben Shungu (Vermont) - One of the best defenders in the country and we've already seen the line drop to Arkansas just -5. Why? Shungu can blow up offenses. He's the two time America East DPOY and paired with two time POY Ryan Davis. Just remember the name Shungu.
3. Teddy Allen (New Mexico State) - The well-traveled Teddy Allen. Here's the thing. He has high-major talent. He's putting up 20 per game and has decent size. This is the sort of talent for a mid-major to win a first round game.
4. AJ Griffin (Duke) - If Duke makes a run to the Final Four it's because of AJ Griffin. Why? He's basically the one shooter they have on the roster. Everyone else is so inconsistent from three and we've seen what happens when they go cold and a team like Va Tech gets hot. They need Griffin to shoot well.
5. Andrew Nembhard (Gonzaga) - It's sort of a weird year for point guards in college. Start listing the best point guards and it's sort of ... weak. Nembhard might be the best of the bunch and he's a guy with experience from last year's run that can be an offensive weapon this year.
Team underseeded: 11 Rutgers (play-in game)
Team overseeded: 2 Duke
Matchup you want to see: No. 2 Duke vs No. 3 Texas Tech in Sweet 16
Most likely first round upset: No. 11 Rutgers/ND over No. 6 Alabama
Best bet to win region (via Barstool Sportsbook) Texas Tech +600