COMMENTARY: NCAA Tournament features a Kiss, a Flo, a Storm and plenty more

Published 6:00 pm Wednesday, March 16, 2022

From Peter Kiss to Flo Thamba to Storm Murphy, the NCAA Tournament is filled with great names, great stories and, hopefully, several great games.

The action tipped off Tuesday night with two games from the First Four, and there were two more games on Wednesday night, one which included Kiss’ Bryant Bulldogs.

Kiss, who I hope we see on Friday against 1-seed Arizona, is the nation’s leading scorer. He also did a pushup after a made basket in the Northeast Conference Tournament Championship. He also wore a T-Shirt of the band KISS before the game. We need that guy on our TV as much as possible the next few days.

No matter the players or the teams, though, we know the action will be intriguing.

Here are some things to watch from each region:

WEST

Best first-round matchup: No. 7 Michigan State vs. No. 10 Davidson. You get two of the better coaches in the sport with Tom Izzo and Bob McKillop. You also get Davidson’s Foster Loyer going against his former team. His teammate, Hyungjung Lee, is the one to watch, though. Loyer averages 16.4 points per game, while Lee averages 16.0 points and 6.0 rebounds. Lee has made 77 3-pointers with Loyer making 73. Michigan State has its hands full.

Most likely upset: While I think it’s Davidson over Michigan State, I’m going to put one I didn’t necessarily pick, but could happen and it’s No. 13 Vermont over No. 4 Arkansas. Vermont ranks as the 22nd best team in the country by barttorvik.com in the past month. Sure, Arkansas is five spots higher, but that would just equate to a seed difference, not nine whole seed lines. John Becker’s group scores 74.9 points per game and won its conference tournament games by an average of 36.7 points per game, including an 82-43 win in the title game over UMBC, which is known for the lone 16 over 1 upset of Virginia in the 2018 tournament.

Story to watch: Duke is the No. 2 seed in this region. Whenever Duke does lose, or if the Blue Devils go win the national title, it will be the final game for Mike Krzyzewski — also known as Coach K. All I’ve ever known was Coach K at Duke. The first college basketball game I watched as a kid was Duke when he had Bobby Hurley, Grant Hill and Christian Laettner. It will be weird seeing him step away from the game. But he’s been one of the best to do it, if not the best.

Best possible future matchup: It has to be Gonzaga vs. Duke in the Elite Eight if it happens, right? The teams already played once with Duke winning 84-81 in November. I was preoccupied with Chapel Hill defeating Kilgore in double overtime in the third round of the high school football playoffs at Christus Trinity Mother Frances Rose Stadium that night, so it would be fun to see these teams meet again with more at stake. Plus, they both have a projected top five pick in the NBA Draft with Gonzaga’s Chet Holmgren and Duke’s Paolo Banchero.

Elite Eight: No. 1 Gonzaga over No. 3 Texas Tech. While Duke would be the fun matchup for Gonzaga, Texas Tech is probably the better team than Duke. The Red Raiders rank in the top 10 in all of the advanced metrics, including No. 5 at Bart Torvik, while Duke is behind Texas Tech in every metric. Gonzaga has a tough road to get here as potential second-round opponent Memphis is playing some of the best basketball in the country ever since top recruit Emoni Bates, who recently just turned 18 late in January, stopped playing.

EAST

Best first-round matchup: No. 7 Murray State vs. No. 10 San Francisco. Why did the committee do this to us? Two of the best mid-majors in America facing in the first round. It’s not fair. But what a game it will be to watch starting at 8:40 p.m. Thursday on CBS. Murray State is 30-2, but San Francisco is a talented group that could pull this one off.

Most likely upset: As much as I hate to admit it, it is No. 11 Virginia Tech over No. 6 Texas. The Longhorns haven’t been very good, especially recently with the departure of Tre Mitchell. Virginia Tech is one of the hottest teams in the country as was evident by Murphy and the Hokies winning the ACC Tournament. Texas can win because of its defense, but can it score enough?

Story to watch: Baylor is the defending national champion. Can the Bears repeat? As a 1 seed, they can definitely get to the Final Four, but without LJ Cryer and Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua, it will be tough. I think the Bears lose to UCLA in the Sweet 16.

Best possible future matchup: No. 2 Kentucky vs. No. 3 Purdue. I have Purdue losing before this, but if it happens, you get Jaden Ivey against TyTy Washington and you get Kentucky’s Oscar Tshiebwe — averaging 17.0 points and 15.1 rebounds — against Purdue’s big duo of 7-4 Zach Edey and Trevion Williams. Purdue’s defense worries me, though, and I’m not sure how far the Boilermakers will last in this tournament.

Elite Eight: No. 4 UCLA over No. 11 Virginia Tech. UCLA showed it could get to a Final Four last year, and the Bruins have everyone back from that team. And as I mentioned earlier, Virginia Tech is playing good basketball, so why not ride the hot streak and have some upsets along the way?

SOUTH

Best first-round matchup: No. 7 Ohio State vs. No. 10 Loyola Chicago. This is a bad matchup for the Buckeyes. Loyola Chicago has won in the tournament before, and I expect the Ramblers to move on here.

Most likely upset: No. 13 Chattanooga over No. 4 Illinois. I like Illinois and head coach Brad Underwood, and I think the Illini could make the Final Four, but Chattanooga is a dangerous mid-major that will cause some problems. If this game stays close, expect an upset to happen.

Story to watch: Arizona has a new coach this year, Tommy Lloyd, who spent the past 20 years as Mark Few’s assistant at Gonzaga. Lloyd has the Wildcats rolling, but Kerr Kriisa’s injury could provide an obstacle. If Kriisa can play, especially in the later rounds, Arizona could make the Final Four for the first time since 2001.

Best possible future matchup: No. 2 Villanova vs. No. 3 Tennessee. It’s a rematch from earlier in the season when Villanova won 71-53. Tennessee is playing much better now, and Rick Barnes’ squad should win the rematch if it happens.

Elite Eight: No. 1 Arizona over No. 3 Tennessee. I think Kriisa comes back healthy, and I think the Wildcats are the second best team in the country and get back to the Final Four.

MIDWEST

Best first-round matchup: No. 6 LSU vs. No. 11 Iowa State. It’s just fun seeing LSU in the tournament without a coach again as Will Wade was officially removed from his job last week. This is the second time LSU has went into the tournament without Wade in a season in which they had him the whole year, and the Tigers went to the Sweet 16 the last time in 2019.

Most likely upset: No. 13 South Dakota State over No. 4 Providence. The Jackrabbits (30-4) are good, really good. I got to see them in person this year when they came to Nacogdoches and defeated Stephen F. Austin, 83-71. Douglas Wilson, Baylor Scheierman and crew can definitely pull off the upset here.

Story to watch: There are some superstars in this region. Auburn’s Jabari Smith is the likely No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft. Wisconsin’s Johnny Davis and Iowa’s Keegan Murray are also likely top 10 picks. And Kansas is Kansas. This region has a lot of options, and while most people expect Kansas to run the table, I think the Jayhawks lose before the Elite Eight.

Best possible future matchup/Elite Eight: I combined two categories into one because it’s the same game — No. 2 Auburn vs. No. 5 Iowa. This is the matchup I want to see and expect to see with a trip to the Final Four on the line. Auburn was No. 1 at one point this season and Iowa has operated as the best team in the country for the past month, according to Bart Torvik. Murray against Smith is a big-time matchup, plus Auburn has an elite rim protector in Walker Kessler and fun guards with Wendell Green Jr. and K.D. Johnson. I have Iowa winning, though.

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

Gonzaga over Arizona. In a matchup of teacher vs. student, Few and the Zags finally get their title after losing in the championship game last year to Baylor. Holmgren, Drew Timme and Andrew Nembhard will make sure Spokane, Washington, gets to experience a championship before they leave.