NCAA Tournament Preview: Key Games and Team Insights in Midwest

Watch NCAA Tournament Preview: Key Games and Team Insights in Midwest - SportsGrid on Dailymotion

Transcript

00:00Now, in the Midwest, you know, right now Houston is the biggest favorite of any team on the

00:04board in the NCAA tournament.

00:06I'm assuming Duke will be once, you know, they get the winner of whoever that 16 is,

00:10but they play SIU-Edwardsville to start off.

00:14Tennessee takes on Wofford, another team that is no stranger to close games and winning

00:18games in the NCAA tournament.

00:20Kentucky takes on Troy.

00:23And then Gonzaga against Georgia, which to me is a fascinating matchup because I could

00:28see Gonzaga putting up 80, and I could see them putting up 50 and losing.

00:31I don't know which one.

00:32Yeah, it is a fascinating matchup.

00:36Gonzaga had somewhat a disappointing team through the course of the year.

00:41Played a difficult schedule early, as they always do, so they can be positioned to be

00:44seated well in the tournament.

00:46And did not play great basketball.

00:48Did not play great basketball through January and some of February.

00:52They started to look like themselves later.

00:54And then they played St. Mary's in the conference tournament.

00:57That's when they really started to look like the team that they should be with the assembled

01:02talent that they have and the Hall of Fame level coach that they have.

01:05They should be the team that played St. Mary's in the West Coast conference final.

01:10If they are that team, not only is Georgia in trouble, but so is the number one seat.

01:16And that's what I'm fascinated to see because we have a string of, I think it's now nine

01:23consecutive tournaments in which Gonzaga has advanced to the Sweet 16.

01:28Nine in a row.

01:29Ten in a row is the record.

01:30So if they can get there this year, it's going to be the hardest probably they've ever had

01:33to do to get there.

01:34But if they can get there this year, they'll tie the record for the most consecutive trips

01:38to the Sweet 16.

01:40Pretty remarkable for a team from a school in the West Coast conference.