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March Madness is officially here, so let's fill out some winning brackets! RotoBaller will be bringing you a full breakdown on each tournament region, including some potential sleepers and busts. Today we'll be taking a look at the South Region and my bracket picks.
I'm here to tell you some teams that I believe in to help you make the right tournament bracket decisions. Below I analyze the top four seeds, a potential bust, and a potential final four candidate. Hopefully, my college basketball predictions can help you win your March Madness pools. I really like to use Ken Pomeroy's advanced analytics to help determine a champion. Since 2002, each team to win the title except for one, was ranked top-20 in both offensive and defensive efficiency. I'll be putting those numbers in parentheses after each breakdown of the top-four seeds. Now let's get to it.
Once you're done here, be sure to also check out the rest of our NCAA Tournament articles and analysis including previews, predictions, sleepers, busts and guides on how to fill out your including other predictions for the East, Midwest, and West regions.
South Region Top Four Seeds
Top four seeds: No. 1 Baylor | N0. 2 Ohio State | No. 3 Arkansas | No. 4 Purdue
Baylor has been great all season. A disappointing loss to Oklahoma State in the Big 12 semifinals will have people fading them in the tournament. They may not have star power but are well-balanced. Ken Pomeroy has them as the third-best offense but 44th-ranked defense. They'll make it to the second weekend. (Ken Pom: #3 offense, #44 defense)
Ohio State is built really well. They have good post players and great three-point shooters. But they have a tendency to not keep their foot on the gas. They were up double digits with several minutes to go against Minnesota and Purdue in the Big 10 tournament before almost blowing both games. That can't happen in the NCAA Tournament. They will lose that way. (Ken Pom: #4 offense, #79 defense)
Arkansas was one of the hottest teams down the stretch winning 11 in a row before a bad loss to LSU in the SEC Tournament semifinals. They're led by Eric Musselman who took Nevada to three straight NCAA Tournaments including the Sweet 16 in 2018. They play fast but also get down on defense. The one future I have on the tournament is Arkansas to win the title at 50-1. I took that before the SEC Tournament. (Ken Pom: #35 offense, #14 defense)
Purdue is your typical boring Big 10 team. They're not exciting to watch but somehow get the job done. If they can get by North Texas in the First Round, they should make the Sweet 16 because Villanova is the No. 5 seed and they're too banged up. (Ken Pom: #23 offense, #23 defense)
Most Intriguing First Round Matchup
No. 4 Purdue vs. No. 13 North Texas
The winner of this game is going to the second weekend. North Texas can shoot, play fast, or slow it down, and play strong defense. They played all those styles in the Conference USA tournament. This could go down to the final possession.
Bust of the Region
Villanova. They're the No. 5 seed in the region. They've lost their point guard, Collin Gillepsie, and guard Justin Moore. They would've had a shot at a run with Gillepsie but they got the injury bug. It really showed in the Big East Tournament against Georgetown.
Final Four Pick
Arkansas. This is the hardest region. Baylor has the easiest draw to the Elite Eight. In the bottom half, I could see Ohio State, Arkansas, or Texas Tech making it to the Elite Eight. The Red Raiders and Buckeyes disappear in games but the Razorbacks play a complete 40-minute game. I see them beating Baylor in the Elite Eight behind Moses Moody.
