NCAA Tournament South Region Reboot: Value, Cinderella, Winner, & More
The second weekend is rapidly approaching for the NCAA Tournament, and we’re here to give you a region-by-region breakdown of the remaining field. We break down the South Region, look at the most experienced team, a value play, the Cinderella, and who we believe will head to Houston.
Most Experienced Team: San Diego State (+650)
The Aztecs have the 21st-most Division I experience in the country and the third-most left in the remaining field. This team has primarily stuck together over the past three seasons, with contributors all over the roster. The team is more than the sum of its parts, with a top 30 ranking in the percentage of minutes coming from their bench. Their dismantling of Furman was as convincing as a win can get, and they’ll look to do the same against a much more difficult opponent in Alabama. Good luck with that.
Best Value Play: Creighton (+175)
Creighton has stars at every position and all the makings of a national championship winner. Ryan Nembhard showed his scoring ability at point guard with a career-high 30 points against Baylor in the Round of 32. Ryan Kalkbrenner is one of the sport’s best rim protectors and has the sixth-highest offensive efficiency rating in the entire country. Trey Alexander and Baylor Scheierman are flame-throwing three-point specialists that always help space the floor. At the same time, Arthur Kaluma is an all-around contributor to round out the starting five. The only concern with the Bluejays is their lack of depth. They have the lowest bench minutes percentage remaining in the field.
Cinderella: Princeton (+2500)
The lone double-digit seed remaining in the tournament, Princeton is fresh off a convincing upset win over Missouri to etch their spot in the Sweet 16. This is the third-consecutive 15-seed to reach the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament, and they are more than capable of going deeper. Tosan Evbuomwan is the name to know here. The 6’8″ forward leads the team in scoring, rebounding, and assists and was stellar in their opening-round upset over Arizona. We’re not saying bet on the Tigers to come out of this region, but they have shown some serious capability to hang with the big boys thus far.
Winner: Alabama (-145)
Bama still feels a cut above the rest in this region. Their three-point shooting, athleticism, and stout defense are why they are the favorites to win the whole thing in April, and they are still worth the steep price. Even when star and future lottery pick Brandon Miller scored zero points in their opening-round game against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, the Tide still won by 21. They can defeat you in so many different ways and will be heavy favorites right up to the Final Four, no matter who they face.
