TOC reached out to other SB Nation sites to see what they have to say about their schools’ chances.
TOC has reached out to the SB Nation writers of the other Big Ten schools who were selected for the NCAA Tournament. We asked them for their thoughts on their schools’ early matchups and their outlook for the tournament, as well as how they are filling out their bracket. Here is what they have to say.
Andrew Ledman from Hammer & Rails answers for Purdue (#1 Midwest).
TOC: Can you give a scouting report on your school’s first round matchup?
AL: I really wish I could. With Purdue having a play-in opponent we don’t know who the opponent actually is yet. But that really doesn’t matter. After you lose to a 16 seed in the previous tournament it doesn’t matter which team is in front of Purdue this time. This game is about Purdue. They’ve got to respond to the pressure and expectations. They’ve got to show last year was a fluke.
TOC: Which team in your half of your region would be the toughest matchup for your school?
AL: Hard not to say Tennessee here. These two teams played in the Maui Invitational this year and Purdue came away the winner but it was an incredibly tough matchup. I’m sure they’ve improved since then. It would be an incredibly difficult game and one I’m sure most Purdue fans would be happy to not see again.
TOC: How far are you picking your school in your bracket?
AL: All the way. I’m all in. I have to be. Purdue has been one of the top teams in the country all season and it’s proving time. I know no Big Ten team has won it all since MSU in 2000 but surely it’s gotta happen eventually, right?
TOC: Fill in the blank: “My school will win it all if _______”
AL: They limit turnovers and hit their average percentage from three.
TOC: Who is in your final four? Who is your champion?
AL: I’ve got UConn, Alabama, Marquette, and Purdue. With Purdue taking it all. Believe.
Rohan Chakravarthi from Bucky’s 5th Quarter answers for Wisconsin (#5 South).
TOC: Can you give a scouting report on your school’s first round matchup?
RC: Wisconsin plays James Madison in the No. 5 vs. No. 12 matchup on Friday. The Badgers are coming off a strong week, beating Maryland, Northwestern, and Purdue to head into March with some momentum. They’ll face a James Madison team that went 31-3, winning the Sun Belt to be an automatic qualifier. James Madison is led by 6’6” guard Terrence Edwards Jr., who serves as the team’s primary scorer, putting up 17.4 points a game, and ball-handler. While JMU doesn’t have elite size, which could come into play, they have a number of athletic forwards, which could present a challenge for Wisconsin. Wisconsin will look to exploit the size matchup, which may be crucial to their success, as James Madison is elite at taking away three-pointers, allowing opponents to hit just 28.6 percent of their deep shots, the second-best mark in the nation.
TOC: Which team in your half of your region would be the toughest matchup for your school?
RC: Houston is the No. 1 seed, but I’d feel that No. 3 Kentucky would be the toughest draw for the Badgers. Looking at the top teams in the South region, Houston is certainly a challenge, but Wisconsin matches up better, as the Cougars don’t have that elite size, while their top guards are on the smaller size, matching with Chucky Hepburn and Max Klesmit, who are good defensive options, but somewhat undersized. Kentucky could exploit Wisconsin’s defense, as they average nearly 90 points a contest, while shooting 49.7 percent from the field and 41.2 percent from deep. Looking at their offense, the Wildcats have size as well as scoring across the board with their guard and forward options. Antonio Reeves would especially impose a challenge with his size and shooting ability, while Rob Dillingham is as good of a bucket-getter as it gets. I’d have a tough time choosing Wisconsin if they made it far enough and matched up with Kentucky.
TOC: How far are you picking your school in your bracket?
RC: I believe in my preseason prediction: a Round of 32 exit for the Badgers. While James Madison is a sneaky upset pick, the Badgers have the size advantage, which should be an integral part of their success on Friday. I see Wisconsin ultimately pulling past the Dukes, but falling short to Duke in the Round of 32, given the matchup and their injury concerns. I think Wisconsin actually matches up well against Duke’s three-guard lineup, while both sides have a good stretch five with Kyle Filipowski and Steven Crowl. But, with the Badgers’ injuries and tough draw, I see them bowing out in a close game.
TOC: Fill in the blank: “My school will win it all if _______”
RC: They continue to ride the hot wave from the Big Ten Tournament. The one-week experience showed a different side of the Badgers, who battled through adversity to pull off a number of hard-fought victories. They’ll need the heightened play from both Chucky Hepburn and A.J. Storr, who rose to another level, both in their production and competitiveness, in the conference tournament. Additionally, health will be imperative. Tyler Wahl was a crucial piece at the end of the season for Wisconsin, but really struggled this past week while dealing with a knee injury. John Blackwell, the team’s best bench player, needs to heal from the ankle injury that thwarted his explosiveness over the final games of the tournament. Lastly, the Badgers need to fix their defensive woes, which were seen during the team’s rough patch in February. If they can reach their defensive potential, while getting healthy and seeing their top players continue to perform, they’ll be in good shape over the next Month.
TOC: Who is in your final four? Who is your champion?
RC: In my first bracket created, I saw myself creating a somewhat unique Final Four: UConn, Alabama, Kentucky, and Creighton.
From there, I had UConn beating Alabama and Creighton beating Kentucky, with the Huskies becoming repeat champions.
Patrick Gerhart from Corn Nation answers for Nebraska (#8 South).
TOC: Can you give a scouting report on your school’s first round matchup?
PG: Nebraska will be playing Texas A&M. They are known for their defense with the exception of letting opposing teams shoot threes. For some reason, they struggle defending them. Which bodes well for the Huskers as we love to make it rain. Oh yeah, they are marginal at best on offense so that’s pretty cool too.
The big “story” here though is the fact that both our men’s and women’s basketball teams are both playing Texas A&M. The school that stole our beloved former Nebraska All-American linebacker, made Athletic Director Trev Alberts last week. So, this might be a bit more personal than most people would be led to believe.
TOC: Which team in your half of your region would be the toughest matchup for your school?
PG: I’m going to go with Houston. I saw them dismantle Kansas a week or so ago. It was not pretty. They are really good.
TOC: How far are you picking your school in your bracket?
PG: I am giving the Huskers a first round win. Which, for those of you playing a home, would be their first win in the NCAA Tournament. Not since like 1953, but since forever. Nebraska has never won an NCAA Tournament game. So after that, I’m saying we meet Houston in the second round and head home in time for Easter.
TOC: Fill in the blank: “My school will win it all if _______”
PG: My school will win it all if we find Jimmy Hoffa’s body.
TOC: Who is in your final four? Who is your champion?
PG: I’d like to say Purdue but we all know they will screw it up somehow. It’s in their DNA.
I haven’t even done a bracket yet but I’m going with Iowa State, Houston, North Carolina, & Tennessee. I’m going to pick Houston to win it all at this point. Yeah, I’ve just been really impressed with them. You can blame it on recency bias. I will probably change my mind in a day or so.
Ignacio Dowling from Inside NU answers for Northwestern (#9 East).
TOC: Can you give a scouting report on your school’s first round matchup?
ID: Northwestern is facing No. 8-seeded Florida Atlantic, which went to the Final Four last year. Led by head coach Dusty May, the Owls thrive when they play at a fast pace. Johnnell Davis is one of the nation’s best guards, shooting at a ridiculous 48-42-85 clip. He and 7-foot-1 big man Vladislav Goldin form a dynamic offensive tandem. While FAU has struggled on the defensive end, its three-level firepower — particularly in transition — can’t be ignored. Its postseason experience is the icing on the cake.
TOC: Which team in your half of your region would be the toughest matchup for your school?
ID: It’s UConn, and it’s not even close. Without even beginning to dive into the chasm in talent between the Huskies and Northwestern, Connecticut is just a bigger team that also happens to be arguably the best-shooting team in the country. The Wildcats have frequently struggled with defending taller guards on the perimeter, and Tristen Newton would exacerbate that problem. That doesn’t even include Donovan Clingan matching up against a Northwestern frontcourt that will likely be without its starting center in Matthew Nicholson. Forget the region. UConn is probably the worst matchup for NU in the entire country.
TOC: How far are you picking your school in your bracket?
ID: I think Northwestern loses to FAU in a close game on Friday in the Round of 64. It could go either way, given both teams have really talented guards in Davis and Boo Buie, respectively. However, without Ty Berry, who tore his meniscus on Feb. 7, the Wildcats haven’t consistently been the same offensive juggernaut they were early in the year. The Owls are a little more dynamic and a little deeper, and I think that’s the difference.
TOC: Fill in the blank: “My school will win it all if _______”
ID: If Brooks Barnhizer and Ryan Langborg play like All-Americans for three weeks. Do I think there’s even a remote chance this happens? No, but Northwestern tends to play up to its competition when it has three scorers shooting the lights out. It beat Purdue in December — and almost beat the Boilermakers at Mackey in January — because it had a trio of starters erupt offensively. That’s the minimum Northwestern has to do to beat UConn and the other giants it would probably face along that path. Buie tends to be a really consistent player, but NU isn’t going to beat great teams if its supporting cast isn’t just as good from game to game.
TOC: Who is in your final four? Who is your champion?
ID: It’s hard to pick anyone other than UConn as the champ at this point. For the Final Four, I’d probably go with the Huskies, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Marquette.
I will be answering these questions for MSU (#9 West).
TOC: Can you give a scouting report on your school’s first round matchup?
O: In the battle for MSU supremacy, both schools are pretty similar in both roster composition and statistical analysis. Both teams are led by seniors; 5 of Mississippi State’s top 6 scorers are seniors, though their top scorer is a freshman. Josh Hubbard, a guard, is pacing the Bulldogs with 17.1 PPG, though he is doing that on high usage rate, taking 13.5 shots per game; his FG% is only 38.7. The only other player on this team averaging double-figures is forward Tolu Smith, at 15.2 PPG, though it is worth noting that he has not reached his average in six games including the Bulldogs’ three games in the SEC Tournament. As a team, Mississippi State averages 45.5% from the field and 32.5% from deep, a shade below Michigan State’s 46.1 and 35.9.
On the glass, the southern MSU is a bit better than their northern counterpart, with a narrow 38.4 to 34.6 RPG advantage. This has been a bad year for rebounding for the Spartans so look for the Bulldogs to exploit that.
Defensively, both teams were among the best in their conference and both held opponents under 70 per contest. Michigan State’s average was slightly higher, but Mississippi State did play in a conference with some of the highest scoring offenses in the nation. One thing the Bulldogs have going for them is their physicality. They have some big boys on their team and they are not afraid to throw their weight around. That could be problematic for the Spartans if they have to rely on Tyson Walker and AJ Hoggard driving to the basket. We already know it isn’t difficult to knock our centers’ shots off-course (if they are ever on course to begin with).
I expect a close game that will come down to the wire. It could be a matter of who gets the last shot or who can avoid the late mistake. I am expecting a game that will be ugly at times, and both teams will grow more tentative as the game winds down and it remains tight. The first game of the tournament could have a dramatic finish to get the Madness started.
TOC: Which team in your half of your region would be the toughest matchup for your school?
O: It is easy when you have the #1 seed as your potential 2nd round opponent, but for the sake of not simply saying North Carolina, I will say that, if MSU can escape the opening weekend, Alabama would be a team that would be a problem for us. They are the #1 scoring team in the nation, averaging 90.8 PPG. I have faith that MSU’s defense could keep them below their average, but if it is one of those games where the Spartans collectively decide to shoot horribly, then this is a matchup that could get ugly in a hurry.
TOC: How far are you picking your school in your bracket?
O: The realist in me says that MSU only gets to the round of 32. But you all know by now that I am not a realist so let me say that the path to the Final Four is there, complete with a revenge win over Arizona in the Elite 8. MSU has some seniors who have not been to a Final Four so it needs to happen this year.
TOC: Fill in the blank: “My school will win it all if _______”
O: If everyone plays to their ability. This is a team that was considered a contender back in the preseason. They fell off a very high cliff because they have not been able to get the whole team playing to its potential all at once. The only time that it has played a game to its ceiling this year was the Baylor game. And if that team can show up, then look out.
TOC: Who is in your final four? Who is your champion?
I go Iowa State, North Carolina, Houston and Creighton. And I will say UNC gets the championship, at least in my realist bracket.
**Please note that the writers at the Illinois page were unwilling to participate in this collaboration. If you have a minute, hop on over to their page to tell them thank you.
TOC wishes to thank Andrew Ledman, Rohan Chakravarthi, Patrick Gerhart, and Ignacio Dowling for their help in putting this article together. But, of course, just like last year, we want to see Michigan State as the last Big Ten team standing.