NCAA men’s basketball tournament bracket. Marcus Fuller’s picks, predictions and highlights
The NCAA men’s basketball tournament has been set, and Star Tribune college basketball writer Marcus Fuller has his bracket ready.
Mountain West meltdown: The Mountain West got six NCAA bids this year, most from mid-major league since the Atlantic 10 in 2014. Maybe it’s poor seeding but no one reaches the Sweet 16. Half will at least make the second round, including Richard Pitino’s New Mexico squad.
Ex-coaches and programs reunite: Rick Barnes and Dana Altman were riding high at Texas and Creighton in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Their success dwindled before finding new homes at Tennessee and Oregon. Barnes and Altman will face their old programs in the second round.
Midwest mayhem: Kansas falling to Samford was a popular first-round upset pick because of injuries to Hunter Dickinson and Kevin McCullar. The Jayhawks are vulnerable, but a better team will take advantage in the second round with former LSU coach Will Wade’s McNeese team.
Grand upset: Grand Canyon and Alabama are far apart in NIL resources. But both were bolstered by top transfers with Alabama’s Mark Sears and GC’s Tyon Grant-Foster. Antelopes coach Bryce Drew will relive the Cinderella experience he had as a player.
Flying Illini: No player in college basketball has helped his NBA draft stock more recently than Illinois’ Terrence Shannon Jr.. Marcus Domask and Coleman Hawkins are standouts in their own right. The Big Ten tourney champs have the talent to get to first Sweet 16 since the NCAA runner-up finish in 2005.
Edey’s end: No men’s player has dominated college hoops like Zach Edey since Ralph Sampson in the 1980s, but all good things must come to an end. Purdue will exorcise the demons of the 1-16 upset last year by advancing to Painter’s second Elite Eight. But Tennessee’s Dalton Knecht will be the best player on the floor in that Midwest final matchup.
Houston, we have a problem: Motivation will come for the Cougars after being blown out by Iowa State in the Big 12 tournament final. But Kelvin Sampson will be just short of his second Final Four run. Houston has elite college guards. Kentucky coach John Calipari again has NBA first-round pick guards in Reed Sheppard and Rob Dillingham.
Love affair game: Imagine the warm feelings from North Carolina fans when they see ex-Tar Heels guard Caleb Love in the Elite Eight with Arizona this year. Pac-12 Player of the Year Love vs. ex-teammate and ACC Player of the Year R.J. Davis will be must-see TV. The Cats are on a mission.
No repeat champion: UConn deserved the No. 1 overall seed for being the most consistent team in college hoops. All the pieces are there to be the first repeat national champion since Florida in 2006 and ’07, including projected lottery pick Tristen Newton. It was a sign, though, that the Big East only had three teams in the field (tied with 1993 for fewest ever). The Huskies’ quest to defend their title ends vs. Arizona in the Final Four.
Longest title drought over: Hard to believe Lute Olson’s “Cardiac Cats” that upset Kentucky in the 1997 NCAA championship was nearly 30 years ago. That’s the last time the Pac-12 won it all. How fitting that the longest title drought among power conferences comes to an end with the league itself disbanding after this year. And to beat Kentucky again, too. Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd gets redemption after falling last year in a 2-15 game. Love conquers all after falling short on this stage with UNC vs. Kansas in 2022.
Two offensive linemen from Lakeville, Bryce Benhart and Riley Mahlman, are standouts for Big Ten rivals of Minnesota.
