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2015 NCAA Tournament: Bracket Denters of the Midwest

By Daniel Tran

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The Midwest Region of the 2015 NCAA Tournament has the undefeated Kentucky Wildcats who will own the region. That doesn’t mean there aren’t teams that can make things more difficult in the rest of your bracket.

So now that we have reached the end of the our Bracket Busters series, we arrive at the Midwest Region of the 2015 NCAA Tournament Bracket where we have the Kentucky Wildcats, and what appears to be the entire state of Indiana. Seriously, take a second look at the region and go Count von Count. There are five Indiana colleges in the Midwest Region.

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Not that it matters at all. Any region that Kentucky would have been placed in would have had them as heavy favorites to advance to the Final Four. A look at the way the region is structured now, there is very little chance that any of these teams would give Kentucky a legitimate scare, leaving many brackets, at least in the Midwest region, intact without any major damage being done unless Kentucky falters (which they won’t).

However, just because your Midwest Region can’t be busted does not mean it won’t be dented. There are some surprise teams that can cause you miss out on some much needed points for your office pool. Beware of these teams.

No. 10 – Indiana Hoosiers

The Hoosiers are going through a rough season where their coach may be on his way out, and the team was controversially given a bye into the second round when many felt that should have been in one of the four play-in games. So why should any team worry about them?

Indiana’s backs are against the walls, and when you put any team in that position, they either crumble immediately, or they fight back. Armed with the 13th most efficient offense in the nation, they can fight back in a blaze of glory.

Scoring 115.4 points per 100 possessions behind the creativity of James Blackmon and Kevin Ferrell, the Hoosiers have a chance to silence critics and torch teams with that potent offense that has been unstoppable at times this season.

They will need to improve on their 296th ranked defense in terms of efficiency, but, like many teams in the NCAA have proven in recent years, all you need a streak of hot shooting to shock some big-time teams.

No. 11 – Texas Longhorns

It seems this year that the Texas Longhorns are just destined to be a team with horrific luck. They play close games against quality opponents, but can’t seem to get over the hump and win consistently.

However, they do possess the size and talent necessary to be a dominant team, if things start coming together for them at the right time, and there is no better time than the NCAA Tournament to get that accomplished.

Isaiah Taylor has been known to put up wild shots and fails at utilizing the size advantage that Texas often has on the inside. Myles Turner hasn’t been given more than 20 minutes since March 2, but they need his defensive presence to change the fortunes of the team. Per 40 minutes during conference play, he is averaging 10.7 rebounds and 4.7 blocks per game.

If head coach Rick Barnes can figure out a way to give Turner more minutes while still utilizing Jonathan Holmes and Cameron Ridley effectively, Texas can turn a lot of heads in the bottom half of the region.

No. 13 – Valparaiso Crusaders

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    • It’s tough to say whether the Crusaders have the ability to successfully come out of a murderous top half of the bracket with Kentucky looming as a Sweet 16 matchup, but toughness is something that Valparaiso should never be questioned about. And they are going to need it for the path they are taking.

    First, they face off against a talented Maryland team with Dezmine Wells. If they survive that, they will have to face a Bob Huggins coached West Virginia team that exemplifies toughness. And if they pass that test, they get the best team in the nation with Kentucky. Not a bad road, right?

    Fortunately for the Crusaders, they have Alec Peters who has been a rock for them, averaging 16.7 points and 6.8 rebounds a game. Behind him are a pair of guards that can help him stretch the floor in Darien Walker and Tevonn Walker, who both shoot better than 35 percent from the three-point line.

    If the Walker’s return to the court healthy (Darien injured his nose, while Tevonn hurt his knee), Valparasio has a lot of reasons to be confident that they can at least advance to the Sweet 16 and test the resolve of the seemingly coroneted Kentucky Wildcats.

    Next: Bracket Busters of the West Region

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