NCAA Basketball: Busting Brackets Bracketology
By Doug Winkey
13 Seeds: UC Irvine, Stony Brook, Chattanooga, UNC Wilmington
UC Irvine sits atop the Big West conference. Their best win is at Long Beach State, while they possess quality road losses to Saint Mary’s, Oregon, and Kansas. What I love about the Anteaters is their size. They are the owners of one of the tallest rosters in America, highlighted by 7’6″ NBA prospect Mamadou Ndiaye.
Stony Brook has a two game lead over perennial American East representative, Albany. The Seawolves have lost to their only RPI top-50 team when they faced Notre Dame in December. They do have very nice nonconference wins against Princeton and Hofstra to make up for it. Forward Jameel Warney is an absolute beast with 18.2 ppg, 10.4 rpg, 3.1 bpg, and close to shooting 62% from the field.
Chattanooga has done well so far, leading the Southern conference at 8-1. The Mocs boast wins over Dayton, Georgia, and Illinois. Their best lost coming against Iowa State. Most of Chattanooga’s numbers don’t jump off the page, but they do have a ton of upperclassmen experience that often likes to upset power conference teams in March. They hail from the same conference as Mercer, who upset Duke several years ago as a 15-seed.
UNC-Wilmington is fighting hard to stay in control of the Colonial Athletic Conference over favored Hofstra. Hofstra has played more competitive teams, but UNCW has a better record in fewer games. I like the Seahawks from Carolina here because they have a slightly more potent offense, but it’s a tossup until the two teams meet twice before season’s end.
Next: 12 Seeds