March Madness: Three teams with momentum to avoid picking in your brackets

These college basketball teams are on a roll entering the NCAA tournament, but it would be wise to avoid banking on them reaching the later rounds.

Momentum coming in is often an indicator of how a team will perform in the NCAA tournament. There are always the little-known teams from mid-major conferences who roll through their conference tournament and just don’t stop once they reach the Big Dance. Then there are often the teams from the major conferences who pull off upsets over the top teams in their conference, and their effort is rewarded with a deeper tournament run than expected.

All of this is made possible by momentum, something present in all sports, but magnified in college basketball. Whether it is because of the lack of experience many of the kids playing these games have in big moments, or the raw emotion of the magnitude of the games being played, momentum is a major part of the magic of March.

Usually, if a team is on a roll heading into the tournament, they are much more likely to stay on that roll once they enter the games that matter most in March. But there are exceptions, and this year is no different.

These three teams especially are enticing to pick to make a deep run in the bracket, largely because they have been hot as of late. But counting on them to get further than expected is risky at best, and foolish at worst when filling out brackets.

Gonzaga Bulldogs

In one of the stronger seasons for the West Coast Conference, it would make sense that the regular season and tournament champion Gonzaga Bulldogs would be in good shape come NCAA tournament time. As far as seeding is concerned, they will be in a very favorable position, but that doesn’t mean they are a lock to make it through the first weekend.

The Bulldogs were impressive in their conference tournament, defeating BYU by 20 points in the final. Without a doubt, they’re coming into the big dance with momentum on their side. But this Gonzaga team isn’t as battle-tested as the one that finished as the national runner-up in 2017.

Their most impressive non-conference win came in November against Ohio State, a squad that was clearly still in search of their identity at the time. The Bulldogs lost by 16 to Villanova, fell to Florida, and struggled with Texas.

They also lost one of two against conference foe St. Mary’s, who many believe is nearly as talented as the Bulldogs. The fact that Gonzaga has only defeated three tournament caliber teams all season and two of these victories came in November should be a red flag for those considering them taking them far on their bracket.

Kentucky Wildcats

Kentucky is often the great unknown of the NCAA tournament. This year will be no different, as the Wildcats have been on some epic highs and in some deep valleys as a part of an eventful season.

So how will this mysterious group perform when their season hangs in the balance? More likely how they performed when under the most pressure than when they didn’t have much to lose. When the Wildcats had the most weight on their shoulders, the most expectations, they had a shaky start to the conference season with losses to Tennessee and South Carolina.

They did end up recovering as the season went on to establish themselves as one of the SEC’s top programs but then ran into some trouble in the difficult road atmospheres of Missouri and Florida.

As it stands after the SEC tournament, the Wildcats have soared, and have undoubtedly improved their positioning. But even with strong coaching, a lack of experience and too much inconsistency throughout the season gives fans a reason to stay away from Kentucky when filling out brackets.