March Madness: Ranking the 68 teams in the NCAA Tournament field
52. Buffalo Bulls
No. 13 seed in the South Region, 26-8 (15-3 MAC)
The MAC champion, Buffalo enters the NCAA Tournament with one of the most potent offenses in the country. They play at a high pace and rank seventh in the nation with an 84.8 points per game average. They are led by a core group of three juniors in C.J. Massinburg, Nick Perkins, and Jeremy Harris, all of whom average more than 15 points per game. In non-conference play, the Bulls faced five other teams in the NCAA Tournament field: Cincinnati, South Dakota State, St. Bonaventure, Syracuse, and Texas A&M. Even though the team went 0-5, the average margin was only 10.8. For a double-digit seed, they showed that they can be competitive with the big boys. Do they have what it takes to knock off a red-hot Arizona team?
51. Syracuse Orange
No. 11 seed in the Midwest Region, 20-13 (8-10 ACC)
The last team in the NCAA Tournament field, Syracuse is going to receive a lot of publicity over the next few days. Many people said the Orange should not have been invited to the Big Dance but we all know what happened the last time that we all said that. The Orange are a young team that features only one senior playing significant minutes. As per usual, ‘Cuse’s zone has their defense ranking 16th in the nation in points allowed per game. On the offensive end, the team runs through sophomore Tyus Battle (19.8 points). Franklin Howard and Oshae Brissett are the next group of scorers for the ‘Cuse.
50. College of Charleston Cougars
No. 13 seed in the Midwest Region, 26-7 (14-4 CAA)
College of Charleston has three scorers that are very difficult to match up with. Sophomore Grant Riller (18.7 points) is one of the best-kept secrets in NCAA basketball while Joe Chealey (18.5 points) and Jarrell Brantley (17.0 points) do more than their fair share of work. The Cougars are going to be a very difficult out in my opinion for the Auburn Tigers. If you’re looking for a potential 13-over-4 upset, this is one of my favorite matchups.
49. Murray State Racers
No. 12 seed in the East Region, 16-5 (16-2 OVC)
Another team that dominated their conference, Murray State enters the NCAA Tournament from the Ohio Valley. The Racers has lost just two games since December 22nd, as they rolled through the latter half of their non-conference schedule before dominating the OVC schedule. However, they only faced two teams “worthy” of at-large bids this season. First, they lost a home bout against Middle Tennessee (yes, I know that aren’t in the field but they deserve the mention) by five points. Then, they fought hard in a home loss to Auburn by four points. It is obvious that this team competed well in each of these games. However, they were unable to get over the hump in either. Behind senior Jonathan Stark (21.8 points), the team is hoping to turn that around against West Virginia.