NCAA Tournament: Gonzaga, Michigan headline West Region primer

West Pod D – Des Moines, IA

(7) Nevada vs. (10) Florida

Nevada entered this season ranked in the preseason top-10 but they did not exactly live up that hype. With that said, though, it would be a mistake to think that they had a bad season. With the Martin Brothers and Jordan Caroline running the show, the Wolf Pack still only lost a limited number of games and enter the tournament with one of the best records. They are quite effective on both ends of the floor and can be a dark horse to make a deep run should they put it all together for multiple games in a row. Florida, on the other hand, is much less experienced but has shown signs of greatness at times (see their two wins over LSU). Andrew Nembhard has star potential and the team defense of the Gators will cause some problems in this matchup. I think that Florida has the ability to pull off the upset if they avoid the long offensive droughts that have plagued them throughout the year. Prediction: Florida. 

(2) Michigan vs. (15) Montana

Michigan is not going down in the first round. John Beilein is one of the best coaches in the country when it comes to winning in March and betting against him would be a mistake. Montana has some nice pieces but they will not be able to hang with the Wolverines long enough to take the victory. Charles Matthews is only just returning and he adds another elite defender to the Wolverines’ rotation even if his offense is still coming along. Ignas Brazdeikis and Jordan Poole can carry the torch for Michigan offensively and Zavier Simpson is one of the best leaders in the nation. There should be no doubt about Michigan taking the victory. Prediction: Michigan. 

That concludes this preview of the West Region. This should be an extremely exciting region with a few teams who have Cinderella potential. I hope that you enjoyed this preview and that the NCAA Tournament is a fun one for you, your bracket, and your favorite team.