NCAA Tournament: Ranking all 68 teams in the Big Dance

DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA - JANUARY 19: The Cameron Crazies taunt Ty Jerome #11 of the Virginia Cavaliers during the second half of their game against the Duke Blue Devils at Cameron Indoor Stadium on January 19, 2019 in Durham, North Carolina. Duke won 72-70. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /

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KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI – MARCH 16: The Iowa State Cyclones hoist the trophy. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /

Offense wins championships

16. Virginia Tech Hokies (24-8, 12-6 ACC) – No. 4 seed

Justin Robinson is returning and that makes Virginia Tech very dangerous. With him back in the lineup, this already-potent offense adds easily one of its best weapons. Head coach Buzz Williams has to be thrilled with this development and the team has also been given a relatively favorable seed. The Hokies’ offense is incredibly efficient when healthy and their defense has only improved over the course of the season. VT lives and dies by the 3-point line on both ends of the floor so they are always fun to watch.

15. Iowa State Cyclones (23-11, 9-9 B12) – No. 6 seed

Iowa State certainly stumbled into the Big 12 Tournament by dropping six of their last eight games. Then, though, the team seriously turned it on in the conference’s postseason event by rolling through three NCAA Tournament teams en route to cutting down the nets at the B12T. The Cyclones, when on their game, can be very hard to stop but we have seen incredible inconsistencies throughout the year.

14. Purdue Boilermakers (23-9, 16-4 B10) – No. 3 seed

Led by electrifying guard Carsen Edwards, Purdue is right back in contention for winning the NCAA Tournament this season. And while the Boilermakers have traditionally struggled with making a deep run in the Big Dance, that stigma eventually has to be broken. Head coach Matt Painter is one of the more consistent leaders in the nation and he will put the ball in the hands of his superstar in big moments. If Edwards is on, the Boilermakers will go far.

13. LSU Tigers (26-6, 16-2 SEC) – No. 3 seed

LSU has been making headlines all over the place for the past couple of weeks. And while many of them have been negative, let’s not forget that this is still a very talented team with the potential to make a deep run. In the backcourt, Tremont Waters is a “big-shot maker” and could be the one with the ball in his hands during huge moments in the coming weeks. The Tigers are a “hit or miss” pick in the Big Dance but a hit could see them cutting down the final nets.

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