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NCAA Tournament 2019: Strengths and weaknesses of South Region teams

By Jason Burgess

KNOXVILLE, TN - DECEMBER 29: Grant Williams #2 of the Tennessee Volunteers and Admiral Schofield #5 of the Tennessee Volunteers celebrate on the bench during the second half of the game between the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles and the Tennessee Volunteers at Thompson-Boling Arena on December 29, 2018 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Tennessee won 96-53. (Photo by Donald Page/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - DECEMBER 29: Grant Williams #2 of the Tennessee Volunteers and Admiral Schofield #5 of the Tennessee Volunteers celebrate on the bench during the second half of the game between the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles and the Tennessee Volunteers at Thompson-Boling Arena on December 29, 2018 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Tennessee won 96-53. (Photo by Donald Page/Getty Images) /
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LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – MARCH 14: Payton Pritchard #3 of the Oregon Ducks walks on the court during a quarterfinal game of the Pac-12 basketball tournament against the Utah Utes at T-Mobile Arena on March 14, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Ducks defeated the Utes 66-54. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – MARCH 14: Payton Pritchard #3 of the Oregon Ducks walks on the court during a quarterfinal game of the Pac-12 basketball tournament against the Utah Utes at T-Mobile Arena on March 14, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Ducks defeated the Utes 66-54. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /

No. 9 Oklahoma Sooners

Strengths: The Sooners are one of the best defensive rebounding teams in the country, snagging over 28 per game and are 25th in the country in field goal percentage defense (40%), which is good for a team that struggles offensively at just over 71 points per game. Another thing that Oklahoma is good at is, they are very methodical in their half-court offense which forces opponents to defend for nearly the entire shot clock on every possession.

Weaknesses: There isn’t a lot of production from Lon Kruger’s bench. The Sooners only have Kristian Doolittle, Christian James, and Brady Manek are the team’s only double-digit scorers at over 37 points per game, the Sooners struggle to find offense outside of those three. Because they are so methodical on offense, they can become a bit stagnant with not a lot of ball movement, which is evidenced by 12.7 assists per game they put up.

No. 10 Iowa Hawkeyes

Strengths: The Hawkeyes can score and they score a lot because of their offensive depth. They have four players, Tyler Cook, Luka Garza, Jordan Bohannon, and Joe Wieskamp all average at least 10 points per game, they also have four other players that contribute at least four more per game. Fran McCaffery’s team is also very strong at parading to the free throw line. They are 12th in the country in attempts and the 593 they’ve made on the year is the 4th highest number in the country and shoot 74% from the line.

Weaknesses: The problem for Iowa is that their defense isn’t very strong, they allow nearly 74 points per game and opponents shoot nearly 45% from the field. Also, they aren’t very tough, teams that are aggressive on offense can get to the rim for easy opportunities. The Hawkeyes would rather outscore teams, but they don’t pretend to play much defense, giving teams the chance to go point-for-point with them.

No. 11 Saint Mary’s Gaels

Strengths: The Gaels waited to the last possible moment to get their biggest win of the season, knocking off Gonzaga in the West Coast Conference final. Saint Mary’s is very patient on offense, and take their time trying to get the best shot possible, and that works for them because they shoot over 47% from the field and nearly 38% from beyond the arc. They also rank 20th in the country turning the ball over just 10.6 times per game, which is big playing in a region with such defensive-minded teams.

Weaknesses: Randy Bennett’s team can become stale on offense because they are so patient and because of that, the Gaels only dish out 10.6 assists per game, there are only five teams worse in the country. One problem the Gaels could run into is that they like to ride their starters as long as possible, and in a tournament like setting that could lead to some quick fatigue. Only three players on bench average double-digit minutes, while the starters play 23-37 minutes per game.

No. 12 Oregon Ducks

Strengths: The Ducks are long, like very long. Four starters are 6-9 or taller and they saw that defense come together late in the year, allowing them to snag the auto bid from a much-maligned Pac-12 conference. They went 8-0 in their last eight games and only allowed 70 points once, 75 in an overtime win over Arizona State. Opponents find it difficult to score against Oregon because not only do they have the length, but that length forces teams into jump shots and opponents shoot just 29% from three-point land.

Weaknesses: Oregon’s weaknesses come when they have the ball. The Ducks are not a high-scoring team, netting just over 70 points per game and one of the big reasons for that is they have a tendency to take bad shots. Oregon is also not the greatest rebounding team in the world, ranking near or outside the top-200 in both offensive and defensive rebounding. If their opponents can dominate the boards and force the Ducks into bad shots, that would be a recipe for success.

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