NCAA Tournament: 2019 Final Four favorites from each seed line (8-1)
By Chris Kern
Six Seed: Buffalo
The Buffalo Bulls are an extremely talented basketball team that is going to be tough to beat. They have the senior leadership, the experience, and the skill required to make a deep NCAA Tournament run. We saw them blow out 4th seeded Arizona last season and they are capable of putting up similar performances this season.
This team has five seniors who are all extremely talented players. The talented defensive minded guard Dontay Caruthers plays a big role on this team. This is a team that plays fast but they still have a skilled big man who can make plays for them in Montell McRae.
Those two are key players but they are led by a trio, especially on the offensive end. CJ Massinburg is the leader out of those three with his ability to score the basketball makes him one of the best players in the country. Nick Perkins is a big physical sixth man, at 6’8″ he is a matchup nightmare for opposing differences.
The final guy Jeremy Harris is the X-factor to me. His ability to score in a variety of ways helps them have a more balanced offensive attack. He is shooting just 27% from three-point range this season after making 42% last season, having that big of a drop off is very concerning. When they upset Arizona he had 23 points, including three made three-pointers but then in the next game when they lost against Kentucky he had just 10 points without making a three-pointer.
They will need Massinburg and Perkins and everyone else to play well if they’re going to go on a deep run. If Harris is able to knock down a couple of three-pointers and score 20 points per game then this will be a team capable of beating anybody in the tournament.
They will start off their NCAA Tournament run against either Arizona State or St.John’s. It’s not a coincidence that they’re matched up to potentially play former Buffalo head coach Bobby Hurley. That first game is one they should win, but the second matchup, which likely would be against the Texas Tech Red Raiders, is going to be extremely difficult.
They will have a few very tough teams in their way including the Gonzaga Bulldogs, Florida State Seminoles, and the Michigan Wolverines. It’s very possible they will need to beat at least one of those elite teams, in addition to Texas Tech to get to a Final Four. This is a team full of talent, and they are more than capable of making that happen.