Busting Brackets
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NCAA Tournament: Gonzaga, Michigan, Texas Tech and FSU remain in West Region

By Adam Childs

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH - MARCH 23: Brandon Clarke #15 of the Gonzaga Bulldogs dunks the ball aginst Mario Kegler #4 of the Baylor Bears in the second half of the Second Round of the NCAA Basketball Tournament at Vivint Smart Home Arena on March 23, 2019 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH - MARCH 23: Brandon Clarke #15 of the Gonzaga Bulldogs dunks the ball aginst Mario Kegler #4 of the Baylor Bears in the second half of the Second Round of the NCAA Basketball Tournament at Vivint Smart Home Arena on March 23, 2019 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /
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DES MOINES, IOWA – MARCH 23: Isaiah Livers #4 of the Michigan Wolverines dunks the ball against the Florida Gators during the second half in the second round game of the 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Wells Fargo Arena on March 23, 2019 in Des Moines, Iowa. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
DES MOINES, IOWA – MARCH 23: Isaiah Livers #4 of the Michigan Wolverines dunks the ball against the Florida Gators during the second half in the second round game of the 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Wells Fargo Arena on March 23, 2019 in Des Moines, Iowa. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /

Key Storylines

Can Gonzaga prove they belong?

No one is going to question that Gonzaga has a very good program and has for many years. They also can’t argue that they have one of the best teams in the country. But because of them playing in the mid-major WCC conference, there are always going to be doubters on how good they really are. They doubt the validity of their regular season record and if they should really get a number one seed. T

he Bulldogs did themselves no favor by losing to Saint Mary’s in the conference finals, but make no mistake they still deserved the number one seed. They were able to break through in 2017 making the national title game before losing to North Carolina. Besides that year they have come up short only giving more fuel to the doubter’s fire. Can they break through again this year in arguably the toughest region? They have the talent to do so, but will they be able to?

Who has the best defense, Michigan or Texas Tech?

According to KenPom, Michigan (1) and Texas Tech (2) have the top two adjusted defenses in the country. The Wolverines are giving up 58.2 points per game and the Red Raiders are right behind them 59.2 points per game. Both teams can also score a little bit, but they depend on their defense to win games. They both pride themselves on great man to man defense and they contest almost every shot by the opposing team.

This game may be won by the first team to 60 points and that may not happen. If you like high scoring games, watch something else, because this is going to be a slugfest. Michigan used their defense to carry them all the way to the national title game and Texas Tech may have also if they didn’t run into Villanova in the Elite Eight. If you like defense, this is the game to watch.

Will Florida State’s size cause Gonzaga problems?

Florida State is big and athletic. They use their size to disrupt shots and get mismatches inside. The other teams may have a couple of guys their size, but they can’t match up well one through five. The Seminoles starting five include three guys 6’7″ or taller and their shortest guy is still 6’4″. The Bulldogs have a couple of 6’8″ guys they can roll out but will be smaller at every other position. Florida State used that advantage to run Murray State out of the gym, can they use the same advantage to beat Gonzaga like last year?

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