NCAA Basketball: Michigan on top, Spartans tough task among key questions
3. Which team currently projected as a 7-10 seed (consensus projection) has the best shot at making a run to the Final Four?
Stevenson
I’m gonna go with Oregon. Oregon is super athletic that because of COVID-19 and injuries haven’t had a chance to get their rhythm yet with their full team.
Tineo
It’s tough to decide one, but I do believe either Oklahoma State or LSU has the best shot to make a deep run if any from the 7-10 range. Both are led by decorated freshmen and have proved to win big games over the course of the season.
Will Wade’s squad is much more effective on the offensive end, having four players averaging double figures, led by Cameron Thomas. Thomas leads the freshman in points, with 22.8 points per game. The team as a whole ranks 11th nationally, chipping in 82.5 per contest.
The team, however, can be streaky on defense, especially against other teams with semi-decent offense.
For Oklahoma State, they are extremely young, as the Cowboys only had three returning lettermen on the team, from a year ago. However, Oklahoma State has four wins over top 25 schools, including back-to-back OT wins over Texas Tech and Oklahoma. The Cowboys are more balanced with their scoring, having six guys averaging nine or more points a game.
Zacher
They’re just as likely to lose in the opening round, but I’ve been increasingly optimistic about Maryland as of late. They’re on a five-game win-streak, coming off really good back-to-back wins over Rutgers and Michigan State – and, most terrifyingly, they’re playing like a team that wants to make the NCAA Tournament.
The Terrapins are holding their last five foes to an average of 58.8 points per game, they dismantled a Michigan State team that had just beaten two (then) top-five foes in Illinois and Ohio State, and Eric Ayala has been playing out of his mind as of late, averaging 17.2 points, 5.0 boards, and 2.2 assists in Maryland’s last five games.
They’re certainly not on the same level as last year’s team, but the Terps are getting hot at the right time. Additionally, that five-game win-streak will most likely turn into a seven-game win-streak, considering they have Northwestern and Penn State coming up next. I wouldn’t be shocked to see the Terps make a run through the Big Ten Tournament – and give a one- or two-seed issues in the NCAA Tournament.
Zinkula
San Diego State. The Aztecs have carried over the winning infrastructure from last season’s presumptive 1-seed squad. While the team makes its hay on the defensive end (9th in KenPom vs. 52nd in offense), it arguably has one of the best long-range attacks in the country. No team is shooting >= 40% from three AND attempting >= 40% of its shots from downtown, but San Diego State isn’t far off (38.0%, 40.0%).
Other notable teams close to this “40-40” threshold include Baylor (42.1%, 38.7%), Iowa (40.1%, 39.4%) and Virginia (39.3%, 42.0%). Furthermore, the Aztecs have a senior duo in Matt Mitchell and Jordan Schakel that are both capable of dropping 25-plus points on a given night. Put all this together, and it sure looks like the Aztecs are capable of a Cinderella run.
Brown
This may be a stretch, but I like the North Carolina Tarheels to make a run. Kentucky can’t do it, and I doubt Michigan State will even get in. The Tarheels are an excellent team with young talent. I like Day’Ron Sharpe’s game. I believe he’ll be an NBA big man soon enough. Armando Bacot and Caleb Love would need to play some of their best basketball to make it happen.
Thedinga
I’ll take the team that is a projected 8 or 9 seed, yet is the 11th ranked team in KenPom and owns the number one spot in defensive efficiency. Loyola Chicago has all the right parts to make a very deep run. Cameron Krutwig could follow in former teammate Clayton Custer’s footsteps in becoming a March Madness hero.