NCAA Tournament 2021: Baylor, Ohio State headline South Region primer
South Pod A
(1) Baylor vs. (16) Hartford
To keep it short, Baylor will have no problem advancing to the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament.
No disrespect towards Hartford at all, the Hartford Hawks should be elated to be playing the second-best team in the nation this weekend. However, the Bears will have too much firepower for the Hawks to handle.
The Bears are the best 3-point shooting team (41.8%) heading into the Big Dance. Jared Butler is the catalyst of this Baylor team and his performance will dictate how far the Bears will go in the South Region.
Prediction: Baylor over Hartford
(8) North Carolina vs. (9) Wisconsin
This has been a strange season for both of these programs, especially UNC, who for a time, was in danger of missing out of this year’s tournament. Roy Williams’ squad has not featured in the Top-25 Rankings since mid-December, but pivotal victories over Florida State and Virginia Tech in the ACC Tournament boosted their chances of making the Big Dance.
This 8/9 matchup will be a game that will be won inside the paint. The matchup of Wisconsin’s Micah Potter and UNC’s Armando Bacot is one to focus on this Friday. Wisconsin’s success is highly determined by their inside defense and their three-point shooting. If they can dictate the tempo to more of a halfcourt style of play, the Badgers can come away victorious in this pick’em game.
UNC will need more of a collaborative effort in their First Round contest. The trio of Bacot, Day’ron Sharpe, and Garrison Brooks will need to continue their success on offense. If those three players can run the floor and play a transition, up-tempo style game against the Badgers, they could find themselves getting a crack at Baylor in the Second Round.