NCAA Tournament 2021: Baylor, Ohio State headline South Region primer
South Pod B
(5) Villanova vs. (12) Winthrop
As mentioned earlier in the article, the 23-1 Winthrop Eagles potentially have the best chance of securing an upset victory in the First Round of the South Region.
The Eagles’ up-tempo style of play can cause Villanova a lot of trouble with its lack of depth heading into the tournament. Not having Collin Gillespie and perhaps Justin Moore, as well, will make it very tough for Jay Wright to navigate the direction of his team.
Winthrop, despite its weak strength of schedule, has done what it has needed to in order to get to this point and Big South Player of the Year Chandler Vaudrin is a big reason why the Eagles have won all but one of its 24 games. If the redshirt senior can post his average numbers against the Wildcats, Jay Wright’s team will be in lots of trouble.
Prediction: Winthrop over Villanova
(4) Purdue vs. (13) North Texas
The Friday matchup between these two programs will be one of the highly-anticipated games of day 1 of the tournament.
Matt Painter’s Boilermakers are among one of the top offensive and defensive teams in the nation in regards to efficiency. This should come as no surprise as Purdue in the past has been a tough matchup for any team that squares off with them in the tournament.
Junior forward Trevion Williams (15.8 ppg, 9.0 rpg) leads the way for the Boilermakers, a squad that can potentially play up to 10 guys on any given night.
North Texas will need to shoot the 3-ball at a high level to have any chance of knocking off the Boilermakers. Purdue as a team only allows opponents to shoot 32% from behind the arc. North Texas shoots exceptionally well from behind the arc at 37.6%. The quartet of Javion Hamlet, James Reese, Zachary Simmons, and Thomas Bell must have an exceptional performance on both sides of the ball if they want to play in the Second Round of the tournament.