2021 NCAA Tournament South Region roundtable, key questions

1. Excluding the 1 seed, which team has the best odds of making the Final 4?

Zacher

I think Ohio State has the best chance if they are fully healthy, so much of their success in the tournament depends on the availability of Kyle Young.  It is hard to ignore just how solid their wins over Purdue and Michigan were in the Big Ten Tournament, and the Buckeyes’ performance against Illinois in the title game – without Young – was greatly optimistic for a team that ended the regular season on a four-game skid.

The only thing I am unsure about with the Buckeyes is their stretches in games where their offense is nonexistent.  They almost let dominant leads slip against Minnesota, Purdue, and Michigan – but Ohio State also fought back like mad against the Illini.  Duane Washington Jr. is playing as well as anyone in the country, having averaged 23 points on shooting clips of 58.1% (2PT) and 44.4% (3PT) to go with 5.5 boards and 2.75 assists.

They’ll have to go through a gauntlet of higher-seeds just to get to the Elite Eight – Virginia Tech, Arkansas, and/or Texas Tech, most likely – but I think they could give Baylor some fits.  It wasn’t that long ago that we thought the Buckeyes were a number-one seed, after all.

Geller

To me, it has to be Ohio State. In my opinion, the Buckeyes have the easiest road to the Elite Eight out of any team in the tournament, including Gonzaga. Gonzaga is my champion, but the way Creighton can score the basketball when they’re clicking on all cylinders can be dangerous.

The Florida-Virginia Tech matchup may be the two weakest teams between all of the 7/10 and 8/9 matchups. The style of play Arkansas has is similar to Ohio State, but the Buckeyes are more battle-tested, and simply just better.

Tineo

I think the team that has the most potential at a deep run is Arkansas. Moses Moody has become the best freshman in the conference and Eris Mussleman is not getting enough national recognition for the turnaround that they have had.

Arkansas has some favorable matchups later down the road, with potentially Texas Tech and Ohio State, who have each looked more than vulnerable this season.

The Razorbacks rank in the Top 50 in the country in many categories, including free throws made, rebounding, assists, steals, blocks, and points per game. They also have the SEC Sixth Man of the Year in JD Notae.

Thedinga

Texas Tech. It’d be a very tough road ahead of the Red Raiders, but Chris Beard seems confident in where he has his guys heading into March. McClung & Co. are a solid defensive team and have played in a bunch of close games. With Shannon, Edwards, and McCullar this team has a cluster of guys who can play on both ends. They are also a team that is familiar with Baylor and have played them tight two times this season—third time’s the charm?

Zinkula

Picking the 2-seed in Ohio State might not be a courageous choice, but I think it’s the right one. Chris Holtmann’s Buckeyes squad might be a tier below Big 10 counterparts like (a healthy) Michigan and Illinois, but this is legitimately a top 5-8 team in the nation.

Duane Washington has emerged as a reliable No. 1 option that is capable of dropping 30-plus points versus any opponent, and Holtmann’s squads have historically performed well in March (5/5 in 1st round — victories as 11, 5, 4, 9, and 6-seed).