2021 NCAA Tournament South Region roundtable, key questions

5. What is your prediction for the Finals of this region?

Zacher

Of any region, this is the one I feel most confident in that it will be chalk nearly all the way through.  I think the top four seeds reach the Sweet Sixteen, and I do believe Baylor will break through to the Elite Eight – but I think they’ll meet a surging Arkansas team for the right to go to the Final Four.

Jared Butler and Moses Moody, one of the most efficient offenses in Baylor and one of the most efficient defenses in Arkansas, and two teams that thrive in shooting the ball, with a trip to the Final Four on the line.  This game would have every possible storyline, and I feel like both teams have the best shot at reaching the Elite Eight over any other teams in the South region.

Geller

It may be boring, but it’s Baylor verse Ohio State for me. Baylor losing to Oklahoma State in the Big 12 Tournament may be the best thing for them. Ohio State looked strong in the Big Ten Tournament. They also didn’t have Kyle Young in the last few games. I think this is a very weak region between the middle-seeded teams, thus I have to trust the teams that have been there, done that. Baylor over Ohio State.

Tineo

Out of this region, I do not see Cinderella make a huge run, considering the quality of high ranked teams vs. quality of low ranked teams. My Elite 8 has Baylor facing off against Arkansas, in an old SWC game. The runner-ups of the SEC have terrific balance, alongside Moody, with JD Notae, Justin Smith, and Jalen Tate.

The issue with the Razorbacks is their perimeter defense. That’s where the Bears No. 1 ranked 41.8% shooting as a team plays a factor. Moody and Smith will be able to score and get theirs. However, Baylor, as they have with others, will run through others like a buzzsaw if teams leave them open on the perimeter.

I believe it is a close game for 28-30 minutes. Toward the final ten minutes, however, Baylor turns on the gas and Arkansas can not keep up. Baylor advances to their first Final Four since 1950.

Thedinga

Baylor versus Texas Tech, round three. Baylor could possibly have one of the easier paths to the regional finals as anyone for quite some time. I see the Bears running by whoever wins that NC-Wisconsin game, and I like them to end Winthrop’s cinderella run in the Sweet 16.

On the other side, Texas Tech has the chops to make it far. People are too quick to forget that in the last NCAA tournament, Chris Beard led the Red Raiders to the National Championship game. Mac McClung is a fun guy we’ll hopefully get to watch for a while longer.

Zinkula

I see things going chalk, with 1-seed Baylor taking down 2-seed Ohio State. While 4-seed Purdue is solid, the Boilermakers don’t have the experience and upside to challenge the Bears. On the bottom half of the region, both Texas Tech and Arkansas could be formidable challengers to the Buckeyes, but I don’t trust either enough to pull the trigger.

I could definitely be proven wrong, but if there was ever a season to “go chalk” with the 1 & 2-seeds, I think this is it. The predictive metrics overwhelmingly view the 1-seeds and 2-seeds as the top 1-4 and top 5-8 teams respectively. The metrics don’t typically align this well with the actual seeding.