After an extremely fun championship week as 31 autobids into the NCAA tournament were handed out. The NCAA Basketball Tournament is finally here. We have a bracket, and in a few days, we will have tournament games. So, before you finalize your brackets for your office pools there are some things you should know about each auto bid. How did they get here? Who are their star players? Can they pull off an upset?
Let’s be honest for the average tournament watcher a lot of these teams are just names on a line and many of the tournament viewers have never heard or heard very little about a lot of the teams in this tournament. I assure you these teams are here for a reason. Each of them has a star and some are going to have a better chance at an upset than others.
This is to get you ready to go for the NCAA tournament. Consider it a viewer’s guide to the unknown players and teams in the tournament. Some of these teams are going to be very trendy upset picks and others are just going to be happy to represent their school. Remember, the beauty of the NCAA tournament is that each of these 68 teams has a shot to win the National Championship.
Sure, only one will win it and the lower seeded teams likely won’t make a run but the excitement with the premier postseason events in college sports is that each and every one of these teams has a chance to win the National Championship when the first four games kick-off.
These are all of the teams who have earned the right to represent their conference by winning their conference tournaments. There are only 31 auto bids this year as the Ivy League did not play this year due to the Covid-19 Pandemic. You will find all of the information you will need to make your informed decision when filling out your brackets and know who to watch for when you watch the games on Television. These 31 teams are the auto bids into this year’s NCAA tournament.
Liberty Flames – Atlantic Sun
Liberty qualifies for another NCAA tournament. They have been a member of the Atlantic Sun conference for 3 seasons and would have earned the conference’s auto-bid all three seasons. They are turning into one of the premier low major schools in the country. The Flames play a slow grind you out style, that is predicated on defense and three-point shooting.
They head to the NCAA tournament on a 12-game winning streak and have a top 3 scoring defense in the country. Liberty upset Mississippi State in the first round of the NCAA tournament two seasons ago and the way they play is going to be a very tough matchup for any power conference school.
Best Player: Darius McGhee
McGhee is the Atlantic Sun player of the year and he is a good one. He shoots 41% from deep, 82% from the free throw line, and 55% from inside the arc. He was given the keys to this offense after the graduation of guard Caleb Homesley. McGhee has turned that into averaging 16 points per game with four rebounds. He can get hot quickly and carry this offense.
He is the player the announcers are going to mention and the player the teams are going to key on. If you stop the guard you increase your chances of beating Liberty. The Flames have already beaten two SEC schools this year in Mississippi State again and South Carolina.
Chance at Upset:
The Flames are a team that is going to be a matchup nightmare for anyone because of their style and they pride themselves on defense. Their defense makes life hard on the opponents and forces them into bad shots. They have enough offense outside of McGhee to make a game very interesting. Since they are likely going to be a 12 seed the upset potential is around 60%.