NCAA Basketball: Preview of all 31 autobids for 2021 NCAA Tournament

Loyola-Chicago Ramblers – Missouri Valley

Everyone remembers when Loyola made their run to the Final Four and was the ultimate cinderella. This year’s team is better than that team and this year’s team is going to be seeded appropriately. The Ramblers have the best defense in the country, they play slow, and they funnel the ball inside to their big man Cameron Krutwig and make a lot of threes.

They are going to slow the pace and play smothering defense. Loyola is well-coached, and they have experience. They are going to make life uncomfortable for everyone they play.

Best Player: Cameron Krutwig

Krutwig is one of the holdovers from the Final Four squad. Krutwig was a starter on that team and is a starter on this team. The senior big man was named the Missouri Valley player of the year and does most of the scoring for Loyola. In fact, the senior big man is the only player for Loyola to average double figures on the season at 15 points per game. He anchors the best defense in the country, and he is a traditional back-to-the-basket center. He never steps out and shoots threes, but he is deadly inside. He makes Loyola truly the threat that they are.

Chance at Upset

Loyola Chicago is going to be the higher-seeded team in their first game and should be favored. The Ramblers are likely going to receive an 8 seed which means that some unsuspecting 1 seed is going to have their hands full in the second round. Don’t know if Loyola has enough offense to beat a few of the top-seeded teams.

Rest assured with their defense and pace of play they are going to slow the game down and muck it up enough that the game will be closer than the one seed would like. Loyola is going to be entirely matchup-based with the top seed. They won’t have to upset anyone as they will be the higher seed in the opening game.

UNC Greensboro Spartans – Southern Conference

The Spartans were able to overcome their struggles at the beginning of the year to win the Southern Conference. Greensboro was my favorite to win the conference this year and they got it done. The Spartans are coached by one of the best young coaches in the game in Wes Miller.

Greensboro is making their fourth appearance all-time in the NCAA tournament and is still looking for their first win. The last time they made the field they were paired up with Gonzaga and played to the wire in a four-point game. This year’s version is hoping to bring home the first win the school in the NCAA tournament.

Best Player: Isaiah Miller

The senior guard is an NBA player playing in college and he is really fun to watch. Miller has won the Southern Conference player of the year award the last two seasons and honestly, it hasn’t been close. Miller is the only player on the team that averages double figures and he averages 20 a game. He does everything for the Spartans and he is going to be all over the floor when they play.

The offense runs through him and every defensive game plan is centered around stopping Miller. He is the type of player that can get on a run in this tournament and win a game for Greensboro.

Chance at Upset

The signature of every Wes Miller team has been defense and that is no different with this year’s team. Outside of Miller the team is really balanced offensively but they will get after it on the defensive end. The Spartans are not an overall great offensive team outside of Miller. They don’t shoot it well from deep and shoot just over 50% from inside the arc.

The Achilles heel of this team on the offensive end seems to be their ability to hit shots from the line. They shoot just over 68% as a team from the free throw line. They are however one of the best rebounding teams in the field and they protect the rim well.

They are destined for the 13 seed line and depending on the matchup could do some damage especially if Miller is making shots. The defense is real and the offense outside of Miller is okay. They will likely keep a game close but not pull it out in the end. Upset chances are about 40%