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

Cleveland State Vikings – Horizon League

Head coach Dennis Gates is going to be a hot name for a coach who is going to move up the ranks and get a power coaching job. When he took over at Cleveland State two seasons ago he inherited a roster with 5 total players. He has built the team through JUCO ranks and has built this Vikings team into a sustainable power in the Horizon League.

The Vikings grind out wins and are built to play close games. They know how to win as they have four guards who are very good in crunch time. Cleveland State has a very balanced offensive attack overall and it can be any one of their players who go off on any given night.

Best Player: Torrey Patton

Patton is just one of the four great guards that the Vikings have. Patton is a transfer from Akron and he is different than a lot of other guards in this tournament as he is not a threat to beat you from the outside. Patton’s game is all about driving to the basket and getting downhill. When the junior gets into th paint he is extremely efficient and he uses his big 6’5” frame to pose some matchup problems for a lot of the smaller players who are going to guard him.

Patton is exceptional at getting to the rim, but as mentioned, he isn’t a good shooter and he shoots under 70% from the free throw line. Patton is also a good defender to make a difference on that end of the floor.

Chance at Upset:

The Horizon League is not the strongest of conferences and Cleveland State is a team that does have some flaws that may be easily exposed by better teams. The Vikings were the team who gave up a 40-0 run this season in a 101-49 whitewashing at the hands of Ohio. They do have some talent but are going to be overmatched by a lot of teams in the tournament.

They are headed for a 15 seed which means they will face one of the top 8 seeds in the tournament. Those teams are going to overwhelm the Vikings quickly. Chance at an upset is 5%

Mount St. Mary’s Mountaineers – Northeast Conference

The Mountaineers have qualified for the tournament six times and in the previous five appearances, they have been a 16 seed. The Mount is not a great offensive team but they are one of the best defensive teams in the country. The Mountaineers play really slow on the offensive end and are one of the best shot-blocking teams in the country as well.

The Mount has to keep it a game low scoring to have a chance. Their offense just isn’t good enough to hang with any of the high-powered offensive teams. In their conference title game, they did beat one of the best offensive teams in the country when they beat the fast-paced Bryant Bulldogs. If the Mount can dictate the pace in a game they are going to have a chance against anyone.

Best Player: Damian Chong-Qui

Chong-Qui is one of the shortest players in the country and while he is one of the shortest he has one of the biggest hearts. He wears his emotions on his sleeve and his team feeds off his energy. Chong-Qui doesn’t have the best numbers shooting the ball but he always seems to show up when the lights are the brightest. Chong-Qui is going to make noise against a team in this tournament and he is going to be flashy doing it.

Chance at Upset:

The Mount has never been higher than a 16 seed and they are not going to be a higher seed than a 16 seed this year. They are likely going to be playing in one of the first four games they do have a chance to win that game given their prowess on the defensive end. After that though given they are likely to play in a first four game that means they will be paired up with the top seed in the tournament which is likely going to be Gonzaga. They likely won’t keep the game within 30 points given how good Gonzaga is. The Mount has no chance at an upset of a 1 seed.