NCAA Basketball: Predicting all 32 autobids for 2022 NCAA Tournament

Ivy League

Winner: Yale Bulldogs

The Ivy League is back this year after not playing last year due to Covid 19 and Yale is back at the top of the league. This is by no means the best team that James Jones has ever had at Yale, but this team is good enough to win the Ivy League again and they are going to do it on the backs of one of the best players to ever play for Yale in Azar Swain.

Swain has a flair for the dramatic and is at his best when the stakes are the highest. In previous seasons Yale would be a trendy upset pick, but this year they are likely destined for a low seed and won’t be on too many radars.

Sleeper: Harvard Crimson

The Ivy League tournament is only two days long because only four teams compete in the tournament and the host site this year is Harvard’s home gym. It would be foolish to bet against the team who gets to play those two days at home even if they are not as good as they have been in previous years. Although they’re currently one game out of the field, they’re one win and a Cornell loss from making the cut.

The Crimson are barely over .500 and they are a team that doesn’t match up well with the other three teams at least on paper but Noah Kirkwood is a special talent, and he can get going and help Harvard return to the NCAA tournament.

MAAC

Winner: Iona Gaels

Iona has been the class of the MAAC for a long time, under former coach Tim Cluess, the Gaels played their best come conference tournament time. Then after Cluess retired, Iona was able to hire Rick Pitino who has turned Iona into one of the best low majors in the country. The Gaels have run through the conference this year and while they have two losses, going undefeated in your league is hard to do.

Even still the Gaels have everything, they play defense like all the signature Pitino teams do. They have two dominant big men and Nelly Junior Joseph is a huge factor in the defense and controls the paint on both ends of the floor. Iona can shoot it and defend and get to the line. They should have no problem winning the league. The Gaels are going to be a team that could very easily upset their opponent in the tournament. They already have a win over Alabama on the resume and they are extremely well-coached.

Sleeper: Manhattan Jaspers

The Jaspers have a lot of talent and most of it came via the transfer portal. Manhattan was a team that was really close to my mid-major top 25 rankings at one point before they fell off a bit. Their ability to slow a game down coupled with the high scoring transfers and Manhattan is a team that is primed for an upset and a team who is more than capable of making a run.

The MAAC tournament is always one of the crazier tournaments out there so outside of Iona there is no telling what will happen. Jose Perez is a transfer from Gardner-Webb who can score and dominate the touches, but he can get hot and win games by himself.