2022 NCAA Tournament: Kansas, Auburn headline Midwest Region

KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - MARCH 12: David McCormack #33 and Ochai Agbaji #30 of the Kansas Jayhawks high-five in the second half against the Texas Tech Red Raiders during the finals of the 2022 Phillips 66 Big 12 Men's Basketball Championship at T-Mobile Center on March 12, 2022 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /

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NCAA Tournament Darius Days LSU Tigers (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /

Midwest Pod C – Milwaukee

(6) LSU vs. (11) Iowa State

LSU fired Head Coach Will Wade on Saturday after receiving its official Notice of Allegations from the NCAA just several days earlier. For the second time in three NCAA Tournament appearances under Wade, the team won’t actually be coached by Wade in the NCAA Tournament. He was suspended when the team went to the Sweet Sixteen in 2019 after the original FBI wiretaps were revealed.

On the other side, T.J. Otzelberger has taken an Iowa State team that was winless last season to the NCAA Tournament in his first season. Considering they have nine Quad 1 wins — tied for the third-most of any team — ISU is probably under-seeded by a couple of seed lines.

Look, this is going to be an ugly game. Like really ugly. Both of these offenses are prone to long scoring droughts and both defenses rank in the top 10 nationally in defensive efficiency and forced turnover rate, per KenPom.

These teams both fail the eye test while simultaneously having multiple quality wins. I lean towards LSU for a couple of reasons but mostly because they are 20-5 when Xavier Pinson plays and is healthy. A struggling offense is made adequate with its starting point guard in the lineup.

Prediction: LSU

(3) Wisconsin vs. (14) Colgate

Wisconsin’s success depends solely on Johnny Davis’ healthy. He was injured in an ugly loss to Nebraska on March 6 but has said that he was fully healthy heading into the Big Ten Tournament. He moved well but shot just 3-19 from the field in Wisconsin’s loss to Michigan State in the Big Ten quarterfinals. To be honest, flaking out early and getting that extra rest could end up being a good thing.

Colgate ranks second in the nation in 3-point percentage. They aren’t the most athletic team, but the potential is there for this team to get hot and make a somewhat vulnerable team like Wisconsin sweat.

Do I trust the Raiders to actually put together a full 40 minutes and take down Johnny Davis and the Badgers? I do not. But it truly wouldn’t shock me if they somehow pull it off.

Prediction: Wisconsin

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