2022 NCAA Tournament: Key storylines and questions for West Region

Feb 23, 2022; Charlottesville, Virginia, USA; Duke Blue Devils forward Paolo Banchero (5) celebrates with Blue Devils guard Jeremy Roach (3) against the Virginia Cavaliers in the closing seconds of the second half at John Paul Jones Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports /

1 of 5

The Memphis Tigers NCAA Tournament Jrca0861 /

In the past couple of months, there was little surprise as to who was going to be the No. 1 seed in the West Region of the NCAA Tournament. The Gonzaga Bulldogs was dominant all year and nearly ran through the best WCC in recent memory. But they’re in a loaded bracket, with familiar foes, Duke, Texas Tech, and Alabama also in the same group.

There are plenty of potential storylines that can emerge in the West Region. To help out with any potential questions, we here at Busting Brackets created a roundtable, with several talented contributors participating and giving their thoughts with this group of 16 programs. Here’s what they had to say.

Chris Thedinga – @CTheDinga

Karl Heiser – @karlheiser17

Jon Surratt – @JonSurratt

1. Which first-round game has your attention the most?

Thedinga

Boise State and Memphis take the cake for me as far as the most highly anticipated matchup. I mean, if you want to see contrasting styles– this is the game. Boise has the 307th fastest tempo, per KenPom, while Memphis is 34th. I think the Broncos are vastly underseeded as the Mountain West Champion (both regular season and conference tournament) and now as even a bigger slap in the face, they get a tough draw in the first round.

Although they got slapped around in the AAC Championship, Penny has Memphis playing at a very high level. Lomax is coming into his own as a capable guard. This game should be a good one.

Heiser

That Boise State vs. Memphis game is super intriguing. Memphis really turned things around in the second half of their season and I’m looking forward to seeing how their uptempo offense looks against the stout Broncos defense. Either one of these teams can challenge Gonzaga.

Surratt

Arkansas vs Vermont

Both teams came into the season starting off slow. Vermont lost to Maryland and Providence while Arkansas got blowout by Oklahoma, lost to Hofstra at home, and started 0-3 in SEC play. However, now both teams are hot into March.

Vermont won 22/23 games and won all American East tournament games by 30+ points while Arkansas lost to Texas A&M in the semifinals. It’ll also be a battle of great defenses so expect a low-scoring game but tight matchup throughout.

Home/NCAA Basketball News