Ranking the best backcourts in the South Region of the NCAA Tournament
The NCAA Tournament bracket is set and fans across the nation are picking apart each region to find sleepers, bracket busters, and Final Four favorites. One factor to consider when filling out your March Madness bracket is always guard play and the South Region has plenty of talented backcourts to pick from.
In March, guard play almost always carries the day. Even teams with elite size such as Purdue or UCONN will need their guards to step up and carry the load if they want to cut down the nets in Phoenix after the final game of the year.
So let's dive into the South Region where there are eleven teams from one of the six major conferences. Who has the best guard play in the region? Here are our top eight backcourts from the South quadrant of the NCAA Tournament bracket.
No. 8: Nebraska
After their run to the Big Ten Tournament semifinals, plenty of eyes will be on No. 8 seed Nebraska, which will be looking to win its first-ever NCAA Tournament game when it squares off with No. 9 seed Texas A&M. In this game, the Cornhusker guards will have to match an extremely talented Aggie backcourt.
Keisei Tominaga could become one of the darlings of the NCAA Tournament if he plays well. That's because he is not your typical Division-I guard.
Born in Japan, he had to go to Ranger College, a small JUCO in Texas, before getting his shot in Lincoln. He's made the most of his opportunity in the Big Ten averaging 14.9 points and 1.4 assists per game this season.
Everyone loves 3-point shooters and Tominaga is certainly that. He's shooting 37.2% from deep this year and averaging 2.3 makes from beyond the arc per game. He also has a knack for making timely plays and his emotional reactions after such clutch moments could make him one of the darlings of the Big Dance.
Brice Williams, his backcourt mate is no slouch either. He averages 13.1 points and 2.4 assists per game.
Williams is actually a better 3-point shooter than Tominaga as he hits at a 39.3% clip. However, he isn't as apt to let it fly from anywhere on the floor as his running buddy is. What does make Williams an even more versatile weapon, though, is his 6-foot-7 frame making him one of the biggest guards in the South Region.
Together, that duo could shoot Nebraska into the second round, and if they do, they could capture the hearts of the country. That's especially true for Tominaga who already became a social media darling in the Big Ten Tournament after putting up 23 points against Indiana and 18 against No. 11 Illinois. Now, he's ready for his moment on the game's biggest stage.