Which teams in the West Region are coming into March Madness on a hot streak?

Teams would much rather be peaking and coming in on a hot streak to the NCAA Tournament than not. This is the time players want to be at their best for their teams. When a team comes in on a hot streak, no matter what seed they are, they can make a run. Look at Florida Athletic last season, they came in hot and rode that hot streak all the way to the Final Four.

What makes a team hot though? Of course, winning streaks are good, but sometimes it is just playing your best basketball at the right time. You may have a loss or two in there, but all in all, you are hitting your stride.

So let's look at the West Region and see which teams are coming in with a head full of steam.

Charleston Cougars 27-7

Seed: 13
Win Streak: 12

The Cougars are coming into the West Region on the longest winning streak. They have not lost a game since February 1. I will say sometimes it is great to come in on a winning streak, but sometimes is can be handing over your head. The Cougars are playing great basketball ball though right now.

Colgate Raiders 25-9

Seed: 14
Win Streak: 5

The Raiders are on a bit of a hot streak and their one loss in March is the only blemish on their conference play record. This team is 17-1 in their last 18 games and that loss could have helped them learn. They play Baylor first round and could be a problem for the Bears.

Grand Canyon 29-4

Seed: 12
Win Streak: 5

Grand Canyon is also on a five-game win streak but pulled a tough matchup against St. Mary's who is also hot right now. However, this team only has four losses on the season showing they are good. How will they fair against a non-conference team though? Time will tell.

New Mexico 26-9

Seed: 11
Win Streak: 4

New Mexico is not on a long win streak right now, but they were hot in their conference tournament getting them the auto-bid to the NCAA Tournament. This team is hot and they are playing a Clemson team that is struggling right now. New Mexico could ride this streak for a few more games.

North Carolina 27-7

Seed: 1
8-1 over last 9 games

The Tar Heels have the loss to NC State in the ACC Championship looming over them right now, but this team is playing some of its best basketball right now. The end of regular season win over Duke at Duke was huge and gave this team even more momentum to secure the one-seed.

Saint Mary's 26-7

Seed: 5
18-1 over last 19 games

After some early season losses, Saint Mary's has made a great run, especially in conference play. Yes they had the later season loss to Gonzaga, but they made up for it int he WCC Championship beating the Bulldogs to get to auto-bid even though they would have been in either way.

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