You can argue that this year’s selection committee didn’t get a whole lot right. Should Auburn have been the No. 1 seed after losing three of four games to end the season? How did Louisville fall to a No. 8 seed and why is Purdue a four and Michigan behind the Boilermakers as a No. 5? Maybe most egregiously, why is North Carolina in the field over West Virginia? However, one thing that the committee got exactly right on Selection Sunday, was the No. 1 seed to give the toughest path to the Final Four.
As the No. 4 overall seed and fourth No. 1 in the field, Florida deserved the most difficult path through its region, and the West is absolutely loaded. The Big East champion St. John’s Red Storm and Rick Pitino grabbed the two-seed out West and Big 12 Player of the Year JT Toppin is looming with the three-seed Texas Tech Red Raiders. But before Todd Golden’s Gators can even think about a potential Elite Eight matchup, he’ll potentially have to get past the two-time defending national champion UConn Huskies and Dan Hurley in the second round.
UConn is not nearly the same team without players like Donovan Clingan and Tristen Newton, who helped lead the Huskies to the title last season, but there is still plenty of experience and institutional knowledge in Storrs. Alex Karaban, one of this team’s leaders was a big part of both titles, and freshman forward Liam McNeeley can take over a game if he starts to heat up from three.
If you ask Dan Hurley, he’ll tell you that he’s the best coach in the sport, and at this point, it's difficult to present a counterargument. The Huskies have Oklahoma, a talented team led by freshman point guard Jeremiah Fears, in the first round, and neither team will be an easy draw for the Gators after Florida dispatches 16-seed Norfolk State.
None of Florida’s possible Sweet 16 draws will be easy either. No. 5 seed Memphis boasts one of the most dominant scoring guards in the country, PJ Haggerty, who just dropped 42 on Wichita State in the AAC semifinals. However, a matchup with fourth-seeded Maryland would be even more difficult to navigate.
Under second-year head coach Kevin Willard, this year’s Terrapins have become known as the “Crab Five” because of how dominant of a starting group they’ve developed. Center Derik Queen, the Big Ten Freshman of the Year leads the way for the Terps, who, to me, are the most talented No. 4 seed in the field. Win, and your reward is St. John’s or Texas Tech.
Yet, despite how talented the West Region is, Florida is my pick to win the National Championship. A year ago you could have argued that UConn’s region was the most difficult, and yet the Huskies steamrolled their way to the Title. I don’t expect the Gators to resemble Hurley’s demolition crew, but I do expect them to win it all after dominating the SEC Tournament.