The Cougars drew the Alabama Basketball team and style-wise the matchup is an ideal draw for the Cougars. Like Alabama, the Cougars are a force on offense scoring 80.5 points per game led by guard Reyne Smith and forwards Ante Brzovic and Ben Burnham who combine to score 36.8 points per game. The Tide and the Cougars will play an NBA-style first-round matchup which could benefit the Cougars who are 20-0 when they score 80 or more points.
14. Colgate
For those filling out brackets for the first time yes, Colgate is named after the founder of the toothpaste company. The Raiders dominated the Patriot League going 16-2 and 25-9 overall on the season. The team ranks outside of the top 100 in both offensive and defensive efficiency making for at times a difficult watch. If the Raiders are going to make a run it’ll be thanks to three-point shooting as the team shoots 36.1% from deep.
15. Long Beach State
Long Beach State will be the most fun storyline this tournament as the program fired head coach Dan Monson but, allowed him to coach the Big West Tournament where he led his team to a conference championship. The team scores 77.7 points per game led by guard Marcus Tsohonis who scores 17.8 points per game. The Big West Champions rank 163rd in KenPom metrics with the 145th-ranked offense and the 210th defense. This team has been an incredible storyline early in March but, it’s hard to see them surviving against Arizona.
16. Howard/Wagner
One of the first four matchups will decide the West Region’s final team in either the Howard Bison or the Wagner Seahawks. Both schools went on impressive runs to win their way into the tournament after finishing their regular seasons near the bottom of their respective conferences. It’ll be difficult for either team to make a deep run however, we’ve seen first four to final four runs in the past so don’t rule either group out.
