Xavier
The NCAA tournament is upon us. The best sports weekend of the year begins on Thursday, and it lines up with St Patrick’s day, which is always the perfect storm.
This tournament seems to be as wide open as any has been in the last decade. The Top seeds are all vulnerable, but all can beat anyone.
The favorite for the tournament is not even from a Mid-Major team in the Houston Cougars.
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That leads us to the Midwest Region, where the Houston Cougars are the number one seed. They are also the betting favorite to win the whole thing as well. They are led by their All-American point guard Marcus Sasser.
The Cougars have been flirting with a championship for the last couple of years, and this year they have as good a chance as anyone. The committee didn’t do them any favors when it comes to home-court advantage, however, as they have a potential matchup against Birmingham, AL against Auburn.
Five must-see players in the Midwest region: |
| Kris Murray, forward, Iowa |
| Souley Boum, guard, Xavier |
| Sincere Carry, guard, Kent State |
| Marcus Sasser, guard, Houston |
| Trayce Jackson-Davis, forward, Indiana |
The Rest of the bracket is led by Texas, Xavier, Indiana, and Miami. Currently, the road for Texas starts with a sharpshooting Colgate Raiders team. The Longhorns are loaded with talent, but they aren’t without question.
They dominated the Big Twelve tournament, and have been white hot over the past two weeks. Many people are saying that the weakest 3 seed in this tournament is the Xavier Musketeers. They are without their full complement of players, as their backup Center is out of the year.
They rely on a lot of minutes from Jack Nunge. They can struggle to put the ball in the bucket at times. Indiana started the year with massive expectations. They beat Xavier earlier in the year in Cincinnati but stumbled early in the B1G season. They found their footing and beat #1 seed Purdue twice.
Midwest Regional in Kansas City
- Arena: T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, MO.
- Date: March 24 & 26, 2023.
- CBS, Paramount+
IU will have the best player on the floor each time they suit up with Trayce Jackson-Davis. They can beat anyone, but if Jalen Hood-Schifino doesn’t show up they are very vulnerable.
Lastly, the top seed in the bracket is Miami. This is a team that would never have happened before the new NIL deals, but a group that can get up and down the floor with anyone. They score it with ease and shoot the three, however, they give up points just as easily.
I think the winner of this bracket will come from the top 2 seeds, because of the inconsistency of the rest of the group. Penn State is a team to look at as they can shoot the three and they are the oldest team in America and have a dominant guard that can control games with Jalen Pickett.
.@UHouston will be the No. 1 seed in the Midwest Region
Coogs' fifth-straight NCAA Tournament appearance#ForTheCity x #GoCoogs pic.twitter.com/sy8tttFr2S
— Houston Men's Hoops 🏀 🐾 (@UHCougarMBK) March 12, 2023
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| Title: Midwest Region Outlook
| Author: Matt Catton
| Date: Mar 16, 2023