NCAA Tournament 2018: Midwest Region preview

KANSAS CITY, MO - MARCH 08: Kansas Jayhawks guard Devonte' Graham (4) and teammates celebrate a charge taken by Mitch Lightfoot (44) in the second half of a quarterfinal game in the Big 12 Basketball Championship between the Oklahoma State Cowboys and Kansas Jayhawks on March 8, 2018 at Sprint Center in Kansas City, MO. Kansas won 82-68. (Photo by Scott Winters/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
KANSAS CITY, MO - MARCH 08: Kansas Jayhawks guard Devonte' Graham (4) and teammates celebrate a charge taken by Mitch Lightfoot (44) in the second half of a quarterfinal game in the Big 12 Basketball Championship between the Oklahoma State Cowboys and Kansas Jayhawks on March 8, 2018 at Sprint Center in Kansas City, MO. Kansas won 82-68. (Photo by Scott Winters/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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The Midwest Region is a very top heavy region, with the top three seeds being the most likely to make it to the Final Four in San Antonio.

The Midwest Region is a fairly interesting region. Here lies three blue bloods in Kansas, Duke and Michigan State. Sprinkle in a couple of teams that probably overachieved this season in Clemson and Auburn. Finally, add in an Oklahoma team that shouldn’t be a 10 seed or even in the field for that matter, and you have quite the region.

Not only is this an interesting mix, but it’s probably one of the most talented ones, too. Kansas has a potential National Player of the Year in Devonte’ Graham. Michigan State has Miles Bridges, Duke has another lottery pick in Marvin Bagley and Oklahoma has none other than Trae Young.

Here’s your Midwest Region preview.

Who’s the No. 1 seed?

The Kansas Jayhawks are once again the No. 1 seed in the Midwest Region. There’s no surprise here: The Jayhawks have been at least a four seed every year since 2000. This season they’ve extended their own record for consecutive tournament appearances.

The Jayhawks won their 14th straight conference title this year and took home a conference tournament championship as well. This Jayhawk team is not as good on paper as teams in the past. What they lack in ability on paper they make up for with experience and the sheer will to win.

They won the Big 12 tournament without big man Udoka Azubuike and had to rely on Mitch Lightfoot and a freshman who just showed up in December in Silvio De Sousa. Azubuike is expected to be back in time for their first round matchup, but after the performance of De Sousa this past weekend they might survive without him in the first weekend.

Say what you want about the Jayhawks inability to win championships when it seems like they should. The fact of the matter is since they won their last championship in 2008 they’re 21-9 in the NCAA Tournament, and have made four Elite Eight appearances in that same time frame including the past two years.

Who’s on upset alert?

There isn’t a particular matchup in the first round that has a team on upset alert, but there’s an interesting potential matchup in the second round that should peak your interest.

Should Duke and Rhode Island both win their first round matchups, it sets up a potential second round exit for Duke. Rhode Island should have beaten Oregon last season in the second round if not for a Tyler Dorsey three-pointer with just over 30 seconds left in the game.

Rhode Island is a veteran team with a bunch of good guards, and everyone knows guard play is what wins you games in the tournament. They never turn it over and play stifling defense. Duke, on the other hand, has had multiple games where defense seemed optional, and that could be their undoing.

On paper Duke clearly has the upper hand against Rhode Island. The talent gap is huge, but talent only gets you so far. If we do indeed end up with this matchup in the second round don’t be surprised if this game goes down to the wire.

Player to watch

You can jump on the Trae Young hype train if you want, and no one will judge you. The Oklahoma guard can go off for 30 points on any given night. Not only that, but throw in 10 to 15 assists with those 30 points, and you have a recipe to potentially make a little run in the tournament.

Since Oklahoma making it out of the first round isn’t likely to happen against Rhode Island, the guy you need to watch is Marvin Bagley. The Duke big man is an absolute nightmare in the post, and is borderline impossible to keep off the glass, and he’s absolutely dominated in his past three games.

He’s recorded at least 19 points and 13 boards in the past three games and finished the season averaging a double-double while shooting 60 percent from the floor. His per 100 possessions numbers are through the roof, and his greatest asset to Duke is his domination of the boards.

Hopefully, Duke makes a significant run in the tournament just so we can get more of Bagley.

Team to watch

While Duke on paper is an extremely talented team, they could fall victim to a more prepared team in the second round. The one team you should watch is the Kansas Jayhawks. They’re led by two seniors in Devonte’ Graham and Svi Mykhailiuk who probably have a chip on their shoulder after an Elite Eight loss to Oregon last year.

The Jayhawks let it fly from downtown, and are probably one of the three most potent offenses in all of college basketball. They struggle mightily on the boards where they’re tied for 182nd in the country, but that doesn’t seem to deter them.

The fact is they’re going to shoot the three ball, and they’re not going to change that anytime soon. They make over 10 a game, but they also share the ball as well as anybody. If this team can make shots they can beat anybody, and they’re peaking at the right time.

As they always say it’s about getting hot at the right time, and the Jayhawks are hot. They also have the added benefit of freshman Silvio De Sousa absolutely dominating in the Big 12 tournament this past weekend.

Predicted winner

As previously stated, this region is very top heavy. It would most likely come down to one of the top three seeds. Duke and Michigan State would have to play each other before the Elite Eight so that knocks one of them out.

Kansas is a good pick for the winner of this region. When everything is going right their offense is extremely hard to slow down, and their ability to shoot the three ball means they’re never out of a game. They’ve won multiple games in which they trailed by double-digits including two comebacks against conference rival West Virginia.

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They’re currently without their big man Udoka Azubuike due to a sprained MCL, but he is expected back when the tournament starts. Even if the Jayhawks don’t have him for the first weekend, the emergence of freshman Silvio De Sousa should make them feel a little bit better in the frontcourt.

The tournament is about getting hot at the right time, and the Jayhawks are on a roll right now. If they hit shots at the rate they’ve been hitting them as of late then they could find themselves in their first Final Four since 2012.