March Madness 2019: Midwest Region preview, predictions – North Carolina-Kentucky on collision course?

March Madness is here and the Midwest Region of the NCAA Tournament is loaded with North Carolina and Kentucky the top seeds.

If you wanted to put together an all-tournament team and your goal was to score the most points possible then you’d probably pick guys from this region. Headlined by North Carolina as the one seed defense is optional. Here’s your Midwest Region preview and we’ll start with three takeaways.

1. Wofford might be going home early

Wofford finished undefeated in conference play and deserved to get into the tournament. The only problem is when they faced really good team it didn’t turn out too well for them. Losses to Oklahoma, Kansas, North Carolina and Mississippi State doesn’t bode well for their matchup against Seton Hall. They could be in trouble in the first round.

2. Kentucky should walk to the Elite Eight

It’s not very often that you end up with a situation like the one Kentucky is in. The second best team on the bottom half of the Midwest Region is probably Houston and they lost to Cincinnati in the conference championship. It would be surprising if the Wildcats didn’t make it to the Elite Eight with the draw they received.

3. Iowa State doesn’t have to play defense

When I say they don’t have to play defense that doesn’t mean they can just mail it in. As with any game in general you have to compete every possession, but given the teams in their half of the region the Cyclones can win by doing what they do best and that’s scoring the basketball. They might run into trouble with Houston, but they can mask their defensive deficiencies in this region.

5 best players

• Cameron Johnson: Cameron Johnson is the best player on North Carolina he can dominate any game.
• Jared Harper: Harper can light up the scoreboard in a hurry, you had better stay attached to him defensively.
• Dedric Lawson: If you look up “old man game” in the dictionary you’ll find a picture of Dedric Lawson.
• P.J. Washington: He’s made tremendous growth since last year and is usually the best player on the floor.
• Devon Dotson: For the sake of defense he’s the best defensive guard in the region and could be the X-factor for Kansas.

Potential Cinderella

I’m supposed to pick an eight seed to make a Cinderella run in this region, but I just don’t see one in this region. Instead, I’m going with the six seeded Iowa State Cyclones. They play with four guards and they can score with the best of them. Marial Shayok transferred in from Virginia and has turned into one of the best offensive players in the conference. If they play just enough defense then they can make a run.

3 upsets to watch for

Iowa State over Houston: The Houston Cougars lost in their conference championship against Cincinnati, but still only have three losses. They’re great defensively, but they haven’t faced a team with the firepower that Iowa State possesses. They’ll need their A-game to beat the Cyclones.

Auburn over Kansas: This isn’t a seed upset per se, but more of a historic upset. By name, Kansas should beat Auburn, right? Well, if the Jayhawks don’t show up on the defensive end they could get lit up by Jared Harper and the Auburn Tigers.

Seton Hall over Wofford: There aren’t many upsets to find in this region, but based off of Wofford’s lack of success against the better teams in the country they could find themselves in trouble against Seton Hall. Myles Powell could be a potential nightmare for Wofford.

3 best potential matchups

• North Carolina vs Kansas
• North Carolina vs Auburn
• North Carolina vs Kentucky

Regional Final prediction

This region will be a battle of who can make the most shots. If you can get out in transition and get hot from the floor or at the very least not go ice cold then you’ll be in a good spot. That being said the top two seeds in this region are head and shoulders above everybody else. My prediction for the Regional Final is North Carolina taking on Kentucky.