March Madness is here but not all roads are created equal in the NCAA Tournament. Ranking the regions by the degree of difficulty.
The NCAA Tournament is here, and it’s time to fill out your brackets. Will this be the year someone finally puts together a perfect bracket? Probably not.
What about another No. 16 beating a No. 1? Chances are still slim to none. There are so many variables that go into the tournament that make it almost impossible to predict what’s going to happen next.
But now that the brackets are out, it’s time to evaluate the different roads teams will have to take if they want to cut the nets down. Some teams will have a tougher road than others.
Which region is the toughest and which one is the weakest?
Toughest – West Region
Congratulations to the West Region on claiming the title of toughest region in the tournament. With teams like Gonzaga, Michigan, Texas Tech and Florida State as the top four seeds that’s always a tough draw. Don’t forget about Murray State and Marquette who probably have the two best guards in the entire tournament in Ja Morant and Markus Howard, respectively.
You can’t forget about Syracuse who’s been down this road before. An eight seed this time, but any kind run they can put together won’t be a shock to anyone. Anything can happen in any given game during the tournament and the West Region is legitimately a toss-up. You might be spending quite a bit of time picking this region.
Second toughest – East Region
The East Region is home to the number one overall seed Duke Blue Devils. You could easily chalk them up to the Final Four or even the National Championship, but believe it or not, they might find the road to the Final Four tougher than it looks.
With mid-majors like Liberty and Belmont, they could pull off some first round upsets that shake things up in the region. Should UCF make it out of the first round against VCU then they’ll most likely play Duke and the Blue Devils will never face another guy like Tacko Fall. He’s 7-foot-six, and you can’t practice for him.
LSU has a guard in Tremont Waters that can score with the best of them and lead this team to the Sweet 16 or further if he gets hot. We can’t forget about Michigan State who’s playing their best basketball at the right time. They beat the Michigan Wolverines three times this season (and somehow got a worse seed than them) and if they continue to play good basketball led by Cassius Winston they could be on a collision course with Duke in the Elite Eight.
Throw in Virginia Tech and a wild card in Louisville and you have a pretty tough region to navigate.
Second easiest – South Region
The teams in this region are really good as is every team in the tournament but the individual talent on these rosters aren’t as strong as the other regions. If you’re a fan of teams getting out in transition and running up and down the floor then this isn’t the region for you to watch.
This region boasts teams that operate at some of the slowest paces in the country headlined by the Virginia Cavaliers. The fact that these games are going to feature slower paces is advantage Virginia because they’re the team best equipped to use every bit of the shot clock and still get a good look.
Virginia and Tennessee have superior talent compared to everyone else in the region which puts them in a favorable position to meet in the Elite Eight. Tennessee could run into a problem in a stellar defensive team in Cincinnati. Unlike the Midwest Region, an upset can be found in the region, but you’re going to have to look pretty hard to find it.
Easiest – Midwest Region
As for the “weakest” region that would belong to the Midwest Region. There’s no really weak region, but the Midwest is a region that you don’t really see a ton of upsets. North Carolina and Kentucky are head and shoulders above everyone else. You can’t forget about Kansas, Auburn and Iowa State either. But from top to bottom the Midwest is probably the weakest of the four regions.
This region is going to feature a ton of games that turn out to be track meets. Any game North Carolina is featured in is going to move at light speed. A potential matchup between Kansas and Auburn in the second round will have a ton of points scored as well.
The Midwest Region is the exact opposite of the South Region. The talent in this region is really good, but the teams may not be the best. Kansas is a four seed and there are serious questions whether they’ll make it out of the first weekend.
If Kentucky and North Carolina hold up their end of the bargain then there should be no surprise if they make it to the Elite Eight. Everything is up for grabs in this tournament. We even saw a 16 beat a one seed last season. It’s not about the best team, it’s about the team that’s playing the best, and that could be anybody.