March Madness 2019: West Region preview, predictions – Is Gonzaga ripe for an upset?

The West Region is headlined by the Gonzaga Bulldogs, but this may be the toughest region in the tournament with talent from top to bottom.

If you’re a fan of any team in the West Region then congratulations you are officially a part of the death group! From Gonzaga as the one seed all the way down to the 12 seed in Murray State it’s going to take your best effort to get out of this region. Here’s your West Region preview and we’ll start with three takeaways.

1. The committee gave the people what they wanted

If you’re not a die-hard college basketball fan then you may not know the significance of a 12 seed vs a five seed matchup in Hartford, Connecticut. Marquette will take on Murray State in a battle of two of the best guards in the country. One of Markus Howard or Ja Morant will lead their team to the second round and they are bound to put on a show.

2. The committee did Michigan a favor

Michigan State had Michigan’s number the entire season, and yet the Wolverines ended with the highest two seed in the tournament. That seeding netted them in the West Region and will pit them against Montana in the first round and a winnable matchup against either Florida or Nevada in the second round. An Elite Eight berth is in the future for the Wolverines and we’ll see if they can get to back-to-back Final Four’s.

3. Syracuse is going to do it again, aren’t they?

The Syracuse Orange have some seriously puzzling losses, but they’ve also beaten a full strength Duke team so they are the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde of this region. That being said they’ve been down this road before. Remember when they had to play in the First Four and ended up in the Final Four. Look I’m not saying it’s a lock they’re going to make it happen but I would probably be the least shocked person on the planet if they made a run.

5 best players

• Rui Hachimura: He averages 20 points per game and still shoots 60 percent from the floor. The numbers speak for themselves.
• Ja Morant: He’s a projected lottery pick and this team will go as far as he carries them.
• Markus Howard: He scored 40 points in the second half of a game this season so there’s that.
• Jarrett Culver: Quietly one of the best players in the Big 12 averages nearly 20 points a game.
• Tyus Battle: In a conference that has Zion Williamson and R.J. Barrett, Tyus Battle scores 17 points a night, and is still overlooked.

Potential Cinderella

If you’re looking for a Cinderella team to make a deep run in the West Region then look no further than Murray State Racers. I could have easily picked Syracuse but that would have been way too easy. Ja Morant averages a double-double and will do absolutely whatever it takes to win a basketball game. They play an up and down pace and score a lot of points. If they can play just enough defense they could find themselves in a matchup against Gonzaga, and I might take Morant against any backcourt in the country because he’s that good.

Three upsets to watch for

Murray State over Marquette: The obligatory 12 over five upset. It happens every year and as I eluded to earlier it’s Ja Morant against Markus Howard. If the Races can keep Howard from going bonkers then they might come out victorious.

Syracuse over Gonzaga: Syracuse seems to be in this position every year. They’re a mid-seed and have to take on one of the eight highest seeds in the tournament early. Jim Boeheim always has his team ready, and Gonzaga is prone to early exits.

Florida State over Gonzaga: I hate to pick on Gonzaga but they do this to themselves based on their non-conference schedule year in and year out. They don’t play elite non-conference teams and they will not have faced a team with the length of Florida State. This is a problem matchup for the Bulldogs.

3 best potential matchup

• Murray State vs Florida State
• Michigan vs Texas Tech
• Gonzaga Vs Florida State

Regional Final prediction

When this dog fight of a region gets done clawing at each other for two weeks then we get to the regional final and this is probably the toughest region to pick. In the end, I think it’ll end up being Gonzaga against Michigan. Pretty simple to pick but between those two teams if they play their game and do their job they’re simply better than the rest of the region as represented by their seeding (even though Michigan caught the biggest break of the tournament).