1 Gonzaga vs. 6 Buffalo – West Regional Final (Saturday, March 30)
The Buffalo Bulls are truly being slept on way more than they should be because of the conference that they played in. However, you don’t go 31-3 by accident, and this team has the chops to hang with some of the best teams in the country. In fact, it would not be a shocker to see the Bulls come out in this Elite Eight matchup with the Gonzaga Bulldogs and continue to find success on the offensive end of the floor from their core trio.
C.J. Massinburg, Nick Perkins and Jeremy Harris can all score in bunches and make plays with the ball in their hands. While Gonzaga is a strong defensive team with great matchups to throw at these guys, the Bulls stars have enough talent to be able to get their shots off and, more importantly, the ability to make them fall. However, what’s worrisome is that Buffalo may not have a single answer for Mark Few’s team.
The biggest reason that Gonzaga is arguably the best and most consistent offensive team in the country is due to their balance, but also because of how versatile and good their big men, Rui Hachimura and Brandon Clarke, are. Not only do they have legit size, but they can operate in a number of different areas of the court and find success.
For all the talent Buffalo has, they don’t have much size at all to speak of. Subsequently, the consistent force of Hachimura and Clarke are going to be a nightmare for them and, ultimately, leave Buffalo falling just short of the Final Four.
Pick: Gonzaga