West Region – Salt Lake City, UT (Thursday, March 21)
1 Gonzaga vs. 16 Fairleigh Dickinson
If there’s one thing that the Gonzaga Bulldogs and Fairleigh Dickinson Knights have in common, it’s that they aren’t particularly deep teams. However, that’s about where the similarities end between these two teams as Fairleigh Dickinson is likely going to find themselves in over their heads in the First Round matchup out of the West Region.
The Gonzaga forward duo of Rui Hachimura and Brandon Clarke is one of the most fearsome groups in the country. And while the guard play of Zach Norvell Jr. and Josh Perkins shouldn’t be the primary focus of the team, they are both good players in their own right as well. Between the size and skill that the Bulldogs have, the Knights are not likely to have any kind of answer for them at any point.
Pick: Gonzaga
8 Syracuse vs. 9 Baylor
There’s a world where the Baylor Bears can attack the Syracuse Orange zone defense and have a ton of success. Makai Mason and the Baylor backcourt is a dangerous group that can attack on all levels. On top of that, Scott Drew’s team’s ability to crash the boards and clean up in rebounds could be effective against the Syracuse zone.
Having said that, the worry is that Baylor is simply too one-dimensional without Tristan Clark on the floor for them, who the team lost to a knee injury a couple months ago. With that Jim Boeheim will likely stretch the zone slightly to account for the guard-heavy attack of the Bears and give them a bit of trouble. Subsequently, it’ll be the Orange moving on to face Gonzaga.
Pick: Syracuse