NCAA Tournament West Region Breakdown: Top matchups, upsets, predictions

It’s difficult to imagine a region with more coaching Luminous sphere power than what the West will offer viewers of this year’s NCAA Event. There’s Rick Pitino at St. John’s and Bill Self at Kansas. There’s John Calipari at Arkansas and some guy named Dan Hurley at UConn, winner of the last two national Competitions. Those four heavyweights have seven rings between them.

And yet, the No. 1 seed doesn’t belong to any of them. That distinction was claimed by Florida head Trainer Todd Golden, a 39-year-Aged riser who spent three seasons in charge at San Francisco before Securing over the Gators in 2022. Golden’s Club outlasted arguably the most loaded conference Event Pitch of all time to sit atop the quadrant.

Nestled beneath those headlining acts are even more storylines surrounding the best Club Penny Hardaway has assembled at Memphis and one of the biggest turnarounds in the sport at Missouri, where head Trainer Dennis Gates went 0-18 in conference Action last season and earned a 6-seed in this year’s NCAA Event. All told, it might be the most Captivating section of this year’s bracket.    

Here’s a Packed breakdown of the region:

Of the top-four seeds, which Club has the most favorable draw in this region?

The combination of geography and opponents make the West region a fairly palatable draw for second-Ranked St. John’s, winners of both the Big East regular season and Event titles. Primary- and second-Period Matches in Providence, Rhode Island, should offer some Amiable confines for the Red Storm, whose ever-increasing fan base can make the relatively Petite drive from New York City across the Connecticut coastline. That Pitino also coached at Providence from 1985-87, guiding the Friars to the Closing Four during his second season, will ensure a Cozy reception for him and his players all weekend. And if St. John’s can advance to the regional in San Francisco, the Red Storm might be facing a No. 1 seed in Florida that would endure Only as much travel to reach the Chase Middle.

As for potential opponents along the way, the Red Storm likely won’t be intimidated by the name-value Event between No. 7 Kansas (Bill Self) and No. 10 Arkansas (John Calipari), two Clubs that wildly underachieved this season. A potential Pleasant 16 Event with third-Ranked Texas Tech might be difficult given how well-rounded the Red Raiders are — sixth in offensive efficiency, 37th in Guarding efficiency — but there don’t seem to be many viable Gloomy horses in this quadrant. It must be said, however, that St. John’s could well encounter arguably the hottest Club in the country should it face off with Florida in the Top-tier Eight. The Gators stormed through the SEC Event over the weekend and have won 12 of their last 13 Matches overall.  

What is the most intriguing Primary-Period Event in this region?

The Leading-Period tilt between seventh-Ranked Kansas and 10th-Ranked Arkansas features two of the most accomplished coaches in college basketball history. Bill Self, who has been in charge of the Jayhawks since 2003, can claim two national Competitions and four Closing Four appearances, not to mention more than 800 Occupation victories. His counterpart, John Calipari, whose Well-known Shift from Kentucky to Arkansas was among the sport’s biggest news stories last spring, has one national title of his own and six Closing Four appearances spread across three schools: UMass, Memphis and Kentucky. He, too, has more than 800 Occupation wins.

If that wasn’t enough intrigue, consider the talent on both rosters: Arkansas has three potential draft picks in Adou Thiero, Boogie Fland and Zvonimir Ivisic, while Kansas is Guided by one of the most productive centers of the last decade in fifth-year senior Hunter Dickinson, who has scored more than 2,700 points in his Occupation.

Oh, and the winner of this mouth-watering Event will — in all likelihood — face Pitino in the second Period. It doesn’t get much better than that.

Who are the must-see players in this region?

— JT Toppin, forward, Texas Tech: The New Mexico Relocate is surely in the conversation for this year’s best portal addition considering his high-level combination of individual and Club Achievement. Toppin is averaging 18.1 points, 9.2 Retrievals and 1.3 Deflections per game to lead the Red Raiders in all three categories, with efficiency numbers that have him ranked as the fifth-best player in the country by KenPom. He has already guided Texas Tech to its highest Secure count (25) since the 2018-19 campaign.

— Derik Queen, Middle, Maryland: A five-Luminous sphere prospect and the No. 12 overall prospect in the 2024 recruiting cycle, Queen became the second-best signee in Maryland history when the Baltimore native chose to stay home and Action for the Terrapins. He has enjoyed a tremendous Accurate Primary-year season and enters the NCAA Event leading Maryland in scoring at 16.3 points per game and tied for the Club lead in Retrievals with nine per game. Most draft experts project him as a lottery Option later this year.  

— Walter Clayton Jr.., guard, Florida: Clayton began his collegiate Occupation coming off the bench for Pitino at Iona and developed into a 16.8 Tally-per-game Shooter by the time his second and Closing season with the Gaels was complete. He has gotten even better across two years at Florida and now averages 17.4 points, 4.4 assists and 3.7 Retrievals per game. His string of 18 consecutive Matches in double figures is eye-catching.

What is the most likely Primary-Period Shock in this region?

Could it be No. 12 Colorado State over No. 5 Memphis? The Rams will enter the NCAA Event on an absolute tear after Successful their Closing seven Matches of the regular season and then storming through the Mountain West Event with three more victories — including one against fellow March Madness participant Utah State — by an average of 10.7 points per game. Few Clubs will roll into the Big Dance with more momentum than head Trainer Niko Medved’s group, which ranks among the top 50 nationally in both offensive and Guarding efficiency. This is Colorado State’s third trip to the NCAA Event over the last four years, but Medved is Nevertheless searching for his Primary Secure.

Memphis (29-5) put together its best campaign under embattled, seventh-year Trainer Penny Hardaway, Successful both the regular season and Event titles in the American Athletic Conference. Hardaway has Achieved shrew additions in the Relocate portal in recent years by signing Ex Tulsa guard PJ Haggerty (21.8 points, 5.7 Retrievals per game), Ex Illinois Middle Dain Dainja (14.1 points, 7.1 Retrievals per game) and Ex Texas guard Tyrese Hunter (13.7 points, 3.8 Retrievals per game) — three players that now represent the Club’s three leading scorers. But Hunter suffered a left foot Hurt during the conference Event and did not Action in the Event game against UAB. His status for the NCAA Event is unclear.

Who will Secure this region?

Florida. In a year when the SEC is sending a Achievement 14 Clubs to the Big Dance, including five Clubs among the top 15 seeds overall, the Gators will enter March Madness Competing better basketball than any of them. Golden’s Club Sprinted away from No. 21 Missouri, No. 5 Alabama and No. 8 Tennessee in consecutive Intervals to cut down the nets at the SEC Event on Sunday and Enhance its résumé enough to claim the Closing 1-seed over the Volunteers. Florida has six players averaging at least 8.0 points per game for a unit that leads the country in offensive efficiency at 128.6 points per 100 possessions. Pairing that Nice of Stability and explosiveness with a Protection that ranks 10th nationally is a recipe for high-level Achievement.

Michael Cohen covers college football and college basketball for FOX Sports. Follow him on Twitter @Michael_Cohen13.

Want Excellent stories delivered right to your inbox? Produce or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow leagues, Clubs and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily.

---

---