Ty's 2022 Men's College Basketball Tournament Preview
/
The men's and women's NCAA basketball brackets are out now. I am going to do my men's preview today, but I do want it to be known that I am super stoked and ready to root for Michigan's women's team, who got a 3 seed and host two games. Go Blue! But how I will do my preview today, I will pick the four winners of each region, a surprise team in each region, the title game matchup, winner and the player of the tournament. As for "snubs" or whatever, I do think Texas A&M deserved to get in after they made a run to the SEC title game and I do think Tennessee should have been a 2 and not a 3. Other than that, it seems like the committee got something right for once in their lives. You can disagree with me, but this definitely seems like the proper 68 teams to have in the tourney this season. Anyway, let's get to it.
I'll start in the West, which has the overall number 1 seed, Gonzaga. The Zags are no longer Cinderella. They are the best team in college basketball. They have been all year. They have two guys that could win player of the year. They played a tougher out of conference schedule. They are built for March. And I do think they will roll to the final four in this region. The only real threat I could see is maybe Duke or Texas Tech. Duke is very good, they have beaten Gonzaga once already this year, but they are young and they have yet to put together a real full game. Tech is old and rugged, but they will not be able to slow down the Zgas, or even if they do, the Zags can run their offense in the half court through Drew Timme, and they will be just fine. The Zags will also have a tough second round matchup with either Boise State or Memphis, but they should get through that pretty unscathed. As far as my "sleeper" team, I have to go with Davidson. They can score in bunches, are older and are a pretty well oiled machine. I think they will get by Michigan State in round one, give Duke a scare, and if they win that game, I could see them play Gonzaga in the Elite Eight before their season ends.
Onto the East. Baylor is the number 1 seed here. While not the elite level team they were last year, they are still very good and play very good defense. Unfortunately their lack of outside shooting will be the downfall in their effort to win back to back titles. I love Saint Mary's here. They are so solid, play very well on both ends of the floor and beat Gonzaga once and took them to the wire a second time. I also really like Kentucky. John Calipari has a great collection of older and younger talent. Oscar Tshibewe is going to win player of the year, and he deserves it. TyTy Washington is a very good floor general. They have shooting and play good defense. But I think this is where the Big 10 gets a final four team. I have faith, maybe too much, in Purdue. They seemingly have everything you could want in a college team. Depth, size, scoring from everywhere. Purdue is good, and I have them making it out of the East. As for my "sleeper", I like Murray State to win their opener, and put a very real scare into Kentucky before bowing out.
Now let's go to the Midwest. Kansas is the 1, and they should get to the final four with almost as much ease as I expect Gonzaga to out West. Kansas is so good, so deep, so talented, they have it all. They also have an awesome coaching staff. This KU team, on paper, is too good to sabotage itself. I do like Auburn, although I despise their coach. Jabari Smith could be the number one pick in the upcoming draft, and Walker Kessler may be the best transfer in the nation. They also have good guards on this team. Iowa is red hot coming into the tourney, and Keegan Murray is playing like a lottery pick. Wisconsin has kind of fluttered near the end, but Johnny Davis is amazing. And USC has size and length everywhere on the floor. But KU is the team to beat here. They should coast to the final four. As for my "sleeper" here, I have South Dakota State. They lead the country in scoring, they make a ton of threes and they have incredible camaraderie. They are a very, very good mid-major, and they can make a push to the Sweet Sixteen and it would not surprise me.
Finally, we have the South. Arizona is the 1 here, and they have come out of nowhere to win 31 games and coast into the tournament. They also won the Pac 12 tourney. They also have a few pros on their team. They are really, really good. They also got a very tough draw. Villanova is the 2, and they are as solid as they come. Tennessee is the 3, and they had a shot to be a number 1 seed in some brackets. Illinois is the 4 and they have one of the biggest, and most skilled big men I have ever watched. And Houston is a 5, and they are so, so, so good. I'd love to pick another Big 10 team, but I do not have that much faith in Illinois unfortunately. But, kind of out of the box, but not really, I like Houston to make a run to the final four. They just seem due. Kelvin Sampson has rebuilt that program and they have been knocking on the door the past couple of years. As for my "sleeper", I have Chattanooga. They are built like a power 5 team that just happens to play in a mid-major conference. I do think they will beat Illinois in round one and they will be the only real scare Houston gets before they make their run. And, I would be remiss if I did not talk about Michigan getting the 11 seed here. I am stunned they got in. I am even more shocked they do not have to play a first four game. They have been wildly consistent all season, yet they are in the dance. And I could even see them winning their first game against Colorado State. They actually kind of matchup well with that team. I think they will get hammered by Tennessee if they win that first game. But it would be exactly how their up and down season should, and most likely will end.
So, my final four is Gonzaga, Purdue, Kansas and Houston. That is two power 5 teams and two mid-majors, although I think we all can agree that Gonzaga is a legit title contender. They should be the favorites. As for my title game, I am going with Gonzaga and Kansas. They have just looked and felt like the two best teams all year. As for the winner, this is the year that the Zags will finally break through and win it all. They are too talented and too well coached not to. I also think they learned a lot from getting annihilated by Baylor last season. As for the player of the tournament, I will go with presumed number 1 pick Chet Holmgen. I have a feeling he will bust out in a big way.
There you have it, my NCAA men's basketball tournament preview. As I say every year, take this with a big grain of salt. The games start in a few days, and I cannot wait. Happy March Madness everyone.
Ty
Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.