It's a basketball fan's favorite time of the year everybody, it's March Madness.
Games have already started for March Madness with the First Four well underway, but the Field of 64 is set to start duking it out on Thursday. Mizzou is joined by a regional field that consists of five teams that they have already played this season and three teams that have are in the top eight highest odds to win the National Championship per Fanduel Sportsbook. The West Region is pictured below.
For this preview, we're going to be taking a look at every team in the region, and give more in-depth summaries on the teams most likely to face Mizzou on the hardwood.
Missouri has +11000 odds to win the National Championship per Fanduel, and +1600 odds to win the West Region. Let's take a look at the Region and who Mizzou might face.
Slow it down. That's this team's motto, as they play nations's slowest game tempo, looking to frustrate teams who want to quicken the pace. They are one of the top teams in the country in shooting from deep and also utilizing most of the shot clock, and its thanks to All American guard Bennett Stirtz and the entire Bulldog teams' ability to buy in defensively.
Despite being in the Missouri Valley Conference and having a pretty woeful strength of schedule, the Bulldogs' still have a Top 60 defense per Haslametrics (which is a strength of opponent adjusted metric). They have wins over power conference opponents Miami (sorry Quentin but power is a loosely used term here), Kansas State, and Vanderbilt who got the best of Missouri towards the latter stages of SEC play. Sporting a 30-3 record, the Bulldogs have lost to UIC, Murray State, and Bradley.
The question really is, can this Drake team force a Mizzou team that likes to get the ball moving quick to not do that? Even though this matchup has popped up as a popular upset pick, Drake only having two top-100 wins does not bode well for them here and don't be surprised if the physicality of Mark Mitchell and Josh Gray will be too much for them.
Injuries can kill you, and man do people expect them to kill this Texas Tech team. Darrion Williams (14.3 points per game) injured a foot and Chance McMillian (14.2 ppg) sustained an upper-body injury during the Red Raiders' quarterfinal victory over Baylor, and while head coach Grant McCasland remains hopeful they will return for the tournament there is no doubt they will not be 100%. The Red Raiders when healthy are led by JT Toppin, who is one of the top players in the country.
As a team, they are one of the top offensive teams in the country as they excel at getting shots up. They shoot well from deep and stop shots from deep just as well, making them a nightmare of a matchup for teams that thrive on shooting hot.
Donovan Newby. The fifth year senior from Chicago Heights is bound to pose problems, putting up 17 points in the Seahawks' win over Delaware in the CAA championship game. Wilmington has only played one Top 100 opponent all season in fellow West regioners the kansas jayhawks. The team excels offensively from the mid-range and inside the paint, but struggles defensively at allowing threes making Texas Tech a mountain and a half for them to climb.
The Gators bested the Tigers in the quarterfinals of the SEC tournament after losing to them in Gainesville this year. Coming in having won said tournament, the Gators are amongst the hottest teams in the country. When it comes to national title contender, look no further. Top five offense, top five defense. They prevent scoring at all three levels and score at all three levels, and there isn't really a recipe to beat them. If the Tigers were to meet these Gators, it'd be for the region and best believe it would be a classic.
Rick Pitino's men are hooping in an inspired way this season, with many of his speeches going viral all across the internet. This team is the definition of defense to offense, not particularly excelling at anything on offense other than quick points off of steals and field goal attempt rate. Defensively they are ranked second in the country and can hold teams down while their offense catches up. This team would be a likely matchup if the Tigers made the Sweet 16, barring any unforeseen setbacks against Omaha or kansas/arkansas.
Oh the Terps, they have a gauntlet that possibly includes UConn, Oklahoma, Memphis, and Florida to get to a potential matchup with Mizzou. They play great defense without fouling, which is sure to be a tough experience for a team that relies so heavily on the charity stripe in Mizzou. Offensively they are one of the best teams in the country at shooting from deep and can light up just about any opponent and they also similarly to St. John's use their defense to feed into their offense.
Oh joy, the fifth team in this bracket that has already played the Tigers this season. This potential matchup is the most intriguing considering the circumstances of Mizzou and Memphis' previous bout being the first game of the season. A lot has changed for both teams since then, and after a tough non-conference slate featuring some impressive wins, the Tigers ran through a lowly American Athletic Conference slate. The metrics do not like the Tigers though, as they are 66th overall per Haslametrics and aren't top 50 in either offense or defense. There's a reason this team is the most popular upset pick though, and it's because their 12th seeded opponent is almost 30 spots higher than them per the same metrics.
It's been a disappointing campaign for the Jayhawks, who entered the season with national championship aspirations. This is arguably the worst KU squad during Bill Self's time in Lawrence, which spans over two decades. However, a Border War rematch in the Sweet 16 isn't completely impossible; such an event might send Missouri and Kansas back into chaos.
Don't let the logo fool you, this isn't the same UConn. That's what everyone is saying across the country it must be true right? While a lackluster invitational performance had the Huskies written off early, their defense let them down in Big East games down the stretch. While they have a high powered offense that can catch fire, it just doesn't look as if Hurley's dogs have the defensive intensity needed to make a deep run.
Jeremiah Fears is possessed and the whole country is intrigued to see what he does next. Similarly to the Huskies, the Sooners boast a pretty potent offense with a less than potent defense, and former Loyola Chicago legend Porter Moser has this team living at the foul line. Top 20 in both free throw attempt rate and free throw percentage, this team mixes its elite shooters in Brycen Goodine and Jeremiah Fears in with tough drives to the basket and controlled finishes through contact. I expect them to beat UConn, but an elite eight date with Mizzou looks very unlikely.
The Razorbacks have faced Mizzou twice this season, getting ran out of the barn in CoMo and proceeding to reverse card Mizzou in their return trip to Fayetteville. This team has been playing really good basketball since Boogie Fland's injury, and it has mostly been thanks to the re-emergence of Johnell Davis. Fland is expected to potentially be back for their first round matchup, but some actually think his return is slated to hurt the Razorbacks in a huge matchup of Missouri rivals. Nonetheless, this team is two strong games away from a potential third date with the Tigers in San Francisco.
Not many teams in college basketball are hotter than the Rams, who've won 11 of their last 12 games en route to a Mountain West tournament title. They rank in the top 50 in both offensive and defensive efficiency, and since the bracket was released on Sunday, they've become a popular upset pick over No. 5 Memphis.
Hey! It's these guys again! The Lopes are making their fourth straight NCAA Tournament appearance; last year, they took down No. 5 seed Saint Mary's in last year's tournament before giving No. 4 seed Alabama a run for its money in the Round of 32. GCU has a spiffy resume; Bryce Drew's crew almost beat Georgia, defeated Stanford and annihilated fellow tourney participant Bryant by 46 points.
Do you hate trashcans? Then Omaha is the team for you. The Mavericks, who were picked to finish second-to-last in the Summit League before the season, won the conference and are making their first NCAA Tournament appearance since moving up to the D-I level in 2012. Their signature postgame celebration has been kicking a trashcan, which was accidentally started by assistant head coach Kyan Brown, and it's stuck ever since.
The Spartans are back in the Big Dance after winning the MEAC, although they likely won't ruin Mizzou's tourney hopes like they did 13 years ago. NSU is led by Brian Moore, who averages over 18 points per game. Senior guard Christian Ings is also a walking highlight reel.
I've said this time and time again, but the fact is bad defenses just don't make championship runs. With that being said, we've seen what Mizzou can be when they play hard on defense, and have been able to hold teams like Oklahoma to sub 60-point performances. If this team were to make a run, they'd need some upsets to happen and ideally Texas Tech either being unhealthy or knocked out would do a large number.
This team has proven they can beat a team like Florida and Alabama, but it's also proven that it can lose to teams like Oklahoma and Arkansas. However, I do see a path to the Final Four for this team. If Arkansas can make a sweet 16 run, and Wilmington can knock off Texas Tech the most difficult thing standing in front of Mizzou is a Florida team they played close without Mark Mitchell. That doesn't sound too bad, but the reality is if this team matches up against Pitino and the Red Storm it is a matchup that will not be allowing Dennis Gates much sleep.
I see this team as a second round exit, primarily because I think Texas Tech's three-point defense is going to be too much for this team. I'm not going to rule out a deep run, but I think Sweet 16 is as far as this team goes. Nonetheless, it's March and this team has a lot to be proud of this season.