With play in games starting tonight, March Madness is here. LWOS has a full preview of the tournament, with this article featuring the West Region.
2015 NCAA Tournament West Region
No. 11 BYU vs No. 11 Ole Miss Dayton, Ohio March 17, 9:10 pm (TruTV)
BYU will be too much for Ole Miss to handle. They’re pretty evenly matched as far as size, but the matchups don’t favor the Ole Miss Rebels. Tyler Haws is going to be the x factor in this game, The Cougar’s all-time leading scorer and 2nd in the nation with 22.6 ppg. BYU ranks 2nd in the country in scoring (83.6 ppg) and Ole Miss ranks 53rd (72.6). Both are similar, fast paced offenses. BYU is the fastest in the nation in time of possession at 14.6 seconds, and Ole Miss is 40th at 16.9 seconds.
No. 1 Wisconsin vs No. 16 Coastal Carolina Omaha, Nebraska March 20 9:20 pm (TBS)
Wisconsin is too big and too explosive for this matchup to have any other outcome than having the #1 seed moving on. Coastal Carolina is ranked 136th in offensive efficiency and 164th in defensive efficiency, that’s just not going to get it done against a team like Wisconsin. The lack of size is going to make matching up against the Badgers a nightmare as well. Go ahead and ink in Wisconsin with the W.
No. 8 Oregon vs No. 9 Oklahoma State Omaha, Nebraska March 20, 6:50 pm (TBS)
When the Oregon Ducks are hot, they’re extremely tough to beat. The beat a very good Utah team (5th seed in the South bracket) twice in the final 2 weeks of the season, once in the PAC-12 tournament. Oregon is 26th in ppg with 75.6. They rank 35th in the nation in defensive rebounds with 25.8 and also finished the season 13-3 in the final 16 games, 1 of those losses was against Arizona in the PAC-12 tournament championship. On the other hand, Oklahoma State has size on their side, ranking 22nd nationally in bpg with 5. very good defensively with 7.9 steals per game ranking 26th nationally. However, they’re good defensive, but not very good offensively ranking 261st in assists per game with 11.5. Oregon wins this game because they’re hot, and just better at putting points on the board.
No. 12 Wofford vs No. 5 Arkansas Jacksonville, Florida March 19, 9:50 pm (TNT)
The Razorbacks are very strong defensively, forcing 16 turnovers per game. However, they rely on their defense to jumpstart their offense by forcing turnovers and Wofford takes very good care of the ball, averaging only 10.9 turnovers per game. The Terriers are also very undersized, without having a starter exceeding 6’6″ but they make up for that with their solid backcourt. Arkansas also has one of the best backcourt duos in the SEC, if not the country, themselves. I, however, don’t think Arkansas are going to cause Wofford to turn the ball over as much as they need them to, resulting in a Wofford upset.
No. 4 North Carolina vs No 13 Harvard Jacksonville, Florida March 19, 7:20 pm (TNT)
UNC’s transition game will be too much for Harvard. That’s what a lot of “experts” are saying as well. Harvard scores 64.2 ppg, ranking 257th in the nation and only shoots 43.5%, which is ranked 175th in the nation. While offense is their strongest point, defense looks pretty good as they only give up 57.2 ppg, which is ranked 12th on 39.9% shooting, which ranks 45th nationally. North Carolina however is the opposite. They rank 17th in ppg at 77.9 on 47.5% shooting, ranking at 26th in the nation. Their defense is pretty bad as far as point they allow, being 68.4 ppg, ranks 238th, but they’re only allow opponents to shoot 39.8%, ranking them at 41st in the nation. Mark this one in favor of UNC.
No 11 BYU vs No. 6 Xavier Jacksonville, Florida March 19, 4:10 pm (TBS)
Xavier’s defense is bad period. That’s going to be the sole reason BYU will pull this upset off. They allow 67.6 ppg, ranking them outside the top 200 teams at 204th. BYU is 2nd in the nation in scoring at 83.6 ppg. Xavier won’t be good enough to contain BYU. BYU upsets Xavier.
No. 3 Baylor vs No. 14 Georgia State Jacksonville, Florida March 19, 1:40 pm (TBS)
Baylor has been exciting to watch all season long. Most people had never heard of Georgia State until a couple days ago. this is going to be a defensive battle, and nothing but that. Georgia State allows 62.2 ppg on 38.1% shooting. Whereas Baylor allows only 60.3 ppg, top ranked on the Big 12. Baylor will be the first to score 50 points and pull off this win.
No. 10 Ohio State vs No. 7 VCU Portland, Oregon March 19, 4:40 pm (TNT)
VCU and Ohio State is arguably the most intriguing game in the 1st round. This is interesting because it could go several different ways. Ohio State gives up 62.4 ppg, which is 74th in the nation, and scores 75.8 ppg, which is 24th in the nation. VCU gives up 65.5 ppg, which is 143rd nationally, and scores 72.5 ppg, which is 54th in the country. However, VCU has been rather hot lately, but Ohio State has been also. The committee got this matchup right in several ways, VCU’s “havoc” defense hasn’t been the same since Weber’s injury on February 1, 2015, but they have been getting the job done. The VCU Rams will prevail in a nail biter over the Ohio State Buckeyes.
No. 2 Arizona vs No. 15 Texas Southern Portland, Oregon
March 19, 2:10 pm (TNT)
The Arizona Wildcats are the most balanced team in the tournament. They’re very good defensively and just as impressive offensively. Texas Southern has proven that they can play with the best of the best, beating Michigan State in overtime and Kansas State by a 2 point margin during their season. However, Arizona is a completely different team than those two, Texas Southern will be outmatched in this one. unless Texas Southern comes out the gate and shoots phenominally, The Wildcats will be moving on.
