The Bigger Dance

Here we are in March once again and many who don’t even watch college basketball during the season are ready for March Madness. In sports this is the tournament of tournaments. The other playoffs like college football don’t even measure up to it.

This year the Gonzaga Bulldogs go into the tournament as a fourth seed in the west. The three top seeds in the west are Xavier, North Carolina and Michigan. It looks like a tough bracket going into it. The first round the Bull Dogs play University of North Carolina at Greensboro a team that has been hot as of late winning eleven out of their last twelve games; they are seated thirteenth in the west so the Bulldogs should be favored well against them but like this tournament often happens and why it is called March Madness they could end up being upset. Gonzaga going into the tournament is 30-4. They won’t play top seat Xavier until the third round if they make it that far. They won’t face either North Carolina or Michigan unless they make the final of the west. Other words making it to the final four this year will be a tough road. Gonzaga made it to the final of the whole tournament last year. It would be nice to see again this year but they will have to overcome a lot to do so.

In the Pac 12 Arizona made the tournament as a fourth seed like Gonzaga in the south region. They will take on Buffalo a number thirteenth seed in the first round. The top three seeds in the south region are Virginia, Cincinnati and Tennessee so they will have a rough road to go through as well.

Only two other teams from the Pac 12 are UCLA and Arizona State. In both of their cases they are in the four play in games that happen. UCLA take on St. Bonaventure in the east region while Arizona State will play Syracuse in the Midwest region. So Arizona is the only for sure team in the Pac 12 in the tournament.

The other teams who are geographically in the west in the tournament are Nevada who is a number seven seed in the south, San Diego St. is in the same region as Gonzaga being in the west. CSU Fullerton is a fifteenth seed in the east and New Mexico State playing the Midwest as a twelfth seed.

So here out west we have seven teams we can start out rooting for sure or nine if UCLA and Arizona State can make it in. All the teams could be out of the first round  however Gonzaga and Arizona are favored in the first round while the others will have to find a way in doing an upset.

So today you can begin by setting up your brackets to see who you think will go all the way. Enjoy the tournament and all the madness that happens.