The All-March Madness First Weekend RTRS Corner Three
The All-March Madness First Weekend RTRS Corner Three
The most wonderful time of the year. Onions!
10 NCAA Teams that can win the whole damn thing
10. Tennessee
Some would tell you that every good Vols team always stops short somewhere around the Sweet 16. I think these guys are a tad bit tougher and definitely more talented than usual though, and they can score and defend and score some more, which is why I like them.
9. Arizona
Extremely tough and talented and led by a future Sixer fave forever, Caleb Love. They tend to play down to comp at times though, so a much-too-early exit wouldn’t shock me either.
8. Florida
Guard play rules March, and they have one of the best and most fun of the backcourt bunch – and an absolute free throw demon – in Walter Clayton Jr.
7. Marquette
March is also about matchups, and if Shaka Smart and the boys get angry they’re going to be a very tough out for ANYONE.
6. Alabama
Semi-cold as of late, but a team that averages the most points in the country should never be counted out. They’ll heat up in a matter of seconds and run anybody out of the gym.
5. Auburn
Bruce Pearl has got the guys going like a buzzsaw.
4. Purdue
Obligatory. Wild to say about a one seed but I wouldn’t be surprised if either they won it all or lost in the second round.
3. Houston
Another guard-led, tough-as-nails-ass team. Still don’t trust them all the way, but man they are relentless and nasty.
2. North Carolina
Not unsuspecting, but with the way last year ended, UNC came into this year and just boat-raced squads. They go as all-everything guard, RJ Davis goes and he can go far.
1. UConn
31-3, not much else to say. The defending champs and odds-on favorites for a reason.
My Predictions!
Final Four:
UCONN
North Carolina
Houston
Tennessee
Championship Game:
North Carolina vs Tennessee
National Champion:
North Carolina
Reasoning:
Since 2002, every champion has been top 40 in offense and top 22 in defense in the country. UNC is one of eight (along with Auburn, UCONN, Purdue, Houston, Tennessee, Marquette and Arizona) that check those boxes this year, and while it’s extremely hard to bet against the champs repeating, I just think the Tar Heels are due for their once every seven-eight-year-or-so chip.
Future Sixer Watch List
Tristen Newton
Jamal Shead
Terrence Shannon Jr.
Kam Jones
Jaedon LeDee
MIKE’S GUYS, MARCH MADNESS FIRST WEEKEND EDITION
The tournament is upon us, and the Sixers are doing their best to survive their plague of injuries, but we all know what I'm more interested in at the moment. Indeed, part of being a Playoff Motherfucker means taking the March part of the regular season off for the tournament. So here are a few of my favorite draftable players going into my favorite four days of the year:
MARK SEARS, PG, ALABAMA: You don't have to squint too hard to see college Jalen Brunson here. A 6'1 lefty upperclassman guard anchoring a power conference school to a top 3 offense in the nation. He can shoot (43% from deep on 5+ attempts per game), and leads an NBA style ‘Bama offense to a shit ton of points on their way to a 4-seed.
The problem is there's only one Jalen Brunson. I've lost a lot of time and credibility believing in small guards translating at the next level. The attribute that separates Brunson from Sears is how good Jalen was and is as a 2-point shotmaker in the halfcourt: 59% in his 3 years at Nova, vs. Sears just over 50% in his time between Ohio and Alabama.
He's a smart player with a killer jumper and good hands on defense — but without elite athleticism, he's more of a second rounder/undrafted option for me. But he's been one of my favorite players to watch the past two years, and sometimes a TJ McConnell/Fred VanVleet just finds a way.
DARON HOLMES II, C, DAYTON: My ideal big can 1) protect the rim, 2) stretch the floor, and 3) pass. Also love a lob threat, but you can't have everything.
Except with Daron Holmes, you can! He's a 6'10 junior from Dayton who serves as the hub of everything they do, earning them a 7 seed and a date with a talented Nevada team. He can screen and roll. He's improved his outside shot (30-78 on mostly pick-and-pop threes). He has another one of my pet fave abilities in foul-drawing — attacking the basket to the tune of almost nine free throws a game — in addition to some nice passing out of the high post, with a 19.3% assist rate. Holmes can also protect the rim, averaging around two blocks in each of his three seasons with the Flyers.
Think of him as a more modern, do-some-of-everything version of Richaun Holmes. I see him as a really solid role player at the next level and he'd make a great backup 4/5 with the versatility to play anywhere if the shot improvement is for real. If Dayton can get past Nevada, a pro showcase with Arizona would be a very compelling watch, to see if he can stretch Oumar Ballo out on offense and hang with his size and physicality on the other end.
TUCKER DEVRIES, G/F, DRAKE: Coach's kid! He's a big wing who can do some of everything. A high volume three point shooter off movement (7 per game the last two seasons) and a heady defender with the size & hands to compete with more athletic players. As he's grown as a player, he's created more shots off the bounce -- something that he struggled with last year when Miami shut him down en route to a Final Four berth. He's also doubled his assists from year to year, staying balanced and seeing the floor well. The guy that Duncan Robinson became this season -- flying around screens but also improving attacking closeouts and finishing at the rim -- is the track DeVries is on. He gets defended very physically and doesn't have blow-by speed, but he's big enough to shoot over smaller guys and has the touch to handle the pressure as he operates in the midrange. Undrafted, but I think he's a pro. (not a pro, but his teammate Darnell Brodie is a very fun watch, an absolute hoss)
Also a bummer that Devin Carter (G, Providence, our best hope for a Derrick White type) got edged out of the tournament by the committee for a worse Virginia squad. And an equal bummer that a Caleb Martin type in Kevin McCullar (wing, Kansas) was just ruled out for the whole tournament with a bone bruise in his knee.
More coming next week for the Round of 16! I fucking love this shit!!!!
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