It’s March Madness, the greatest time of the year. Looking for some help with your bracket? Don’t know which teams to believe in, in this crazy college hoops season? We’ve got your back. We’re breaking down every first-round game in the field of 68, plus looking ahead at which teams will make the run to the Final Four.
2. Arizona (30-4, 16-2/Pac-12)–The Wildcats took the Pac-12 championship in Vegas on Saturday night, running through UCLA and then Oregon to grab the crown. This is a dangerous (if young) Arizona team, and it’s loaded with as much talent as Sean Miller has had since he’s been in Tucson.
6-5 sophomore guard Allonzo Trier leads the team in scoring, at 17.3 points per game. He’s explosive and tough to stop. Seven-foot freshman Lauri Markkanen isn’t much easier to slow down, as the big man can beat you both inside and outside. He averages 15.6 points and 7 boards per game.
‘Zona has a pair of talented guards in freshman Rawle Alkins (11 ppg, 5.1 rpg) and Kadeem Allen (9.7 ppg, 3.1 apg). Kobi Simmons is an athletic, talented wing, and Dusan Ristic adds even more size down low.
Despite their youth, we’re going all-in on Arizona. This team has proven its worth among the best in the nation, and we think they’ll get past St. Mary’s and Florida State to get to the Elite Eight. We trust them more than the ‘Zags to come out of the West because they’ve played tougher competition all season long, and they’ll know how to handle adversity when they face it.
There are a lot of good options to come out of the West, but give us the Wildcats.