Skip to content

Bracketology: Kentucky-Wisconsin matchup highlights potential 2nd round

Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports / Reuters

Sign up now for theScore $100k Team Tourney Challenge, and you'll be the first to know when you can enter!

Every Monday, for the remainder of the season, theScore will present a look at how the upcoming March Madness tournament will shake out with a prediction of the bracket. This will rank teams 1-16 in each of the four regions, and include the potential opponents for the tournament-opening First Four.

Gonzaga’s quest for perfection came to an end on Saturday night against BYU, reminding the college basketball world that every team is mortal heading into March Madness. While the Zags are looking to regroup before the WCC tournament in Las Vegas, programs like North Carolina and UCLA are surging into the postseason. The Tar Heels, winners of four straight, have moved up to the No. 1-line in our projections. If they can avenge their road loss to Duke on Saturday in Chapel Hill, a top seed is all but a certainty for Roy Williams’ club.

UCLA scored an impressive victory on the road in Tucson and have a decent chance of stealing away a No. 1 seed from Gonzaga should the Bruins win the Pac-12 tourney. According to our projected field, the Pac-12 has three top-three seeds, giving the conference its best collection of Final Four threats in nearly a decade. On the mid-major front, Middle Tennessee and UT-Arlington continue to strengthen their resumes and could pose major problems for blue-blood programs during the opening weekend.

West Region

(1) Gonzaga vs. (16) North Dakota
(8) Xavier vs. (9) USC
(5) Notre Dame vs. (12) Illinois State
(4) WVU vs. (13) Princeton
(6) Wisconsin vs. (11) Providence/Kansas State
(3) Kentucky vs. (14) East Tennessee State
(7) Oklahoma State vs. (10) Michigan
(2) Oregon vs. (15) CSU Bakersfield

Gonzaga’s eight-point home loss to BYU has certainly taken some wind out of its sales, but it would be an overreaction to say that the Zags are not worthy of a top seed next month. With a pair of wins over St. Mary’s and two excellent non-conference victories over Arizona and Florida, the Bulldogs are clearly an elite team. That being said, this region doesn’t do them any favors. Both Notre Dame and West Virginia could present stiff tests, albeit with completely different styles of play. The Irish shoot the ball very well from long range while the Mountaineers are pure monsters on the offensive glass.

After years of horrendous draws, the hypothetical road for Kentucky this time around seems to be tailor-made for Coach Cal and his team. Wisconsin is falling apart down the stretch, and a Sweet 16 meeting with Oregon could expose the Ducks’ perimeter defense. Oklahoma State is certainly the darkhorse in this region, capable of making a deep run thanks to its dynamic backcourt.

East Region

(1) Villanova vs. (16) UC Irvine/Mt. St. Mary’s
(8) Miami (FL) vs. (9) VCU
(5) Minnesota vs. (12) UNC Wilmington
(4) Duke vs. (13) Vermont
(6) Creighton vs. (11) Middle Tennessee
(3) Florida vs. (14) UNC Asheville
(7) Maryland vs. (10) Wichita State
(2) Louisville vs. (15) Bucknell

Another season, another Big East regular-season title for Villanova. A potential Duke-Nova clash at the Garden has ticket brokers jumping for joy. UNC Wilmington is a team to keep an eye on. The Seahawks share the ball incredibly well, and when they find the open man behind the 3-point stripe, they bury it (the team averages 9.4 triples per game). Don’t look now, but Richard Pitino has the Golden Gophers playing some inspired basketball. Minnesota hasn’t won multiple games in the Big Dance in 20 years, but its currently positioning itself for a visit to the second weekend.

Someone is going to get stuck with Wichita State in the Round of 32, and win or lose, that top seed is going to be singing the Shockers' praises postgame. Wichita has just one loss since Dec. 22 and closed out its MVC regular season with winning margins of 29, 26 and 19 in the last three contests. You can pencil in Middle Tennessee for an upset, particularly if they catch a team without a true point guard like Creighton.

Midwest Region

(1) Kansas vs. (16) Texas Southern/New Orleans
(8) Dayton vs. (9) Northwestern
(5) Cincinnati vs. (12) Nevada
(4) Florida State vs. (13) Monmouth
(6) St. Mary’s (CA) vs. (11) Cal/Syracuse
(3) Butler vs. (14) Akron
(7) Iowa State vs. (10) Michigan State
(2) UCLA vs. (15) North Dakota State

Kansas is looking better and better as the season progresses. In this scenario, the Jayhawks would have very little resistance before an Elite Eight showdown against either Butler or UCLA. The feel-good story of this region would be Northwestern. The Wildcats have never punched their ticket to the Big Dance.

If UCLA were to face Iowa State in the second round, it would be must-watch television. The Cyclones boast wins over Kansas and Baylor to go along with a “quality” two-point neutral-site loss to Gonzaga. UCLA, meanwhile, is simply electric on offense, and Lonzo Ball has the look of a future lottery pick ready to cement his legacy with a deep March Madness run. Syracuse-Cal would be a fantastic play-in game in Dayton.

South Region

(1) North Carolina vs. (16) North Carolina Central
(8) Virginia Tech vs. (9) Arkansas
(5) Virginia vs. (12) Texas-Arlington
(4) Purdue vs. (13) Valpo
(6) SMU vs. (11) Marquette
(3) Arizona vs. (14) Belmont
(7) South Carolina vs. (10) Seton Hall
(2) Baylor vs. (15) Florida Gulf Coast

As we mentioned at the top, UT-Arlington could be this year’s surprising 12-5 upset. The Sun Belt has produced some great Cinderellas recently (Ark Little Rock, Georgia State) and Kevin Hervey has the all-around game to carry the Mavericks into the second weekend. An in-state battle between Purdue and Valpo would be a lot of fun to watch, particularly the matchup between Caleb Swanigan (18 ppg, 12 rpg) and Alec Peters (23 ppg, 10 rpg).

The bottom half of this region is truly wide open. Baylor, Arizona, SMU, and South Carolina have all had stretches in which they’ve looked like quality top-15 programs and lows where they looked like prime one-and-done candidates. Belmont should be marked as a dangerous double-digit seed simply for its coach and superstar combination. Bruins senior Evan Bradds has seven games this season in which he's scored more than 20 points and grabbed more than 10 rebounds.

Daily Newsletter

Get the latest trending sports news daily in your inbox