West Region preview: Arizona ready for tourney glory
The NCAA Tournament is upon us. In the buildup to the opening round, theScore is previewing each region to get you prepared to pick your bracket. After hitting the East, South, and Midwest, we close things out with the West region.
Top teams
No. 1 Arizona
Arizona tops the West Region thanks to an absolute heater to end the season. The Wildcats enter on a nine-game winning streak, having notched six of those wins against top-25 opponents. Some victories came on dramatic buzzer-beaters, while others were dominant showings that established their championship potential. Tommy Lloyd's outfit essentially plays eight guys each night, with seven scoring at least nine points per game. That gives the Wildcats one of the most balanced attacks in the country.
The star freshmen in Tucson get most of the hype, and it's well-deserved. Surefire first-round picks Brayden Burries and Koa Peat became the first pair of freshmen to each score 20 points in a Big 12 Tournament game. Add in Jaden Bradley's shotmaking and the Wildcats' size up front, and it's easy to see why Arizona is a popular pick to cut down the nets.
No. 2 Purdue
Purdue, the preseason No. 1 team in the nation, largely disappointed en route to a 23-8 regular season. However, the Boilermakers stormed through the Big Ten Tournament as the No. 7 seed, running the table and knocking off Michigan to claim the conference crown. That helped them jump into the 2-seed for the West, and they're carrying tons of momentum into March Madness.
This Purdue outfit is very similar to last year's with the trio of Braden Smith, Fletcher Loyer, and Trey Kaufman-Renn once again leading the way. Smith remains one of the best setup men in the country with 9.2 assists per game, while Loyer is eighth nationally among major conference shooters with a 42.1% mark from beyond the arc. The difference might be the emergence of Oscar Cluff. During the Big Ten tourney, the forward averaged 17.25 points per game, well above his season mark of 10.6. Cluff and Kaufman-Renn give Purdue a frontcourt duo that could be a matchup nightmare for anybody in the bracket.
No. 3 Gonzaga
Yes, Gonzaga is back in the NCAA Tournament as one of the top-seeded teams in a region. However, this isn't the free-flowing, hot-shooting kind of Bulldogs team you're used to seeing. This version of Gonzaga is a defensive-minded squad - and the worst 3-point shooting roster of Mark Few's lengthy tenure with the program.
The offense essentially runs through forward Graham Ike, a double-double machine and the WCC Player of the Year. The perimeter scoring threat is 26-year-old wing Tyon Grant-Foster, a familiar face for March Madness fans. Grant-Foster starred for Grand Canyon in the last two NCAA Tournaments, averaging 24.6 points over three games. Mario Saint-Supery gives them another deep threat. Gonzaga's got enough talent on offense to match the elite defense and make a run.
West Region odds
| Team | Odds |
|---|---|
| Arizona | -115 |
| Purdue | +360 |
| Gonzaga | +550 |
| Arkansas | +1000 |
| Wisconsin | +1500 |
| Miami (FL) | +5000 |
| BYU | +6600 |
| Villanova | +7500 |
π Bet on the West Region and other March Madness markets available on theScore Bet here
Bracket-busters
No. 11 Texas
Texas' athletic department spends more than any other school in the nation, so the Longhorns are hardly a Cinderella. However, they are an 11-seed that has to play in the First Four just to make the bracket. We're betting that Texas can handle NC State and advance to face No. 6 BYU in the opening round. The Longhorns have the size and talent to match AJ Dybantsa and the Cougars in a shootout to advance to the Round of 32. Sean Miller has a track record of success in March Madness, and in his first year with Texas, the coach will make his mark with a couple wins off the jump.
No. 12 High Point
High Point's opening-round opponent is explosive 5-seed Wisconsin. That's a tough matchup, but the Panthers' 3-point defense has the potential to slow down the Badgers. The Badgers score 42.5% of their points from beyond the arc - fourth nationally and second in the tournament field. High Point defends the arc very stoutly, ranking 64th in the country by allowing opponents to convert just 31.9% of their shots from deep. The big question for the Panthers is whether they can force turnovers. Getting buckets off errors is High Point's identity: The team ranks fourth nationally in turnovers forced per game. Wisconsin, however, is elite at taking care of the ball, sitting inside the top 10 with eight turnovers per game. The Panthers' ability to harass the Badgers into uncharacteristic mistakes will likely determine whether High Point can win the first NCAA Tournament game in school history.
Players to watch
Darius Acuff Jr.
Acuff has essentially been in NBA Jam mode for the last month. The point guard averaged 28.6 points and 7.1 assists over his past 10 games and hit over 45% of his triples in that span, flying up draft boards in the process. He's got an electric first step off the bounce, but he's also dangerous off the ball and can torch defenders from anywhere on the floor. While Acuff has flown somewhat under the radar because there are so many fabulous freshmen this season, March Madness will boost his profile in a big way.
AJ Dybantsa
Dybantsa came to BYU with a boatload of hype and still managed to exceed expectations. He leads the country in scoring at 25.3 points per game and has upped that to 28.4 since the calendar flipped to February. He's entering the NCAA Tournament fresh off breaking Kevin Durant's record for the most points in a single Big 12 tourney. With Richie Saunders done for the season, the Cougars essentially need a massive effort from Dybantsa every night to compete. Luckily, he seems more than up to the task.
Braden Smith
"Wait, that guy is still in college?" OK, fair. Smith has now played a whopping 145 college basketball games for Purdue over a memorable four-year career. The veteran point guard is on the brink of history: With two more assists, he'll pass Bobby Hurley for the all-time record during a collegiate career. When Smith is clicking in the pick-and-roll game, the Boilermakers can beat anybody, as they showed in the Big Ten tourney.
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