Virginia is a great regular season team, but it’s fair to ask if the Cavaliers’ lose their edge in March. How will Kansas matchup with North Carolina’s bigs if those teams were to meet in the final? The Jayhawks aren’t great on the defensive glass - Austin Peay grabbed 15 offensive boards in the first round game - which would be a problem against big frontlines. ![]() So why are the Jayhawks not at the top of this list? This team doesn’t really have a lot of pros, and those players usually make the difference late in March. ![]() Letting Connecticut crawl back into the Round of 32 game was a little concerning, but this team hasn’t lost since the end of January, so I wouldn’t worry too much. North Carolina is up to 10th in defensive efficiency, per, after going four straight games holding their opponents to under a point per possession.Īn easy road to the Final Four doesn’t hurt the Heels’ chances either:Ĭonsider Kansas ‘1b’ on this list, because the Jayhawks aren’t very far behind UNC at this point. And Roy Williams has this team playing hard on the defensive end. That trio can score whenever they want, so the offense remains efficient - the Heels rank fifth nationally in offensive efficiency - without really utilizing the 3-point line. The Tar Heels are just so loaded on the frontline, with Brice Johnson, Isaiah Hicks and Kennedy Meeks down low. I didn’t think it was possible for a modern college basketball team to contend for a national title without shooting the 3 well, but North Carolina is looking more and more like the exception to that rule. With so many big-name teams left in the field, let’s rank them in order of national title chances. No mid-majors (No, Gonzaga is not a mid-major) made it past the Round of 32, which makes for a better product. It’s the fifth time in conference history that two teams have accomplished that feat, according to Barry Jacobs of SB Nation's Duke Basketball Report.March has been plenty mad this year, but the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament still produced a Sweet 16 full of brand name teams. 1 seeds in the East and Midwest Regions, respectively. However, the Cardinals were not eligible for the Big Dance because of a self-imposed postseason ban.Īdding to Sunday’s feat, North Carolina and Virginia represented the conference as the No. Louisville also joined that year, and this year it finished 16th in the final Associated Press Top 25 poll. The Orange have reached the Final Four under Boeheim four times.īoth Syracuse and Notre Dame joined the conference prior to the 2013-14 season and have clearly proven to be worthy additions. The Orange were a bubble team for the bulk of the season but narrowly got in after finishing 19-13 and 9-9 in the conference.īut counting out head coach Jim Boeheim’s crew at this time of year is unwise. Syracuse is the only Sweet 16 team from the ACC that didn’t finish better than. ![]() Austin team that upset West Virginia in the first round. Notre Dame was the only team among the six that had a close call in the second round, narrowly hanging on to a 76-75 win on Sunday over a Stephen F. ACC went 12-1 this weekend, though its teams did not beat anyone seeded seventh or better. Jeff Eisenberg Sweet 16 teams for the ACC is a new record.
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