2017 Elite Eight Predictions and Free Picks – NCAA Tournament Elite Eight Preview: The 2017 NCAA Tournament rolls on, and we have reached the regional finals. Over the next two days, four team will punch their tickets to the Final Four. The West Region and Midwest Region are up first, and among the four teams hoping to cut down the nets and reach Glendale are a pair of No. 1 seeds, a No. 3 seed and the 11th-seeded Xavier Musketeers, who are playing the role of Cinderella this March. Let’s check out both of Saturday’s Elite Eight matchups.
2017 Elite Eight Predictions and Free Picks – NCAA Tournament Elite Eight Preview
2017 West Region Final Preview
No. 11 Xavier vs. No. 1 Gonzaga: In somewhat of an ironic twist, former NCAA Tournament darling Gonzaga will try to reach the Final Four for the first time in program history by knocking of this year’s Cinderella story, the Xavier Musketeers. The Bulldogs can’t play the underdog card these days, and they head into this matchup as the top seed in the West Region with a 35-1 record.
On the other hand, Xavier is a 13-loss, 11th-seeded team that barely made it into the tournament, but the tournament has never been about crowning the best team champion. It is about getting hot at the right time and pulling out some 50-50 games, and the Musketeers are doing just that. Xavier will also be trying to reach the Final Four for the first time in program history, and fittingly, these two teams are tied for the most wins in NCAA Tournament history without a Final Four appearance with 27.
Both sides are coming off grueling wins in the Sweet 16, and while Gonzaga had to outlast West Virginia in a physical defensive battle, Xavier closed out Arizona with a shocking run to come from behind in the final minutes. The backcourt matchup will be fun to watch as Gonzaga’s Nigel Williams-Goss and Jordan Matthews go at it with Xavier’s Trevon Bluiett and J.P. Macura.
At the end of the day, I think Xavier’s Cinderella run is going to continue. For one, all the pressure in this matchup is on Gonzaga. Xavier has been playing with house money since sneaking into the tournament, but the Bulldogs have a growing history of failing in March after putting together impressive regular seasons. This is a golden opportunity for Gonzaga to end the drought, and I think the pressure of the moment could result in a tight performance from the Bulldogs.
The other reason I like the Musketeers is the current play of Bluiett. Xavier’s best scorer has been red hot, scoring 20-plus points in every game in the tournament, knocking down 11 3-pointers. Xavier is also getting strong play from big man Sean O’Mara, which has fortified the frontcourt. On the flip side, Williams-Goss has struggled for Gonzaga, connecting on just 12 of his 42 shots. In a one-and-done format, the momentum favors the Musketeers.
Projected Winner: Xavier Musketeers
2017 Midwest Region Final Preview
No. 3 Oregon vs. No. 1 Kansas: While it’s not quite a chalk bracket, the Midwest Region final will feature two heavyweights fighting for a spot in the Final Four. The top-seeded Kansas Jayhawks roll into the game having scored at least 90 points in all three games thus far. Four of the other six teams to have accomplished that feat have at least reached the Final Four. The third-seeded Oregon Ducks have taken a different path, surviving the loss of their star big man right before the start of the NCAA Tournament and then surviving back-to-back nail-biters to set up the showdown with Kansas.
As their 31-4 record suggests, the Jayhawks have been good all year. However, this team is firing on all cylinders right now with dynamic freshman Josh Jackson imposing his well on both ends of the court and point guard Frank Mason III leaving no doubt that he is worthy of being considered a frontrunner for the Wooden Award.
That being said, the Ducks have a knack for keeping adjusting their style to hang with every opponent, grinding out wins on the defensive when needed and out-gunning the likes of Arizona and UCLA in high-scoring affairs. Oregon also has a pair of clutch scorers in Dillon Brooks and Tyler Dorsey, and both seems to be able to hit big shots when it matters most.
In the end, I think the Jackson and Mason are enough to put Kansas over the top. Mason brings a combination of skill, experience and leadership that not many players can match, and Jackson is a likely top-3 pick in the NBA Draft who is putting it all together at the perfect time. The Ducks won’t back down, but the when the Jayhawks get rolling, they simply have too many weapons and too much athleticism for most teams. Kansas has been able to put games out of reach with second-half surges throughout its run to the Elite Eight, and Oregon is going to run out of answers.
Projected Winner: Kansas Jayhawks
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