When the West Region in the 2015 NCAA tournament was revealed, a lot of eyes were immediately drawn to the potential matchup between Wisconsin and Arizona in the Elite Eight.
Rightfully so. The top-seeded Badgers and No. 2 seed Wildcats are two of the top teams in the country. Both teams had strong arguments to be No. 1 seeds and both are strong contenders to cut the nets down in Indianapolis as national champions.
But as we've seen countless times over the years, the top-two seeds don't always meet in the regional final with the Final Four on the line. An upset occurring to either Wisconsin or Arizona probably has a higher probability of happening than the two teams meeting in Los Angeles.
So, can any team in this region ruin the potential Badgers-Wildcats game in the Elite Eight? Let's dive a little deeper into the West Region, which features Ohio State as the No. 10 seed.
Top 4 Seeds:
- 1. Wisconsin
- 2. Arizona
- 3. Baylor
- 4. North Carolina
Opening matchups: No. 1 Wisconsin vs. No. 16 Coastal Carolina; No. 8 Oregon vs. No. 9 Oklahoma State; No. 5 Arkansas vs. No. 12 Wofford; No. 4 North Carolina vs. No. 13 Harvard; No. 6 Xavier vs. No. 11 BYU/Ole Miss; No. 3 Baylor vs. No. 14 Georgia State; No. 7 VCU vs. No. 10 Ohio State; No. 2 Arizona vs. No. 15 Texas Southern.
The full NCAA tournament bracket can be seen here.
Five Players to Watch:
Frank Kaminsky (Wisconsin): The probable National Player of the Year has been outstanding all season for the Badgers. Leading Wisconsin in scoring (18.2 ppg.), rebounding (8.0 rpg.), assists (2.7 apg.) and blocks (1.6 bpg.) it's no secret why Kaminsky was already named Big Ten Player of the Year and the Badgers were Big Ten regular-season and tournament champions. He does everything for Wisconsin and is a big reason why the Badgers received their first No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament in school history.
Marcus Paige (North Carolina): Paige was a preseason All-American after a fantastic sophomore season. He's been hampered by injuries throughout this year and his numbers have suffered a bit, but there may not be a player in this region who is as clutch as Paige is. The left-handed guard leads the Tar Heels in scoring (13.9 ppg.) and assists (4.6 apg.) and shoots it at nearly 39 percent from behind the 3-point line. Paige has the potential to get hot from the outside and put North Carolina on his back.
Joseph Young (Oregon): The surprising Pac-12 Player of the Year, Young is one of the best pure scorers in all of college basketball. The 6-foot-2 guard averaged 20.2 points per game this season to go along with 4.5 rebounds and 3.7 assists. He shoots it at a high clip from the outside, 36 percent, and has the capability to take over a game at any moment. If the Ducks can get past Oklahoma State in their opening game, they'll see Kaminsky and the Badgers in the Round of 32.
D'Angelo Russell (Ohio State): Kaminsky might be the best player in this region but there likely won't be a player selected higher in this year's NBA Draft than Russell, who has done everything for Ohio State in just his first season playing college basketball. Russell leads the Buckeyes in scoring (19.3 ppg.) and rebounding (5.6 rpg.) while being second on the team in assists (5.1 apg.). If there's one player who can carry a double-digit seed on a deep run in the entire NCAA tournament field, it's Russell.
Stanley Johnson (Arizona): Like Russell, Johnson is a probably lottery pick in the upcoming NBA Draft. He's an ultra-athletic 6-foot-7 wing who leads the Wildcats in scoring (14.1 ppg.) and is second on the team in rebounding (6.6 rpg.). The freshman from Fullerton, Calif. is a huge reason why the Wildcats are 31-3 on the year and won both the Pac-12 regular-season and tournament titles.
Dark Horse:
VCU/Ohio State winner: I would have gone with BYU here because of its ability to score against any team in the country, but the Cougars pretty much choked that away last night against Ole Miss in the First Four by blowing a 17-point halftime lead despite scoring 41 points in the second half.
So, I'll go with the winner of VCU and Ohio State as my sleeper. I'm not sure who gets the win in this one just yet, but each team could provide a scare for the rest of the teams in the region: VCU because of its Havoc-style defense and the Buckeyes because of Russell.
Upset Alert:
Georgia State over Baylor: It feels like Baylor — like most of the Big 12 — was overseeded. The Bears lost nine games this year and still found themselves on the three-line when the field was revealed. Georgia State is a team that features a couple transfers from big-time programs in Kevin Ware (Louisville) and Ryan Harrow (Kentucky). Look for the Panthers to potentially pull off a big-time upset here.
Prediction:
Ultimately, I think both Arizona and Wisconsin are on a collision course for an Elite Eight showdown. Both teams have been so consistent all season and both were deserving of No. 1 seeds when the brackets came out. Unfortunately, there were only four slots for No. 1 seeds, and the Wildcats ended up in the Badgers' region.
These two teams squared off a year ago in the Elite Eight in what was one of the best games of the entire tournament. Wisconsin got the better of Sean Miller's Wildcats, 64-63, sending Bo Ryan to his first-ever Final Four.
West Region winner: Wisconsin over Arizona, 71-68.
