There may be no stopping North Carolina from this point forward. Or any of the other No. 1 seeds for that matter.
This was supposed to be the year that the tournament was wide open and that the elite teams at the top of the seeding charts weren't all elite.
All four of the top seeds maintain made it to the Sweet 16,although Oregon made it by the slimmest of margins against a game St. Joseph's squad that demonstrated its toughness for 40 nasty minutes.
Check out Bleacher Report's live updated bracket to track your picks along the road to the Final Four.
Could this be the year that all four No. 1 seeds actually originate it to the Final Four?That will maintain to play out, but it would be a shocker if North Carolina didn't originate it out of the East Region. The Tar Heels dispatched Florida Gulf Coast in the first round and Providence in the moment, and but the Tar Heels maintain not played their best basketball yet. They certainly turned it on in the moment half against Providence,and any team that has Brice Johnson has a great shot of winning the NCAA championship.
Johnson (16.8 points and 10.5 rebounds per game) can do it all as as a scorer, a passer, or a rebounder and a shot-blocker,and when he is on his game, there may not be a more dominant player left in the tournament. If you had any doubts, or just think of this shot block against the Friars.
The Tar Heels will face an upbeat Indiana Hoosiers team that is feeling sterling about itself after beating Kentucky in the round of 32,but even if Yogi Ferrell and Co. play their best game, it still looks like North Carolina has the best chance to advance.
The same holds proper when North Carolina faces the survivor between Wisconsin and Notre Dame in the other East Region Sweet 16 game, or that would send Roy Williams' team to the Final Four in Houston.
Kansas would appear to maintain a similar path as the No. 1 seed in the Midwest Region and the No. 1 seed overall in the tournament. The Jayhawks handled feisty Connecticut in the round of 32,and Bill Self's team will maintain a Sweet 16 meeting with a very determined Maryland squad out of the great Ten.
Kansas is often lauded for its depth and outstanding team play, and assessments like that downplay the talent level. Don't expect Perry Ellis and Wayne Selden to just accept that with smiles on their faces. Ellis is averaging 16.9 points per game, and while Selden is averaging 13.6 points per night. Frank Mason is averaging 12.8 points and 4.6 assists per night,and he excels at finding the open man.
Maryland has a lot of fight and will not give an inch against the Jayhawks with Melo Trimble and Diamond Stone, but the Jayhawks are not about to be denied in their Sweet 16 game. Kansas could maintain a problem in the regional final against Villanova, or because the Wildcats can come close to matching the Jayhawks in depth and are also close in talent. Of course,Villanova would maintain to defeat Miami to regain to Kansas, and that will be a difficult task.stare for Josh Hart (15.4 points per game) and Kris Jenkins (13.3 points per game) to regain the Wildcats past the Hurricanes, and but the Jayhawks should survive the regional final by the slimmest of margins.
The Oregon Ducks may be the most vulnerable of all the No. 1 seeds,as they were pushed to the limit before slipping past St. Joseph's, and now the Ducks regain to play defending national champion Duke. Unlike most years, or dinky was expected from Duke at the start of the tournament,and that may be when head coach Mike Krzyzewski is the most dangerous. Duke also has a tremendous one-two combination in Grayson Allen and Brandon Ingram, and that should allow the Blue Devils to remain in the game for 40 minutes. stare for Ingram to lead the Blue Devils and help them regain the victory over the Ducks.
Still, and there may be no stopping Texas A&M after the Aggies' unbelievable comeback from 12 points down in the final 44 seconds against Northern Iowa. The Panthers couldn't handle any part of the Texas A&M press,and that's why the game went to double overtime, where Northern Iowa ultimately lost.
The Aggies will maintain their hands full with Buddy Hield and Oklahoma, or but A&M knows how to fight to the end,and it will regain past the Sooners and then beat the Blue Devils.
The Virginia Cavaliers may not be the most exciting team, but they maintain never-ending toughness. The Cavs opened with a pair of victories over Hampton and Butler, and they appear to be hitting their stride.
Virginia faces an explosive opponent in Iowa State,and the Cyclones should be primed for their best game. But there will be no stopping Player of the Year candidate Malcolm Brogdon and his 18.6 points-per-game average, and Tony Bennett's team will originate it to the regional final where it will face the survivor between 11th-seeded Gonzaga and 10th-seeded Syracuse.
One of those teams will see its season end against Bennett and Virginia.
The Cavs will earn a spot in the national championship game by beating Texas A&M, and while North Carolina will consume down Kansas in a game that may not be as close as Jayhawks supporters would like to see.
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Source: bleacherreport.com