Don’t sleep in March

It’s finally here. It’s beautiful, and it’s here. March Madness. I had dreams about my bracket last night. I have about 8 brackets and I’ve made about 100 changes. My philosophy this year: KISS. Keep It Simple Stupid. I’m not going to overthink it, and I’m going to go with my gut. However, there are a couple teams that could go far as sleeper teams. My favorite to have a Cinderella run this tournament is New Mexico. The Mountain West Conference tournament champions are under-seeded as an 11 seed, and are currently favorites to win against 6 seed Clemson. New Mexico has electric guard play backed behind Jaelen House and Jamal Mashburn. The Lobos have one of the best offenses in the country, and take care of the ball well. Averaging 81.5 points per game, the Lobos’s offense are a well oiled machine. If they win the first round they will most likely play 3 seeded Baylor. Baylor is always good, but this year they have an above average offense and a below average defense: a recipe for an early exit in March. From here it gets tricky. New Mexico will most likely either play Arizona or Nevada, and I hope its Nevada. This Mountain West showdown would feed families, and all the Mountain West teams are angry. They’re going to play with fire because the committee screwed them over. Every MW team is under-seeded and extremely disrespected this year.  New Mexico is set up well for a deep run, and they are getting hot at the right time I think the ceiling for this team is the Elite 8 and floor is a loss to Baylor in the second round.

The next team I’m in love with is Florida. Unfortunately, their center fractured his leg in the SEC title game and needs surgery. But Micah Handlogten can be replaced. And the script always loves a good story. The Gators boast one of the best offenses in the nation, averaging 85.1 points per game, and are 8th in rebounds in the nation. Losing their center is a blow, but I think the Gators will adopt a next man up mentality and rally behind their injured teammate. Florida has extremely good guard play behind Walter Clayton Jr. and Zyon Pullin. Good guard play is essential for a deep run in March, and I think Florida is capable of just that. Not to be superstitious, but teams coming off a loss in the title game of their conference tournament almost always do well the first game of March. I think this teams ceiling is the Final Four, and their floor is a loss in the second round Marquette. Their region is messy, and honestly anything can happen. March is all about vibes, and I’m vibin’ with this team from the Swamp.

My final sleeper team is TCU. As much as I hate to say it, I think TCU will go far. Their hardest game will be the first round against regular season Mountain West Champs, Utah State. But TCU plays hard, and they play fast, and they crash the boards. If they play their game, they can roll past Utah State and will have to most likely face Purdue, baring another 16 seed upset like last year. This Purdue team is a whole other team this year, so we’ll see what Boilmaker team shows up. But TCU has a cakewalk if they can beat Purdue. Whoever they face in the Sweet 16, is bound to lose no matter who it is. Whoever they play is going to be bad. Between Gonzaga, Kansas, Mcneese, or Samford, neither of these teams are Elite 8 ready. I’m rooting for a TCU deep run, and if its not them it better be Utah State. Jamie Dixon always leads his team well in March, so it’ll be exciting to see how they’ll fair.