Here's my two brackets that I did write-ups for: The South and The Midwest Regions!! I hope you guys enjoy them!
South Region
#1 Florida – the all black Gators are a very, very good team that plays some great defense, and they have the talent to cut the nets down as the No. 1 overall seed.
#16 Albany/Mount St. Mary’s – Albany has 3 white starters, and I haven’t seen Mt. St. Mary’s play this year, but I know Albany isn’t very deep, and neither team will have the talent to keep up with the Gators in this first round blowout waiting to happen.
#8 Colorado – This racist all black team has been very inconsistent throughout the year, concluding with a 20 point loss to Arizona in the Pac-12 Tournament. They lost their best player in Spencer Dinwiddie to injury. Don’t expect these guys to do much at all in the tournament.
#9 Pittsburgh – Another all-black team that’s played better than Colorado in a better conference, this game could get pretty ugly, with a lot of missed shots and turnovers. No reason to watch this game.
#5 VCU – This all-black former Cinderella team is very good at pressing, trapping, and running, and will often wear opponents out with this style of play. An injury to their 6[SUP]th[/SUP] man (6[SUP]th[/SUP] man of the year in the A-10) could negatively impact their tournament run this year. At least they “allowed†a white walk-on/water boy/towel waver/ cheerleader on the team this year.
#12 Stephen F. Austin – The Lumberjacks started off the year 4-2, and proceeded to win 27 straight games (including a blowout victory in the Southland conference title game) and are red hot coming into the NCAA Tournament, and they start 3 white players, in addition to giving good minutes to two more off the bench. Stephen F. Austin is led by Southland Conference player of the year, forward Jacob Parker. Parker is tied for the team lead in scoring at 14 ppg (shooting over 50% from the field), and leading the team in rebounds per game with 7. Parker also plays some great defense, with 45 steals on the year (good for 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] on the team). Starting at the two-guard for the Jacks is Thomas Walkup. Walkup is 3[SUP]rd[/SUP] on the team in scoring at 13 points per game. The third starter is Bosnian forward Nikola Gajic, who leads the team in steals. Off the bench for SFA comes athletic forward Clayton Tanner, who in just 14 minutes per game leads the team in blocked shots with 44. G/F Connor Brooks also comes off the bench. With VCU hurting and SFA scorching hot, this could potentially be an upset in the 1[SUP]st[/SUP] round.
#4 UCLA – The Pac-12 Champion Bruins enter the tournament playing some great basketball under new coach Steve Alford. UCLA uses three white players in its rotation, with 2 of them starting. The two starters are twin senior forwards Travis and David Wear, former Tar Heel players. They are both consistent players, averaging about 4 boards and 7 points per game. The white scorer on the team is Bryce Alford, Steve’s son. Alford is a smooth shooter who comes off the bench for about 23 mpg as well, and averages 8 ppg, but had a game where he exploded for 27 points earlier in the year, so Alford is capable of a huge game.
#13 Tulsa – Coach Danny Manning has turned around the Tulsa program, and is attempting a new version of Danny and the Miracles, but the Golden Hurricanes only have one white starter, and he’s the only white man who’s a significant contributor. UCLA shouldn’t have much trouble with these guys.
#6 Ohio State – The Buckeyes are led by senior PG Aaron Craft, who’s the engine that makes his team run. Ohio State’s all-time steals leader, Craft plays some great defense, and has also scored in big moments and made some great plays for the Buckeyes over the past four years. Craft is averaging about 10 PPG this year, as well as nearly a 2 to 1 assist to turnover ratio. The only other white man to play consistent minutes for the Buckeyes is Italian sharpshooter Amedeo Della Valle, who’s averaged about 12 minutes per game. Della Valle is usually the three point sniper when he’s in the game, but his great defense sparked Ohio State’s comeback against Nebraska in the Big 10 Tournament.
#11 Dayton – The Flyers are dancing for the first time in five years, but unfortunately, they only have one white player who even plays at all. That would be Matt Kavanaugh, the center. He’s capable of scoring, but he’s mostly in the game to play defense and set screens for the real basketball players.
#3 Syracuse – The Orange have been slumping a bit towards the end of the year, losing 5 of their last 7 games, including bowing out of the ACC Tournament in their first game. The Orange have one white player who starts and contributes for them. That would be two-guard Trevor Cooney, who’s started every game for the Orange. He’s third on the team in scoring at 12 PPG, but he is one of the offense’s focal points, and has had some monster games this year. Cooney is very athletic, and although primarily a three point shooter, he can take it to the rim sometimes and score as well. Cooney’s defense is also underrated; he’s 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] on the team in steals (60). Other than Cooney, there’s not much to cheer about with the Orange.
#14 Western Michigan – The Broncos won the MAC Tournament to get into the Big Dance, displacing MAC power Akron in the process. Western Michigan has four white starters and two others off the bench in its 8 man rotation. The Bronco’s best all-around player is athletic 6-11 F/C Shayne Whittington. Whittington is a monster down low, nearly averaging a double-double, with 16 PPG and 9 rebounds per game. Whittington’s mid-range game is good, and he also plays some great defense, easily leading the team in blocks with 47. 6-6 forward Connar Tava also averages 12 PPG, and 6 rebounds per game. 6-6 Freshman G/F Tucker Haymond and guard Austin Richie provide some three point shooting for the Broncos, helping to stretch opposing defenses. Guard Taylor Perry and Forward Kellen McCormick come off the bench for Western Michigan. The team plays great defense, rebounds well, and has a scorer in black guard David Brown. However, with the exception of Perry and Richie, the entire team has a negative assist to turnover ratio, which could be their undoing against Syracuse.
#7 New Mexico – The Lobos enter the Big Dance coming off a win over San Diego St. in the Mountain West Championship game. New Mexico has three everyday white starters, with the 6[SUP]th[/SUP] man also a white player. Center Alex Kirk and Forward Cameron Bairstow make up the very talented Lobo frontcourt. Bairstow is an athletic forward with a great touch and is a monster inside, leading the Lobos in scoring at over 20 PPG, in addition to grabbing 7 boards per game. 7-0 center Alex Kirk is not as athletic as Bairstow, but the kid is a huge presence inside as well, third on the team with nearly 14 PPG, and first with 9 rebounds per game. Kirk can also step outside and shoot the occasional three as well. These two block a TON of shots inside, with 135 blocks between them. Combo guard Hugh Greenwood is a great guard in this offense, he’s a great passer with a 3.71 assists to TO ratio, and can knock down threes. Off the bench, the coach’s son Cullen Neal provides a spark for the Lobos. With guard Kendall Williams as well, these guys are very talented, and could make a run to the Sweet 16/Elite 8.
#10 Stanford – Andre Dawkins has this team back in the NCAA tournament, albeit with a very inconsistent year. At times, they’ve played well, at times they’ve looked terrible. They have one white starter, 6-11 center Stefan Nastic. He doesn’t really seem to do that much for the Cardinal, playing less than half the game, and hasn’t been in long at all the time I saw them this year. Off the bench is three point assassin, 6’11 F/C John Gage and guard Robbie Lemons, who also doesn’t do much at all for the Cardinal. The Cardinal’s white players seem to be role players, and probably won’t do much in the way of scoring. It will be interesting to see how Nastic and Dwight Powell (Stanford’s best player) do against the huge Lobo frontcourt.
#2 Kansas – Kansas features possibly the most hyped player in the country this side of Jabari Parker freshman in Andrew Wiggins. He has scored more of late and helped his team, but he’s had his games in the low single digits this year as well. The health of Joel Embiid, the man in the middle for the Jayhawks, will determine how well they do. The only white player who’s played at all this year is freshman point guard Conner Frankamp, who’s on the floor to shoot triples most of the time, when he gets into the games, that is.
#15 Milwaukee – Picked last in the Horizon League, these guys won the conference tournament to get into the Big Dance in a Cinderella story. They have 3 white starters (with all 3 in double figures), and a couple more guys come in off the bench, but I don’t think these guys are that good. They are smaller than Kansas, and definitely less talented. Even without Embiid, I don’t think Kansas will have much trouble with the Panthers in their opening game.
Midwest Region
#1 Wichita State – The Shockers enter the tournament undefeated, having stormed through the Missouri Valley Conference this year, finishing 34-0. Due to their soft schedule, there are still some doubters of how good Wichita State really is. They have one white starter this year in versatile junior guard Ron Baker. Baker is a smooth guard who is 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] on the team in scoring at 13 PPG, and has the ability to knock down the three or drive it to the hoop. When he’s on, he’s pretty fun to watch. Baker also plays some great defense, being second on the team in steals. The only other white man to play for the Shockers consistently is backup guard Evan Wessel. Wichita State is in a very tough region, but they are a threat to get to the Title Game.
#16 Texas Southern/Cal Poly – Both of these racist teams are terrible and don’t play any white guys either. Whoever wins this game will get destroyed by the Shockers, so I hope they enjoy playing in this game.
#8 Kentucky – Calipari brought in another group of “super freshmen†to start again this year. They’ve been a very inconsistent team, but seemed to have found their rhythm late in the year. The only white man who plays consistently for them is backup walk-on guard Jarrod Polson, who averages around 1 point per game. I don’t like this team or their coach at all. Go K-State.
#9 Kansas State – I haven’t seen them play much at all this year, but Bruce Weber’s Wildcats have one white starter in senior point guard Will Spradling. Spradling is a quick player who is 4[SUP]th[/SUP] in scoring on the team, and has a 3 to 1 assist to TO ratio, so he’s a pretty good passer as well. Unfortunately, Spradling is the only white man who plays consistent minutes for K-State, but that’s still better than Kentucky and their basically all-black team and mobster coach.
#5 St. Louis – The Billikens have had a great year under Jim Crews, but seemed to be coming apart late in the season. These guys play tough and tenacious defense, with a slow tempo offense, attempting to limit the number of possessions the other team gets. St. Louis starts two white players, in 6’11 New Zealander Rob Loe down low, and 6-5 G/F Jake Barnett. Loe is a huge presence in the paint averaging 10 points and 5 boards per game, in addition to leading the team in blocks. Barnett doesn’t do much in the way of scoring, but he helps make the offense run, and plays some good defense as well. Center John Manning and Forward Tanner Lanconna come off the bench for St. Louis, with each playing 9-12 minutes per game for the most part. With their style, if St. Louis has an off game shooting, their tournament run could be over quickly, as they aren’t particularly good at coming back from big deficits.
#12 N.C. State – The Wolfpack have already won their play-in game on Tuesday, dismantling Xavier 74-59. NC State started two whites last night, both of whom played great. One of them is point guard Tyler Lewis, who shares time with a black guard. Lewis is a great play-maker for his teammates, with a 4 to 1 assist to TO ratio!! Lewis has committed 30 fewer turnovers than his more explosive counterpart. Lewis has been really struggling with his shot though this year, shooting a paltry 34% from the field. The other starter is 7’1 senior Australian Jordan Vandenberg. He’s gotten better as the year’s gone on, and nearly leads the team in blocks. These are the only two white guys who see the court for the Wolfpack, however. This is ACC Player of the Year TJ Warren’s team, as he is averaging a blistering 25 PPG, and both of the white players aren’t exactly scorers, so don’t expect them to do too much in the way of scoring.
#4 Louisville – The defending national champs are playing some great basketball right now, and many feel they were under-seeded as a 4 seed. Coach Pitino still plays his pressing, up tempo game, and he has two white starters this year, and both are pretty good. One is the Final Four MVP from last year, Luke Han****. Han**** is a great shooter who’s been averaging double digits this year, and is usually an integral part of the Cardinals offense. The other white starter is 6’9 F Stephan Van Treese. Van Treese has been playing more as of late, and has been playing good defense, and averaging 6 boards per game. On offense, he usually sets screens for Han**** and the rest of the shooters. Senior walk-on Tim Henderson also gets into the game for Louisville, and is a decent 3-point shooter as well (he saved their season against Wichita St. last year in the Final Four). This team has the talent to cut down the nets in Houston.
#13 Manhattan – Manhattan stormed through the MAAC to get their tournament bid this year. The Jaspers only have one white man who sees any time. That would be designated 3 point sniper Shane Richards, who gets some looks off the bench.
#6 Massachusetts – The Minutemen have had a pretty good season, but they are another A-10 team that looks like they have been unraveling a bit to end the year, losing in the quarter-finals of the A-10 Tournament. The Minutemen love to run, run, run, and run some more, attempting to speed up the game as much as possible. If you’re expecting a team like the Minutemen of the Revolution; think again. This racist team only has one white man consistently for them in Tyler Bergatino. I’ve seen a couple of their games, and he’s purely the “energy†guy for the middle of the 1[SUP]st[/SUP] half. Depending on what happens in the play-in game, this could be an interesting caste matchup or a game to avoid.
#11 Iowa/Tennessee – I’m not going to spend any time on Tennessee – they are just another all-black racist team that can either look good, or look terrible. Let’s hope it’s the latter tonight as they take on Fran McCaffrey’s Hawkeyes, who have 3 white starters, with many more whites coming off the bench. Iowa has been on a terrible slide lately, losing 6 out of their last 7. This team has Top 10 talent and are very fun to watch, so if they get it together, they’ll be dangerous. Iowa loves to run when they can, and get a lot of points off the fast break. Incredibly athletic Aaron White is one of the stars of the team, 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] in scoring (including some highlight reel dunks), and rebounds very well too. Point guard Mike Gesell is also a good player for the Hawkeyes, a play-maker with nearly a 3 to 1 Assist to TO ratio. Gesell can also drive it to the basket very well, in addition to being a pretty good jump shooter. I’ve been disappointed with 7’0 Adam Woodbury in the middle; he is SOFT, and just hasn’t been a very good player thus far in his career. If he puts it together at all, he’ll dominate. Jarrod Uthoff is one of three whites that come off the bench in Iowa’s 11 man rotation, and he’s been playing well for the Hawkeyes. He’s very athletic and can block shots, and he can play inside as well as being one of the top 3 point shooters on the team. 3 point shooter Josh Oglesby has been shooting a 40% clip from beyond the arc this year, and Zach McCabe also gets into the game. It’s obvious who to cheer for… GO HAWKEYES!!
#3 Duke – Apparently, Coach K forgot about all those great white players that have consistently kept Duke in the Top 10 his entire coaching career. He’s decided to buy into the hype and start recruiting the one and done hyped up “supermen†*cough* Jabari Parker *cough* like Calipari does. The only white player to see the floor this year is Marshall Plumlee, who is also the only white man Coach K has on scholarship at the moment. Screw the Blue Devils! I hope they get upset by Mercer right out of the gate.
#14 Mercer – The Bears beat last year’s Cinderella Florida Gulf Coast to punch their ticket to the Big Dance. Mercer is a senior led team that has the chance to pull the upset over Duke if they can manage to control the tempo and play their game. 3 white players start for the Bears, with a couple more coming off the bench. 6’10 Forward Daniel Coursey is Mercer’s best white player, averaging 10 PPG and 7 rebounds per game. The other two starters are forwards Jakob Gallon and Center Monty Brown. The white players off the bench are forward TJ Hallice and guard Kevin Canevari. I hope they can beat Duke.
#7 Texas – The Longhorns have had an up and down year, but got into the dance nonetheless. The only white player who sees any time is the athletic Conner Lammert, getting 20 minutes per game, and scoring 6 points and collecting 5 boards per game.
#10 Arizona State – The Sun Devils have collapsed down the stretch, losing 5 of their last 7, including a 20 point shellacking at the hands of Stanford in the Pac-12 Tourney. They’ve started 2 white players recently, one is Danish forward Jonathan Gilling, and the other is 7-2 shot-blocking machine Jordan Bachynski. This kid is great in the paint, with 119 blocks on the year (4.5 per game!), in addition to 11 PPG and 9 boards per game. This kid is fun to watch. Some guys off the bench you’ll see are G/F Egor Koulechov, who started for part of the year and is a pretty good player. Big man Eric Jacobsen as also started for portions of the year as well, and will come off the bench. The downside with this team however, is that the three black starters tend to be ball-hogs, as they’ve thrown nearly 1,000 shots up between them on the year! When Carson or Marshall have a bad shooting game (as has happened a lot this year), the team loses, which explains their late collapse.
#2 Michigan – Jon Beilein has done an amazing job with this year’s Wolverines, having lost Burke to the draft and McGary to injury this year. Playmaking guard and Big 10 Player of the Year Nik Stauskas has simply been amazing and a joy to watch this year. He’s been a human highlight reel at times and has carried the Wolverines on his back at times this year, leading the team in scoring with nearly 18 PPG. Off the bench, point guard Spike Albrecht usually gets some good minutes in each game. Despite playing less than 20 minutes per game, Albrecht makes the most of his time. He can knock down the three well, and is a play-maker at the point guard position, with a 4.5 assist to TO ratio. When him and Stauskas are on the court together, it’ s great to watch. With McGary’s injury, unfortunately, the only other white player who’s played at all has been big man Max Bielfeldt. Still, with Stauskas and Albrecht, Michigan is waaaay better than a lot of teams in the field.
#15 Wofford – The Terriers start two white players in freshman guard Eric Garcia and sophomore forward CJ Neumann. Those are the only two white players that will see game time for Wofford, who isn’t exactly the most talented mid-major that’s ever been seen. I hope they enjoyed the trip, because this could get ugly.
