As March Madness reaches its finale on Tuesday, here’s a look at the NCAA Tournament West Division.
No. 1 North Carolina (27-7)
meeting: ACC
coach: Herbert Davis (3rd season)
Post up: A year after missing out on the tournament, North Carolina State is back in a familiar place as one of the favorites to cut the net. Senior guard RJ Davis, the ACC’s leading scorer (21.1 points per game), paces the attack, while fifth-year forward Armando Bacot is the team’s strength.
No.16 Howard (18-16)
meeting: MEAC
coach: Kenny Blakeney (Season 5)
Post up: Seth Towns is one of the best stories of this tournament. He began his college career at Harvard University eight years earlier. The injury-plagued 6-foot-9 forward finally stayed healthy this winter, matching career-highs with 14.1 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 30 games.
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No.16 Wagner (16-15)
meeting: northeast
coach: Donald Copeland (2nd season)
Post up: Wagner is one of the best stories of a tournament with just seven healthy players. The team, led by former Seton Hall star Copeland, is dancing for the first time since 2003 after a 7-9 regular season and two consecutive road upsets in the NEC Tournament.
No. 8 Mississippi State (21-13)
meeting: SEC
coach: Chris Jans (2nd season)
Post up: The Bulldogs, who struggled in the regular season, solidified their spot in the NCAA Tournament after a shocking loss to Tennessee and a blowout loss in the SEC Tournament. A very active defenseman who records a lot of steals and makes it difficult for opposing offenses.
9. Michigan State University (19-14)
meeting: big ten
coach: Tom Izzo (Season 27)
Post up: High expectations were placed on this year after his appearance in the Sweet 16 last March. Michigan State couldn’t play against them and struggled with inconsistency for most of the season. He performed well enough to return to the tournament for the 26th consecutive season. But a long stay is unlikely for a weakened .500 team in the Big Ten.
No. 5 St. Mary’s (26-7)
meeting: WCC
coach: Randy Bennett (Season 27)
Post up: The Gaels have played slow and fended off opponents, allowing just 58.7 points per game, the second-fewest in the nation. After starting the season 3-5, St. Mary’s won 23 of its final 25 games, defeating Gonzaga and claiming both the WCC regular season and conference tournament crowns.
No. 12 Grand Canyon (29-4)
meeting: WAC
coach: Bryce Drew (4th season)
Post up: Lopez’s star wing, Tyon Grant Foster, is a player worth rooting for and was once a junior college star before collapsing twice and undergoing heart surgery. He made the most of his return to the court, pushing Grand Canyon to his WAC title as the leading scorer.
No. 4 Alabama (21-11)
meeting: SEC
coach: Nate Oates (5th season)
Post up: Oats, who has competed all season with conference mate Kentucky for the top scoring offense in the nation, is once again ringing for the Crimson Tide despite his program’s off-court controversy a year ago. Guard Mark Sears is one of the nation’s best scorers, averaging 21.1 points per game.
No. 13 Charleston (27-7)
meeting: CAA
coach: Pat Kelsey (3rd season)
Post up: It was a great performance for Kelce as the Cougars won back-to-back CAA championships despite losing three of their top five scorers and are now 58-11 with two conference titles over the past two years. . Perhaps some smart power conference program will hire him soon after Charleston finishes dancing.
No. 6 Clemson (21-11)
meeting: ACC
coach: Brad Brownell (Season 14)
Post up: Clemson had been to the tournament just once in the past five seasons until P.J. Hall (18.8 ppg) helped get the Tigers back to that spot thanks to big road wins over Alabama and North Carolina. Brownell has only won two games in the NCAA Tournament during his long tenure, both in 2018.
No. 11 New Mexico (26-9)
meeting: mountain west
coach: Richard Pitino (3rd season)
Post up: The Lobos, coached by Rick Pitino’s son, are one of the highest scoring teams in the country (82.4 points per game), play at a very high pace (5th in KenPom’s adjusted tempo), and drive opponents out of the gym. This often happens. They are among the top players in the country in terms of fast break points.
No. 3 Baylor (23-10)
meeting: big 12
coach: Scott Drew (21 seasons)
Post up: The backcourt quartet of Ray J. Dennis, Jay-Cobe Walter, Langston Love, and Jaden Nunn are four strong shot-makers who are deadly and play well with each other. They let high powered Baylor go. Drew will be aiming for a second weekend for the first time since winning it all in 2021.
No.14 Colgate (25-9)
meeting: patriot
coach: Matt Langay (13th season)
Post up: Colgate has advanced to five straight tournaments under Rangel, but lost to Texas last year and is still looking for its first March Madness win. This team is one of the most deep on the field, with 10 players averaging double-digit points and seven scoring at least his 5.3 points per game.
No. 7 Dayton (24-7)
meeting: atlantic 10
coach: Anthony Grant (Season 7)
Post up: The Flyers got off to a 9-1 start in conference play, but fell into mediocrity that nearly ruined their season. Daron Holmes II, a 6-foot-10 junior, was the conference’s leading scorer. This will be Grant’s first tournament appearance in Dayton after a 29-2 team was ruined by the coronavirus cancellation in 2020.
No. 10 Nevada (26-7)
meeting: mountain west
coach: Steve Alford (5th season)
Post up: Alford’s team, an NCAA champion and Indiana legend who played under Bob Knight, got off to a 15-1 start and finished the regular season with seven straight wins before losing to Colorado State in the MWC Tournament. Defeated. Senior guard Jarrod Lucas (17.8 ppg) leads the Wolfpack.
2nd place Arizona (25-8)
meeting: pack 12
coach: Tommy Lloyd (3rd season)
Post up: A year ago, the Wildcats were shockingly eliminated in the first round by No. 15 seed Princeton. But this season, only Alabama and Kentucky scored more points per game than Arizona’s 88.8 points per game. Led by Pac-12 Player of the Year Caleb Love, the Wildcats ranked second nationally in rebounds (42.9), fast break points (16.6) and assists (18.8).
No. 15 Long Beach State (21-14)
meeting: big west
coach: Dan Monson (17th season)
Post up: On Monday, Long Beach State announced Monzon would be fired at the end of the season. On Saturday, he led the school to the Big West Tournament championship. What a wild five days for Monzon and his team, who had lost five in a row before the conference tournament.
