Inside Blitz: Iowa State, Northern Iowa & North Carolina Among the Best Non 1-2 Seeds to Reach Final 4
By Jason McIntyre
Bored of seeing all the 1-2 seeds when everyone unveils their Final Four projections? Well here’s my best attempt to rationalize a Final Four that only includes 3-seeds or lower. The Midwest was a Sisyphean task given that Kentucky is one of the biggest locks in tourney history to reach the Final 4.
SOUTH
Iowa State (3)– Two enormous edges for the Cyclones: They played the 7th toughest schedule in the country according to Ken Pom, and they have one of the top five game coaches in the country in Fred Hoiberg. Star? Check, Georges Niang. Remember, two years ago, the Cyclones nearly upset 2nd-seeded Ohio State until Aaron Craft hit a shot at the buzzer. Last year, Niang was hurt in the 1st round, but Iowa State still got Sweet 16, where it lost to eventual champ Connecticut. Don’t play much defense, though (82nd in the country).
SMU (6) – Larry “Next Town” Brown only lost six games this season, and five of the teams are in the tournament (UConn was the other). If they beat UCLA, the Mustangs would then play Iowa State in probably the best 2nd round game. SMU has size (Yanick Moreira and Markus Kennedy) and a terrific lead guard in Nic Moore.
EAST
Michigan State (7) – Tom Izzo. Must I go on? Beat Virginia in a great Sweet 16 last season, and went cold against eventual champ UConn in the Elite 8. Like their ‘Big 3’ a lot – Valentine, Trice, Dawson, but there isn’t much after them offensively. Held under 60 points four times this season, and Georgia is a very good defensive team (26th per Ken Pom).
Northern Iowa (5) – The draw isn’t actually that bad. Glass half-full: Louisville can’t score, Villanova hasn’t been tested by a good non-Big East team, and who knows what happens when the dust settles between Oklahoma, Michigan State and Virginia – all of them could be gone by the Elite 8.
WEST
Ohio State (10) – How the hell are the Buckeyes going to get through VCU, Arizona, Baylor and Wisconsin? Well, what if D’Angelo Russell puts the team on his back, pulls a Shabazz Napier, and carries Ohio State to the Final Four? Russell will have to be selfish about it, because Scott, Thompson, Loving etc are unreliable.
North Carolina (4) – Everyone loves talking about Wisconsin or Arizona giving Kentucky a run in the Final Four? What about a team with a) size to match the Wildcats (won offensive rebound battle 18-11 in 1st meeting) and b) the revenge factor (84-70 loss at Rupp in December)? But the Tar Heels are hit and miss (lost to Butler, Iowa) and prone to late-game collapses (Duke, Notre Dame).
MIDWEST –
Notre Dame (3) – Everyone saw what the Irish are capable of in the ACC Tourney, when they knocked off Duke and UNC. They don’t turn the ball over, they’re lights out shooters (17th in 3-pointers, 1st in 2-pointers) … but they lack size and rebounding. In fact, they’re one of the worst offensive rebounding teams in the country (276th). Anyone remember West Virginia going 1-3-1 zone against John Wall’s Wildcats in the Elite 8 in 2010? Kentucky shot 4-for-32 on 3-pointers and lost.
Maryland (4) – The Terps have luck on their side – they’re 11-1 in games decided by six points or less, and according to Ken Pom’s stats, they’re the 2nd luckiest team in the country (after Wofford). The Terps are a very good 3-point shooting team, but like Notre Dame, don’t have the size inside, nor do they rebound well on the offensive glass (241st).
MEDIA ODDS & ENDS:
Legendary sports columnist Sid Hartman turned 95 Sunday. He wrote his first column for the Tribune in 1945 … Here’s a neat feature on rising star sideline reporter Allie LaForce … this is an excellent obit of former Associated Press NFL writer Dave Goldberg … ESPN college basketball analyst says, “ESPN drives the bus when it comes to recruiting” … at the age of 73, Bill Raftery is going to be calling his 1st Final Four … and Bill Raftery is going to be a big story throughout March, so – ONIONS! here’s another excellent story about the master of self-deprecation … RIP longtime Southern California sports radio guy Joe McDonnell … Bill Simmons said all the right things in this interview, but we’d kill for half the staff he has … SportsCenter host Linda Cohn tried out to be the Florida Panthers backup practice goalie …