[ad_1]
The brackets have been revealed. Every region has its things to watch, but the 2025 NCAA Tournament’s West Regional, in particular, is loaded with talent and big names.
The West Regional has all the makings of being the most competitive among the four groups. Specifically, the path for its No. 1 seed is harder than any of the other top teams. There is a surplus of notes to be mindful of when filling out your West Regional bracket, so let’s take a look at the five most important things to be aware of and to consider when it comes to that lower left quadrant.
1. Is Florida College Basketball’s Best Team Right Now?
The SEC is sending a record amount of teams to the Big Dance, as 14 of its 16 members are still playing. While Auburn is the overall No. 1 seed, the SEC’s best shot at winning it all may belong to its other No. 1 in Florida. The West Regional is loaded with experienced coaches and teams, which makes the path for the Gators more difficult to traverse than Duke’s in the East.
That being said, no team is hotter in college basketball right now than Florida. Not only did the Gators just win the SEC Conference tournament against the Midwest’s No. 2, Tennessee, but they did so in convincing fashion. First, it was a 14-point win over Missouri followed by a 22-point blowout against Alabama. Florida then knocked off the Vols by nine points. They’re also on a 15-2 run since mid-January, with 11 of those wins over teams in the tournament.
Florida and St. John’s headline the West Region 🚨 pic.twitter.com/XX2904ZSKa
— SLAM University (@slam_university) March 16, 2025
The purpose of this entire tournament, of course, is to prove which team is the best in the country. Right now, Florida appears to be a popular pick to make it to the Final Four and to be one of the last teams standing. If it can escape the tightly contested West, it will be as battle-tested (and red hot) as any of the remaining three schools.
2. Hall of Fame Coaches Aplenty
How often do you get to see a regional in which the likes of John Calipari, Bill Self, and Rick Pitino are all competing for the same few spots? This is a made-for-TV bracket as no matter how it shakes out, Calipari’s No. 10 Arkansas will be looking to upset Self’s No. 7 Kansas. The winner will then — most likely — get No. 2 St. John’s and Pitino assuming the Johnnies take care of business against No. 15 Omaha. Pitino has the most wins all-time by an active coach (884) with Calipari behind him at 875. Self (831) isn’t far behind, either.
The lower half of the West is brimming with Hall of Fame coaching experience, which should make for some entertaining basketball. There are also some recognizable coaches scattered through the top half of the grouping, including No. 5 Memphis’ Penny Hardaway, who has done a tremendous job in bringing that program back to relevancy. Oh, and not to be lost in the shuffle of all of the names, the reigning back-to-back champion is in this group in UCONN’s Dan Hurley. Talk about a who’s who of modern-day college basketball coaches. Four coaches in this regional have won a national championship and none of them belong to No. 1 in Florida’s Todd Golden, who is aiming to bring home his first.
3. Drake Might be the Best Mid-Major
When it comes to March, everyone wants to know which mid-major can be this year’s 2006 George Mason or 2011’s VCU. This year, it appears there are two prime candidates, and one of them is situated in the West Regional. No. 11 Drake is one of only six teams in the country who have won 30 or more games this season. Four of those teams are either No. 1 or 2 seeds, and the other happens to be the other mid-major who could play the role of Cinderella in the University of California, San Diego.
When looking at the metrics, the Bulldogs are 2-0 in Quad 1 games and 4-0 in Quad 2 contests. They also have opponents shooting 31 percent from 3-point range, which isn’t far off from some of the top defenses in the country like Michigan State and Tennessee, who limit the opposition to 27 percentage from deep. Come tourney time, games can be won or lost from long range, so Drake’s ability to defend the three will be imperative if it wants to go on a run.
Drake has a Round of 64 date with No. 6 Missouri, so its path won’t be easy getting a strong SEC school right out of the gate. Drake has a Top 50 Defensive Rating on KenPom, which will be put to the test against a Tigers team that has the fifth-best Offensive Rating at KenPom. If Drake can get Missouri to play at its slower speed, a contrast to Mizzou’s high-speed tempo, the 11-over-6 upset can certainly happen. Drake’s defensive ability, mixed with some stellar shooting on the back of Bennett Stirtz, makes them a popular team to shock a few teams en route to a Sweet 16 bid.
4. Colorado State’s Nique Clifford will be Fun to Watch
If you aren’t familiar with Clifford’s game, you’ll be in for a treat come No. 12 Colorado State’s Round of 64 game with No. 5 Memphis. A name that NBA scouts have become familiar with, Clifford has put up 19.0 points and 9.7 rebounds per game as a senior. Many mock drafts have Clifford as a 2025 first-round pick.
During his team’s current 10-game winning streak headed into the Big Dance, which also includes the Mountain West Tournament title, Clifford has established himself as one of the country’s best players. He has 24 or more points in each of the last four contests. Over Colorado State’s 10-0 run, he’s averaging a tick above 22 points per game with four double-doubles in that stretch. If Colorado State is going to go on a run, it will be because Clifford is getting it done.
5. The ‘Crab Five’ are Really, Really Good
No. 4 Maryland has a difficult draw along with the rest of the West Regional being how competitive all of these teams appear on paper. That being said, there may not be another team that can point to having a starting five as strong as the Terrapins. A fan gave the team’s starting five the ‘Crab Five’ moniker this season, which speaks to how influential the group has become. There was a game this year in which all 83 of Maryland’s points in its win over Nebraska were scored by its staring unit.
No starting five has more games this season in which every member has reached double-digit scoring figures than Maryland does (six times). The group consists of Ja’Kobi Gillespie, Rodney Rice, Shelton Miguel, Julian Reese, and potential NBA lottery pick, Derik Queen. The group is averaging just under 70 points per game, the most in the country. Queen leads the way with 16.3 points with Miguel rounding out the group with his 12.0 points per game. The next closest scorer off the bench is Tamara Gapare with 3.6 points per contest.
A Maryland tourney run will almost certainly be because its starting five proves to be too daunting for its opposition.
[ad_2]
Source link
