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No. 1 Kansas Jayhawks
Kansas head coach Bill Self, the newly-minted Hall of Famer, led the Jayhawks to a 14th consecutive Big 12 regular season championship and topped that off with a Big 12 Tournament title game win over West Virginia. To be fair, this is not one of Self's most dominant teams during his tenure in Lawrence, but, in a college basketball season without any dominant team in it, the Jayhawks are almost as good of a bet as any to cut down the nets in San Antonio. (Big12Sports.com) -
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No. 1 Kansas Jayhawks
If the Big 12 Tournament play of Malik Newman (14) carries over into the NCAAs, the Jayhawks will be in fine shape. Newman, the tournament's Most Outstanding Player, averaged 24 points per game in three games while hitting 15 of his 22 three-point attempts. ¡En fuego! (Big12Sports.com) -
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No. 1 Kansas Jayhawks
USBWA First Team All-America guard Devonte' Graham (4) has been a part of some great teams at Kansas, yet has experienced disappointment after disappointment in the Big Dance, including last year's Elite Eight loss to Oregon in Kansas City. The Jayhawks have lost in the Elite Eight in each of the past two years. He's determined to finally lead the Jayhawks to the Final Four in his last go-round in the NCAA Tournament. (Big12Sports.com) -
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No. 16 Penn Quakers
Look who's back coaching in the NCAA Tournament? Steve Donahue (r.), who led the Cornell Big Red to three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances and a run to the Sweet 16 in 2010, now leads the Quakers back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2007. (Robert Cole/ALOST) -
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No. 16 Penn Quakers
Darnell Foreman (4) led the charge for the Quakers all season, and, when Penn needed him the most, he delivered, scoring 19 first-half points in the Ivy League championship game last Sunday against Harvard at the Palestra. (Robert Cole/ALOST) -
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No. 16 Penn Quakers
Penn also has a skilled big man inside in AJ Brodeur (25), and he could find life inside a little easier if Kansas center Udoka Azubuike, who sprained his MCL in practice last week and missed the entire Big 12 Tournament, is unavailable. (Robert Cole/ALOST) -
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No. 8 Seton Hall Pirates
The last time Seton Hall made the NCAA Tournament in three consecutive seasons was four consecutive seasons between 1991 and 1994. The Pirates, led by senior guard Khadeen Carrington (0), is back in the NCAAs for a third consecutive year. (Robert Cole/ALOST) -
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No. 8 Seton Hall Pirates
Unlike the Pirates teams that won at least one NCAA Tournament game in 1991, 1992 and 1993, Seton Hall has lost in the first round in each of the past two years. Also, it's unknown as to how effective slashing senior swingman Desi Rodriguez (20) will be for the game against NC State, as he's nursing an ankle injury suffered two weeks ago at Providence. (Robert Cole/ALOST) -
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No. 8 Seton Hall Pirates
If Rodriguez continues to be limited, that means more will be on the shoulders of Myles Powell (13), the 2018 Big East's Most Improved Player. Shooting over 40 percent from three for most of the season, Powell has hit a slump from long range, making only eight of his last 38 three-point attempts (21%). A healthy Rodriguez would open things up much more for Powell from beyond the arc. (Robert Cole/ALOST) -
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No. 8 Seton Hall Pirates
Alas, Seton Hall's bread is buttered inside, with the man who led the nation in double-doubles last season, Angel Delgado (31). A big game from Angel inside, who will go up against 7-footer Omer Yurtseven of NC State, and the Pirates will have a good chance to win its first NCAA Tournament game since 2004. (Robert Cole/ALOST) -
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No. 9 NC State Wolfpack
Not too many people thought NC State would be much of a factor in the ACC this season, but first-year head coach Kevin Keatts continued his track record of quickly turning around programs, leading NC State to the NCAA Tournament in Year One in Raleigh after back-to-back CAA Tournament championships while at UNC Wilmington. (Robert Cole/ALOST) -
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No. 9 NC State Wolfpack
The Wolfpack's rapid ascent also is attributed to the addition of graduate transfer Allerik Freeman (12). The former Baylor Bear is averaging 19.9 points per game in the team's last eight games, including going 20-of-38 from beyond the arc. (Robert Cole/ALOST) -
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No. 5 Clemson Tigers
Going into this season on the hot seat, Clemson head coach Brad Brownell (r.) finally navigated the Tigers to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2011, Brownell's first season at Clemson. The Tigers, picked to finish 13th out of 15 teams in the ACC preseason poll, finished with 11 ACC wins, tied for the most conference wins all-time in school history in a single season. (Robert Cole/ALOST) -
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No. 5 Clemson Tigers
Five players average in double figures in scoring for the Tigers, led by guard Marcquise Reed (2), an All-ACC Second Team selection. (Robert Cole/ALOST) -
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No. 5 Clemson Tigers
Another guard, Gabe DeVoe (10), earned All-ACC Honorable Mention, as he picked up his scoring after the season-ending injury to forward Donte Grantham, who tore his ACL in a Jan. 20 game vs. Notre Dame. That injury could be trouble when it goes up against its first-round opponent... (Robert Cole/ALOST) -
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No. 12 New Mexico State Aggies
...because of this man, Jemerrio Jones, who leads the nation in total rebounds, defensive rebounds by possession (37.1 percent) and second in rebounds per game (13.2). Those numbers are astounding given that he's only listed at 6-foot-5. New Mexico State has high-major talent, and, if there's a 5-12 upset that comes about in this year's NCAA Tournament, we say that it's the Aggies that pull it off against the Tigers. (WACsports.com) -
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No. 13 College of Charleston Cougars
Earl Grant has led College of Charleston back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1999, back when legendary coach John Kresse was on the sidelines. These Cougars specialize in the comeback, as C of C has won six games this season after it trailed by at least 10 points, including a comeback from 17 down in winning the CAA Tournament title game against co-regular season champion Northeastern. (Thomas Battistelli/ALOST) -
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No. 13 College of Charleston Cougars
Guard Joe Chealey (13) is the team's leader and, in crunch time, is one of the best players in the country in getting to the line and converting; Chealey is sixth in the nation in free throws made (211) and ninth in free throws attempted (245), shooting from the charity stripe at an 86 percent clip. (Thomas Battistelli/ALOST) -
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No. 13 College of Charleston Cougars
You rarely see guards shooting over 50 percent from the field these days, but Grant Riller (1) is an exception, as the 6-3 sophomore ranks in the top 50 in the country in field goal percentage, hitting 55 percent of his shots from the field. Riller won the 2018 CAA Tournament Most Valuable Player Award. (Thomas Battistelli/ALOST) -
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No. 6 TCU Horned Frogs
Last season, Jamie Dixon was cutting down the nets at Madison Square Garden, leading his alma mater to the 2017 NIT Championship. This season, he has led TCU back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1998. On a side note, I picked that 1998 team, led by Lee Nailon and coached by Billy Tubbs, to make a surprise run to the Final Four. Instead, they lost in the first round as a No. 5 seed to No. 12 Florida State. I'm still sore about that. (Robert Cole/ALOST) -
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No. 6 TCU Horned Frogs
Many opponents have been sore trying to stop All-Big 12 Second Team selection Kenrich Williams (34), who racked up 13 double-doubles this season. (Robert Cole/ALOST) -
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No. 6 TCU Horned Frogs
This TCU team is not like most of the teams that Dixon coached at Pittsburgh, as the Horned Frogs hang their hat on offense more than its defense. Point guard Alex Robinson (25) averages 6.1 assists per game as TCU ranks second in the country in assists per game. Also, TCU ranks eighth in offensive efficiency (120.8) according to KenPom.com. (Robert Cole/ALOST) -
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No. 11 Arizona State Sun Devils
Bobby Hurley had to sweat out Selection Sunday, but he and the Arizona State Sun Devils indeed are dancing for the first time since 2014. Embracing a small-ball lineup that features four guards on the floor the majority of the time, ASU stormed out to a 12-0 start, including defeating eventual No.1 seeds Xavier and Kansas, as well as defeating NCAA Tourney participant Kansas State. Since then, they're 8-11. (Robert Cole/ALOST) -
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No. 11 Arizona State Sun Devils
Three different players for the Sun Devils have hit at least 66 threes on the season, led by Shannon Evans II's 91 triples. Evans II (11) was a member of the 2015 University at Buffalo team that made the NCAA Tournament under Hurley before leaving with Hurley for the desert. (Robert Cole/ALOST) -
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No. 11 Arizona State Sun Devils
Kodi Justice (44) hit 74 three-pointers, and is the most accurate three-point shooter on the team at 38.1 percent. (Robert Cole/ALOST) -
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No. 11 Arizona State Sun Devils
Then there's Tra Holder (0), who hit 66 three-pointers on the year. In the win against Xavier in Las Vegas back in late November, Holder went off for 40, the most points ever scored by a Sun Devil player against a ranked team. In seven games against 2018 NCAA Tournament teams, Holder averaged 25.3 points per game. (Stefanie Rodriguez/ALOST) -
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No. 11 Syracuse Orange
As you can see in this picture, Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim is thrilled to be in the NCAA Tournament once again. Many 'Cuse fans will remember what happened in 2016, when most thought the Orange were not going to be included in the Big Dance on Selection Sunday, only to be pleasantly surprised when Syracuse was included in the field of 68. Oh, the Orange, as a No. 10 seed that year, made a memorable run to the Final Four, defeating top-seeded Virginia in the regional final in Chicago. There's no way déjà vu can occur in 2018, right? (Robert Cole/ALOST) -
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No. 11 Syracuse Orange
If Tyus Battle's form in conference play carries over into the NCAA Tournament, who knows! Battle (25), who averaged 20 points per game in ACC play, averaged an astounding 40.1 minutes per game in league play. (Robert Cole/ALOST) -
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No. 11 Syracuse Orange
Not to be outdone, point guard Frank Howard (23) averaged 39.5 minutes per game in conference play, scoring 15.3 points per game. After Battle, Howard and freshman Oshae Brissett, who averaged 14.3 points per game, the next leading scorer, center Paschal Chukwu, averaged 4.8 points per game. This team struggles to score to say the very least. Even if the team's 2-3 zone is at its peak powers in this tournament, can they score enough points to make that count? (Robert Cole/ALOST) -
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No. 3 Michigan State Spartans
Once again, Tom Izzo brings a formidable Michigan State squad to the NCAA Tournament. This year's Spartans rank No. 1 in the nation in field goal percentage defense (36.6), blocked shots (243), rebounding margin (+10.4) and rank third in scoring margin (+16.2). This team, despite its relatively low seed for being the outright Big Ten regular season champions, is national championship good. (Robert Cole/ALOST) -
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No. 3 Michigan State Spartans
Forward Miles Bridges (22) passed on millions after last season to come back to college for his sophomore year, and the sophomore class is what fuels Sparty. Through 32 games, the sophomore class - Bridges, Joshua Langford, Cassius Winston and Nick Ward - has accounted for 66.1 percent of the team's scoring, 49.3 percent of its rebounds and 59.9 percent of the team's assists. (Robert Cole/ALOST) -
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No. 3 Michigan State Spartans
Despite the lack of control shown in this picture, point guard Cassius Winston (5) is a steady hand at the point, ranking eighth in the nation in assists at 6.8 per game. Winston says that math is his favorite subject, as he enjoys solving problems. He also had an offer to play basketball at Harvard after being accepted into the Ivy League school. A sharp cookie, indeed! (Robert Cole/ALOST) -
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No. 14 Bucknell Bison
Beware of Nathan Davis's Bison! The Patriot League champions for a second consecutive season, Bucknell boasts the type of senior leadership that usually comes through in the Big Dance. They also had the experience of playing in the NCAA Tournament last year, putting up a fight before succumbing to Press Virginia, err, West Virginia, in the first round. (Petra Somers/Pnut Studio/ALOST) -
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No. 14 Bucknell Bison
Bucknell boasts three different players who have scored 1,000 career points, including forward Zach Thomas (23), who leads the entire country in free throws made (231) and free throws attempted (299). Thomas led the Patriot League in scoring and rebounding (9.2) this season, and he could very well be the next Chris McNaughton, a la 2005 vs. Kansas: a Bucknell big man who helps lead the Bison to an upset of a college basketball power. (Petra Somers/Pnut Studio/ALOST) -
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No. 14 Bucknell Bison
Thomas teams up with 6-10 center Nana Foulland (20) to provide a one-two punch in the frontcourt. Foulland is fourth all-time in school history with 1,747 points scored. (Petra Somers/Pnut Studio/ALOST) -
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No. 14 Bucknell Bison
Another 1,000-point scorer, guard Stephen Brown (2), is a three-time First Team All-Patriot League selection and a three-time All-Patriot League defensive team selection. This team will not be intimidated by the stage, nor the opponent - even if it is Michigan State in Detroit. Which it is. (Petra Somers/Pnut Studio/ALOST) -
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No. 7 Rhode Island Rams
Relax, Danny Hurley! You continue to prove that you're a coach on the rise, leading Rhody to the NCAAs for a second consecutive year while putting together the second-longest winning streak in school history to boot (16 games, from Dec. 16 to Feb. 13). Last season saw URI win a game in the tourney, against Creighton, before coming up just short in the Round of 32 against eventual Final Four participant Oregon. Is a Sweet 16 in the Rams' immediate future? (Robert Cole/ALOST) -
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No. 7 Rhode Island Rams
The Sweet 16 is definitely possible if guard E.C. Matthews (0), last season's Atlantic 10 Tournament Most Outstanding player, has a better NCAA Tournament than the two games in the Big Dance last season, when he went a combined 7-for-26 from the field. Maybe playing at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh will be the tonic, as that is the arena the Rams won the A-10 Tourney last season and where Matthews was the tourney's MOP. (Robert Cole/ALOST) -
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No. 7 Rhode Island Rams
For a good as Matthews, Jared Terrell and Stanford Robinson are in the backcourt, it's possible the most important player for the Rams is guard Jeff Dowtin (11), who ranks third nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio (4.57:1). The sophomore also has become the team's go-to player late in games and is not afraid of taking the big shot in the big stage. In his first-ever NCAA Tournament game last year, he scored a then career-high 23 points in the win against Creighton. (Robert Cole/ALOST) -
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No. 10 Oklahoma Sooners
Either you can't get enough of Trae Young (11) or you can't stand seeing him everywhere you go. No matter what, the nation's leading scorer and assist man always makes the Sooners an exciting watch...that, and their porous defense, which left them almost on the outside looking in after climbing to as high as No. 7 in the national polls. For those who wished the Sooners, who went 2-8 down the stretch, were left out of the Big Dance, they may rue those words if Young lights up the NCAA Tournament, which he definitely has the talent - and charisma - to do so. (SoonerSports.com) -
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No. 2 Duke Blue Devils
Mike Krzyzewski has had mostly ups - but some downs - with his very young Blue Devils team this season, which finished second in the ACC but, at times, has struggled mightily on defense as they have transitioned to being a zone team. All those years hanging with Jim Boeheim on the U.S. national team will do that to you. (Robert Cole/ALOST) -
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No. 2 Duke Blue Devils
The headliner of the youth movement in Durham is Marvin Bagley III (35), only the second person in ACC history to win Rookie of the Year and Player of the Year in the same season. He's also on pace to lead the league in both scoring (20.7) and rebounding (11.2). (Robert Cole/ALOST) -
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No. 2 Duke Blue Devils
As freshmen have played an even bigger role with the program in the past two years, senior Grayson Allen (3) has seen his production slip; In 2015, Allen averaged 21.5 points per game, but those numbers have dropped to 14.5 last season and 15.7 this season. Despite that, he's still the team's emotional leader, as well as a threat from three. He already has come through in the biggest of stages, back in the 2015 Final Four as a reserve when he proved to be a catalyst in Duke's come-from-behind win against Wisconsin in the national title game. (Robert Cole/ALOST) -
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No. 2 Duke Blue Devils
I vividly remember watching Gary Trent, a.k.a. "The Shaq of the MAC," dominate inside when he led the Ohio University Bobcats to the NCAA Tournament in 1994 before embarking on a lengthy NBA career. Now, here's Gary Trent Jr. (2), a freshman on Duke who is making 2.6 three-pointers per game while shooting the three at a 41.5 percent clip. Goodness me, I'm getting old. (Robert Cole/ALOST) -
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No. 15 Iona Gaels
Another year, another Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament championship for head coach Tim Cluess and the Iona Gaels, who won their fourth MAAC Tourney title in the last six years. (Iona has played in the MAAC title game in each of the past six years.) And, like most years under Cluess, the Gaels love to run and gun, and Iona is, once again, pretty good from the perimeter. (Robert Cole/ALOST) -
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No. 15 Iona Gaels
As a team, Iona shoots 38.8 percent from three, with leading scorer Rickey McGill (0) shooting the three at a 38.5 percent. (Robert Cole/ALOST) -
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No. 15 Iona Gaels
Last season's leader in the MAAC in three-point percentage, lefty E.J. Crawford (2) has averaged 15.4 points in his last nine games. Think of him as a poor man's Jalen Rose: a slinky slasher who has range out to the three-point arc. (Robert Cole/ALOST) -
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Prediction Time
Sorry to keep you waiting this long, Marvin. I know you want to hear our prediction of which team will come out of the Midwest. Do we think your Blue Devils will be heading to San Antonio? (Robert Cole/ALOST) -
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"Two is not a winner..."
The answer is no, and the reason is because of the number next to Duke in the bracket: No. 2. It may be a coincidence, but, over the past 20 years, Duke has horribly underperformed when it has been a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament, with 2013 being the only exception. Want evidence? Here you go... 2017: Lost to No. 10 South Carolina in second round|... 2013: Lost to No. 1 Louisville in Elite Eight|... 2012: Lost to No. 15 Lehigh in first round|... 2009: Lost to No. 3 Villanova in Sweet 16 (I was in Boston in person to see the Wildcats put a whooping on the Blue Devils, 77-54.)|... 2008: Lost to No. 7 West Virginia in second round. (This came on the heels of Duke defeating No. 15 Belmont by a single point, 71-70.)|... 1997: Lost to No. 10 Providence in second round. (This came on the heels of Duke defeating No. 15 Murray State by three points, 71-68.)|... The last time Duke reached the Final Four as a No. 2 seed was in 1994, Grant Hill's senior year. I was also in sixth grade back then, and I happened to win second place in St. Rita's Elementary School NCAA Tournament pool for that tournament. Thank you, Arkansas! (Robert Cole/ALOST) -
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...but three everyone will remember.
Remember when Tom Izzo had that ridiculous streak that saw every one of his senior classes reach one Final Four? That streak snapped a couple of years ago, but led by the sophomores, including Bridges (22), we say Michigan State makes it back to the Final Four. (Robert Cole/ALOST)
– by Adesina O. Koiki
A Lot of Sports Talk editor-in-chief
The most wonderful time of the year is here!
Once more, we are talking about “March Madness” and the NCAA Tournament, and the 2018 NCAA Tournament may prove to be the most exciting yet; There is no one (or two) dominant team in the country while a number of talented smaller-budget programs are primed to pull off some upsets – as they always do this time of year. In A Lot of Sports Talk‘s build-up to the Big Dance, we have had the honor of being able to have a number of photographers courtside for many of the game’s biggest contests, and in so doing, have managed to take photos of players and coaches from teams that, combined, make up more than half of the 2018 NCAA Tournament field.
We are continuing to put all of those photos to good use, as the next four “Snap Judgments” galleries will be extensive displays of photos, taken from our lenses, of the major players who make up each of the four regions of the NCAA Tournament. Along with the photos, the accompanying captions will provide details on each of the teams highlighted as we preview many of the teams and edify you with what you need to know to better familiarize yourself with those schools. At the end of each gallery, we make our prediction as to which team we believe will make the Final Four in San Antonio.
Our first preview is of the Midwest Region, where the top seed, the Kansas Jayhawks, look to head back to the Final Four for the first time since losing in the national championship game to Kentucky in 2012. Along with the Jayhawks, there are other college basketball blue bloods in the region, including second-seeded Duke and No. 3 Michigan State. In terms of star power this season, no one captured the attention of college basketball fans more than Oklahoma’s Trae Young, and the Sooners are in this region and looking to bounce back from a 2-8 finish to their season which saw them almost miss out on the Big Dance all together. Also familiarize yourself with two of our favorite mid-major teams this season, Bucknell and New Mexico State, who are looking to pull off upsets.
We would not have been able to entertain this story idea without the yeoman effort of our senior photographer, Robert Cole, who snapped almost all of the 50 pictures in this gallery. Special thanks also go out to Petra Somers of Pnut Studio, Stefanie Rodriguez, owner of The Black Rose Photography and Long Island-based photographer Thomas Battistelli, whose work is also featured in this gallery.
Note: Not all teams are represented with a photo, so our apologies if your team is not a part of the gallery. That does not mean we don’t have love for you. More often than not, that means we weren’t able to make it out to the school’s location to have a photographer present to shoot them. Pictures that were not taken my A Lot of Sports Talk but featured in the galleries are noted in parenthesis at the end of each caption.
Keep refreshing this page over the next couple of hours, as we will roll out previews of each of the other regions over the next few hours.After clicking on the first photo to enlarge the picture, make sure to press the left and right arrow buttons to scroll through the rest of the pictures.
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