One of the beauties of the NCAA Tournament is it brings together diverse styles of play, and lets the teams figure it out. Which brings us to the West Region.
Gonzaga, the No. 1 seed, can get up and down the floor, including big man Kelly Olynyk. No. 8 Pittsburgh throws the opposition in a meat grinder on defense. No. 7 Notre Dame places four 3-point shooters on the perimeter and the bruising Jack Cooley down low. Fifth-seeded Wisconsin runs its sloooow offense and ignores the criticism.
Not many style points here, but plenty of intriguing styles.
BEST PLAYER: Kelly Olynyk (right) averages 17.5 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game for Gonzaga. And don’t try that Hack-A-Shaq stuff — he is a 78.5 percent free throw shooter.
UNSUNG PLAYER: Iona’s Lamont “Momo” Jones is the nation’s third leading scorer with 23 points per game. The 6-foot guard thinks he’s an NBA player. He can show the nation with a monster game against Ohio State stopper Aaron Craft.
BEST SECOND-ROUND MATCHUP: No. 12 Ole Miss over No. 5 Wisconsin: Bo Ryan’s Badgers are all about discipline. The Rebels, led by the volatile Marshall Henderson, are a wild card.
SECOND-ROUND UPSET WATCH: No. 9 Wichita State over No. 8 Pittsburgh: The Panthers are known for their defense, which will not catch the defensive-minded Shockers off guard. Wichita State proved it could handle a tough defense with a win over VCU.
BRACKET BUSTER: This is how good the top teams in the Missouri Valley Conference were this season: After upending Pitt, Wichita State could be the first team to take out a No. 1 seed, stunning Gonzaga.
SHOOTER’S TOUCH: No. 11 seed Belmont’s senior guard Ian Clark is a 54.1 percent shooter from the field, an 84 percent shooter from the line and a 46 percent shooter on 3s. Arizona might want to cover him.
DEFENSE WINS: There’s a subtle beauty in what Jamie Dixon’s Pitt squads do on defense. Pitt is sixth in the nation in scoring defense and 13th in rebuilding. Their jerseys need to be checked for Gorilla glue.
CHAMPION: Ohio State has locked in and locked down for eight straight victories. The Buckeyes are sixth in the nation in scoring defense, and in Deshaun Thomas they have a player that can take over a game. With Aaron Craft a great team leader, Thomas an explosive scorer and coach Thad Matta’s physical plight as motivation, the Buckeyes get to Atlanta.