Will North Carolina cover vs. Texas Southern? March Madness 3/17/17

After losing at the horn in the title game in 2016 to Villanova, they now are back in the 2017 NCAA Tournament as a No. 1 seed.

North Carolina fans may not have liked it, but it was the flawless end to a wild tournament filled with upsets and great games.

North Carolina’s 93-83 loss to Duke in Brooklyn last week didn’t merely cost the Tar Heels a chance to sweep ACC titles.

March Madness is looming just around the corner. The top seeds are Villanova, Kansas, North Carolina and Gonzaga. No need to start anywhere else.

Will No. 1 North Carolina face any resistance when it takes on No. 16 Texas Southern today at 4PM ET in the NCAA Tournament? “Everybody thinks, you’re in the NCAA Tournament, feel good about it. Make us proud”, Davis said, pointing out he’ll be proud when the team advances. However, the reliability of perimeter shots may haunt the Blue Devils, as one poor shooting game from the outside can leave Duke prone to an upset. The Wildcats are also on their hottest streak of the season, winners of 11 straight and 12 out of 13.

Caleb Swanigan, Purdue: Double-double machine is doing things that haven’t been done in the Big Ten for decades. Led by do-it-all transfer guard Nigel Williams-Goss, the Zags come into March an astounding 32-1. The No. 5 seed Iowa State Cyclones (+1000) and PG Monte Morris are the Midwest’s definitive darkhorse.

In the 30 NCAA Tournaments since the addition of the 3-pointer, a guard has been the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player 16 times. This year UNC made just 10 of 18 free-throw attempts, while getting out-rebounded, in an 86-78 setback in Durham. TSU gives up 12.4 offensive boards per game and ranks 337th nationally in defensive rebounding percentage (34.6), according to kenpom.com. For a team with essentially only one big man, TSU’s struggles from outside could eliminate its hopes of a first-round upset.

Freshman Lonzo Ball, a 6-6 guard, is considered one of the top players in the South regional, but will be nursing a strained thumb he injured in last weekend’s loss to Arizona in the Pac-12 Conference tournament. They will be facing Texas Southern Tigers, who hold the #16 seed in the South Region. Look for the Tigers to stick in the game for at least the first period. This will be Williams’ 27th NCAA Tournament appearance, a time of year when he has enjoyed considerable success. To add to that, Davis play three players smaller than 6-foot more than 20 minutes per game.

Keon Johnson, Winthrop: Another little guy – he’s 5-7 – who can score in bunches.

Kennedy Meeks has spent his senior season posting career highs in both points and rebounds per game for the Tar Heels. He’s projected as a top-three National Basketball Association draft pick. The Flyers were on a great run in the conference play but dropped their final game heading to the conference tournament, where they were knocked down by Davidson with 64-73 in the quarterfinals. An offensive attack that features the mercurial yet gifted Allen, potential top-five National Basketball Association draft pick Jayson Tatum, ACC POY finalist Luke Kennard and others is more talented than any other team in America. Defending national champion Villanova stands in Duke’s way in the East Region; powerhouses Kentucky and UCLA are in UNC’s path in the South Region.

Prepare for the possible return of North Carolina, which began its season playing a secret scrimmage against the U of M at FedExForum.

The talking heads at ESPN aren’t very high on the Kentucky Wildcats entering the NCAA Tournament. This was the schools 11 overall Conference title and a much needed booster for their opening round against the Bulldogs.