The Sunflower State sends three teams to NCAA Tournament

The 13th-seeded Buccaneers might be perfectly suited for an upset.

As everybody gets their brackets ready for the NCAA Tournament, some trends are starting to emerge as the most popular Final Four picks include three 1-seeds and one 2-seed. Great guards. And very tough kids on their team.

I was in the arena last year when Villanova won its first National Championship since 1985, but this year’s club from Philadelphia doesn’t have the “it” factor that Jay Wright’s squad showed a year ago. But Hart, Jenkins and Jalen Brunson lead the returning starters that are tournament tested and have the championship experience that can only help them survive potential early tests against Wisconsin, Virginia, Florida and maybe Duke just to reach the Final Four. It is a rare feat to accomplish, as before the Gators did so, the last school to do it was Duke in 1991-92, and before that?

Frank Mason III, Kansas.

They start hearing that phrase “play Villanova basketball” as soon as they arrive on campus. As good as Nigel Williams-Goss and Josh Perkins are, they aren’t the most athletic pair of guards. Led the nation with a 6-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio – and no else was even close. West Virginia plays Thursday afternoon against Bucknell.

UNC-Wilmington vs. Virginia, East Region, Thursday in Orlando, Florida.

The Princeton women’s team is playing in the WNIT and the tournament chose to have the 10 teams in the Northeast play their games on Friday to avoid the storm and lessen the risk of travel issues. The Cavaliers barely give that up in two games. UNLV and Michigan State both lost in the finals. Fellow February No. 2s Florida State and OR fell one notch and swapped regionals, the Seminoles in the West and the Ducks in the Midwest. The cameras may need to stay on wide angles to keep track of these frenetic teams.

Kansas State takes on Wake Forest Tuesday at 8:10 p.m. Wichita State plays Dayton in Indianapolis at 6:10 p.m. Friday. Two mid-majors looking to make a major run through the bracket. Fortunately for them, they got to sit tight while. Bridges brings versatility and athleticism while Paschall is a wide body who does the little things well.

Kent State, New Mexico State, South Dakota State and Iona are the long shots in the tournament. Mount St. Mary’s suffered a 31-point beatdown but was able to find its way to the Big Dance later that season, this year is its first appearance since then.

Varnado wasn’t recruited by big schools, but he’s a talented offensive player who could make a name for himself this week and catch the eye of National Basketball Association scouts in town watching players from Duke and UNC. This season, he is averaging 14.3 points per game and is 42.5 percent on the floor.

Jimmy Hall, Kent State.

The reminders of April were impossible to ignore this season. Hart, meanwhile, is a National Player of the Year candidate after leading a deep and talented team in points (18.9 per game) and rebounds (6.5 per game) this season. This year, it’s another Big Ten team facing 12th-seeded Middle Tennessee in fifth-seeded Minnesota. Arkansas transfer was the Conference-USA player of the year after averaging 17.3 points and 7.3 rebounds. And he had several other drives to the basket where he powered his way up for two against a bigger defender in the Blue Devils’ 75-69 win.

North Carolina, which has brawn under the rim to buttress the offensive leadership of PG Joel Berry and SF Justin Jackson, could have some favorable matchups in the South Region. Some even opened giving No. 2 seed Duke the best odds before switching to the Tar Heels. Duke is the only other team in the modern era to repeat.

The ACC’s nine teams betters the previous league record of seven first set in 2007 and equaled in 2009 and 2016.

With a powerful Nor’easter forecast to slam the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast coasts from Monday night through Wednesday morning, NCAA tournament selection committee chairman Mark Hollis is working to mitigate the effects of the storm on teams’ travel plans.