Last week I stated that the West Region looked to be the easiest for the top seeds to advance in. That train of thought proved to be correct with the No. 1, No. 2 and No. 4 seeds all punching their tickets to the Sweet 16. Only Florida State failed to hold up its end of the bargain with No. 11 Xavier taking its place in the region’s Final Four. Let’s break the remaining bracket down and see if we can’t come up with some viable options to win it on the futures odds.
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ODDS TO WIN WEST REGION
Gonzaga +155
Arizona +140
West Virginia +350
Xavier +1200
Gonzaga Bulldogs +155
The Zags didn’t do much of anything to silence their critics this past weekend. They had all kinds of problems separating themselves from the South Dakota State Jackrabbits in the first round, and grossly failed to cover as 23 point favorites never getting ahead of the number in the 66-46 win. Their second round matchup with Northwestern saw them get out to a commanding 38-20 halftime lead. To the dismay of those that laid the double-digits, Mark Few’s kids get outscored 53-41 in the second half and had to settle for the 79-73 non-covering win.
Gonzaga missed 23 free throws in both of those games which is surprising for a team that shoots nearly 73 percent from the line. Przemek Karnowski was also pretty much useless in combining for 17 points and 7 rebounds. With Arizona, West Virginia and Xavier all capable of beating them on the glass, the Zags must get more from their big man if they’re to qualify for their first-ever trip to the Final Four.
Arizona Wildcats +140
With the Bulldogs struggling in their pair of games and the Wildcats taking care of business against both North Dakota and St. Mary’s, Arizona is now the odds on favorite to represent the West Region in the Final Four. If that were to occur, it would mark the first team Sean Miller took the Cats there in his eight years overlooking the program in Tucson.
It looked solid in a handling of the Hawks in the first round, but got a scare through one half of play against a sound St. Mary’s squad trailing 30-29. The Wildcats reclaimed the lead quickly in the second half with Lauri Markkanen leading the way. He ended up with 16 points and 11 rebounds to help lead Zona to the 69-60 win and cover. Arizona was my pick to go to the Final Four at the outset of the tourney, and it remains my selection heading into the Sweet 16.
West Virginia Mountaineers +350
It was a tale of two games for the Mounty’s through the weekend. The defense had all kinds of trouble stopping Kimbal MacKenzie and company from hanging a crooked number on the scoreboard, and failed to cover against Bucknell because of it in a 86-80 triumph. The defense did however clamp down against Notre Dame with it limiting the Irish to a 40.7 percent showing from the field.
On top of that, WVU knocked down 50 percent of its shots which included an 8-for-14 showing from beyond the arc. If the Mountaineers are hitting their shots at that high a clip, they can likely beat anyone remaining in this field due to its ability to rebound the basketball and force a ton of turnovers. A number of hard fought defeats in the regular season just might have thickened the skin enough for this team to make a run to the desert.
Xavier Musketeers +1200
Before last week’s game’s tipped off, Chris Mack’s Musketeers were installed 40-1 underdogs to win the region. A huge chunk of that return has been eaten away with it now one of the last four teams standing after taking care of the overachieving Maryland Terrapins and inexperienced Florida State Seminoles en route to punching its ticket to San Jose.
This is a team that was expected to make some noise at the outset of the season, so it comes as no surprise to see them one of the last 16 teams standing. The X-Men are long on experience and enter their Sweet 16 tilt with Arizona having covered six straight games. Trevon Bluiett was an offensive dynamo combining for 50 points, and he’ll be one of the best players to take to the hardwood next week. If he’s still hot, he can no doubt carry his team right into the Final Four.
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