Sports

Previewing the Midwest Region

March 19, 2019 | Sports,

By Cole Tussing
Remember when Wofford stunned North Carolina in Chapel Hill in Dec. 2017?
The Terriers are red hot, and are my sleeper team of the tournament. With a record of 29-4 and 18-0 in-conference clip certainly are impressive numbers, no matter how you slice it.
The team is currently on a 20 game win streak, averaging a staggering 83 points-per-game. Fletcher Magee paves the way for his tremendous shooting from behind the arc, and is averages almost 21 points and 5 threes a game. He’s my player to keep an eye on not on a “blue-blood.” Head coach Mike Young has done a great job with his program- his Terriers are one of the best teams in the dance at limiting turnovers.
Looking at the field, there’s one team I felt like should’ve been given a chance- Indiana. To start, the Hoosiers are led by future NBA draftee and five-star recruit Romeo Langford, who averages 17 points and 6 rebounds a game. When you examine their schedule, IU beat Louisville, lost in a close game at Michigan, beat Michigan State twice, and beat Wisconsin to close out the regular season. All those teams are in the tournament, and the lowest seed among that group is 7-seed Louisville.
Washington is a team that struggles against tougher opponents, and I feel Indiana should’ve gone over them. Washington’s most notable win was beating Oregon- and Ducks beat them the next two times they faced each other.
It feels like a repeat every year, but my pick to win the Midwest division is North Carolina. This team has proven they can hang with the rest, beating Duke twice, and other wins including Gonzaga and Virginia Tech.

In their last 19 games, posted a record of 17-2, with the only losses by a combined 9 points to Duke and Virginia. Luke Maye’s contributions on the glass, averaging 11 rebounds a game, propel the Tar Heels to being one of the fastest moving offenses in the nation. To add more fuel to the flame, their scorers Cameron Johnson and Nassir Little are projected to be top picks in the NBA Draft this summer.
Edited by Garrett Jones | gcjh23@mail.missouri.edu