South Region Futures Preview
We’ll look at the best teams to buy on for those looking into the futures market or NCAA Tournament pools with co-workers or friends. Let’s start with the South Region where the #1 overall seed the Alabama Crimson Tide are. I want to break down the South Region 1st round as much as possible without discussing the point spread for those that are in March Madness bracket pools or games. Information is king and that’s what we want to help with these National Championship Futures.
Alabama has had strong teams the last two years but always came up short mostly due to free throw shooting. They’ve had NBA talent but nothing like G/F Brandon Miller. Bama gets the winner of Southeast Missouri State and Texas A&M Corpus Christi. If Alabama wins its first round game they will face the winner of West Virginia and Maryland. I like West Virginia to advance in that matchup with its defense and ability to shoot the 3 ball. Maryland struggles on the road and only lost one game at home. The Terp offense can get stagnant and I see that happening here.
You’ll here many people calling for an upset with College of Charleston to defeat San Diego State. The Aztecs are a very under the radar team. The have good guard play, veteran talent and coaching experience. If the Aztecs come out aggressive and press CoC they can take control of the game from tip off but will they? When mid majors make runs in the NCAA Tournament the common factor is NBA talent. Does CoC have any NBA players? No. I like the Aztecs to roll in this game. That will set them up with the winner of Virginia and Furman. That will be an interesting matchup because Virginia is a halfcourt team who likes to play slow. Furman wants to turn this into a track meet. I like Furman in this matchup because of its scoring. Virginia also has a history of losing in the 1st round to mid-major programs that can score or have a better offense.
#6 seed Creighton comes into this tournament at full health and they have the talent to compete with anyone in the country. The Blue Jays will face North Carolina State who limps in the tournament and who I feel is lucky to be in. They have an pro player in guard Terquavion Smith and Jarkel Joiner. I don’t think that will be enough to knock Creighton out.
Baylor pulled a #3 seed and face an underdog looking to play upset in UC Santa Barbara. The last time the Gauchos were in the tournament was in 2021 and they were defeated by Creighton by 1 point in round 1. Baylor is healthy, they have strong guard play but their defense is a major liability. Don’t forget where this Bears team came from though - the mighty Big 12. UC Santa Barbara has a decent offense but does not shoot the 3PT well. Remember, the UCSB offense plays in the Big West but 3PT shooting is universal. You will hear this week that Baylor has “choked” in the first round before. Yes, that was against a Yale team that was probably better and had NBA talent. I have Baylor advancing to face Creighton.
Utah State has the #10 seed but I feel that they are better than Missouri and the betting line proves that. I’ve seen plenty of both teams and Mizzou is a completely different team on the road / neutral than at home. USU head coach Robert Odom has NCAA Tournament experience as he is the only HC to successfully defeat a #1 seed as a #16 seed and he did that with the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. The Aggies center was also on that team as a freshman and now he is bigger and stronger than he was then. Mizzou is small and very dependent on the 3PT. Utah State is one of the best 3PT shooting teams in the country with veteran guards. I like Utah State to advance with their size and ability to shoot the 3.
The University of Arizona received the #2 seed and what I feel is a nice path to a possible Final Four. It’s not automatic that Arizona can make a run due to its softness. U of A is not as tough physically or mentally as a Big 12 team or Big East team would be. I like Arizona to advance against Princeton but it’s not a given. It will be two finesse teams going after it. The only difference is Arizona is full of NBA and pro players. I see Arizona advancing because they have too much talent. That would match Arizona with another finesse team in Utah State, which would be another finesse matchup but watch out for the Aggies. Any team that shoots the 3PT as good as Utah State can beat anyone.
South Region Power Rankings:
Alabama
Arizona
Creighton
San Diego State
Baylor
Furman
West Virginia
Virginia
Utah State
Maryland
College of Charleston
Missouri
NC State
UC Santa Barbara
Southeast Missouri State
Princeton
Thanks to those that took the time to read. Follow along on our socials and good luck to us!
