For the first time in TWO years we get to say these words: the 2021 NCAA Tournament is finally here! After being robbed of March Madness last year due to the pandemic, this year’s tournament has an extra special feel. This year’s tournament will be conducted entirely in the state of Indiana, mostly in gyms around Indianapolis. The 2021 NCAA Tournament also has a bit of a different format – the “First Four” play-in games will be on Thursday, the first round on Friday and Saturday, then the second round on Sunday and Monday.
Today we start our look at the first round matchups in the West Region. The top overall seed Gonzaga leads the bracket. All of these games will be played on Saturday with second round games on Monday. Due to this, all of the “First Four” games are on the left side of the bracket – two in the West Region and two in the East Region.
Regional Previews
First Four
South Region
Midwest Region
East Region
1. Gonzaga vs 16. Norfolk St/Appalachian St
Saturday
9:20pm on TBS
Gonzaga is the #1 overall seed in the tournament and looking to become just the 8th team in NCAA history to complete an undefeated season. Don’t sleep on Gonzaga just because they played in the West Coast Conference. Their non-conference slate included wins over Kansas, West Virginia, Iowa, and Virginia. Their 5-point win over West Virginia was their only game with a single-digit margin of victory this season. Gonzaga ranks 2nd in the nation in scoring (92.1 PPG), 3rd in assists (18.3 APG), and in the top 10 in offensive efficiency, defensive efficiency and tempo (possessions per game). On top of all that, the Zags have TWO potential NBA lottery picks in point guard Jalen Suggs (14.3 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 4.5 APG) and small forward Korey Kispert (19.2 PPG, 4.9 RPG). Forward Drew Timme (18.7 PPG, 7.1 RPG) is a force on the inside and shooting guard Joel Ayai (11.8 PPG, 7.0 RPG) hits from a 40% clip from beyond the arc. All in all, Gonzaga is absolutely loaded with talent and is a fast and fun team that is a treat to watch. They have reached the Final Four in the past but this may finally be the year that Mark Few and the Zags assert themselves as a national powerhouse. The Norfolk State-Appalachian State game was previewed in our First Four preview. Both Appalachian State and Norfolk State are guard-heavy teams that can’t match up with Gonzaga’s size. If either was going to pull a stunning upset they’d need to shoot the lights out from beyond the arc.
8. Oklahoma vs 9. Missouri
Saturday
7:25pm on TNT
Both of these teams appeared on the 4-seed line in the Committee’s initial bracket reveal in mid-February but slid down to an 8/9 matchup by Selection Sunday. Oklahoma has lost 5 of their last 6 games with the only victory coming over Iowa State in the first round of the Big XII Tournament. In fact, since topping West Virginia in double OT on February 13, Oklahoma’s only wins have come against Iowa State. The Sooners rely heavily on Austin Reaves who leads the team in points (17.7 PPG), rebounds (5.7 RPG) and assists (4.7 APG). Unfortunately, word came out on Wednesday that second-leading scorer De’Vion Harmon would be unavailable due to COVID considerations. Missouri has also slumped since mid-February, losing 6 of 9 since beating Alabama. The Tigers do have a quality backcourt tandem of Dru Smith and Xavier Pinson who both average 14.1 points per game.
5. Creighton vs 12. UC Santa Barbara
Saturday
3:30pm on truTV
Creighton suffered some questionable early-season losses as they battled through injury but came back to win 7 of 8 from late January through the end of February. The Jays rank in the Top 40 in the nation in both offensive and defensive efficiency. However, when they have lost it has not been pretty. Their last 3 losses were by 8 to Xavier, by 12 to Villanova, and by 25 to Georgetown in the Big East title game. Dynamic guard Marcus Zegarowski (15.5 PPG, 4.3 APG) shoots over 40% from beyond the arc and is absolutely worth the price of admission. The Jays rely heavily on their starting 5 for scoring – all 5 average in double figures. Zegarowski is joined in the backcourt by Denzel Mahoney (12.5 PPG) and Mitch Ballock (10.2 PPG). In the frontcourt, Damien Jefferson (12.1 PPG, 5.5 RPG) and Christian Bishop (10.8 PPG, 5.9 RPG) will have their work cut out for them against a tall Santa Barbara team. Creighton is also one of the worst free-throw shooting teams in the tournament, which could be a factor if this game is close down the stretch. Santa Barbara won the Big West regular season and tournament titles, reaching the Big Dance for the first time in a decade. The Gauchos have one of the best nicknames in the field and excel at ball security – ranking in the Top 30 in the nation in assists (16.3 APG) and turnovers (only 11 per game). UCSB is a deep team and will rotate in at least 9 players. Point guard JaQuori McLaughlin (16.2 PPG, 5.2 APG) was the Big West Player of the Year and should be a great matchup for Zegarowski. McLaughlin and backcourt mate Ajare Sanni (11.2 PPG) both shoot 40% from beyond the arc. In the frontcourt, the Gauchos have size to create mismatches with Amadou Sow (13.7 PPG, 7.6 RPG) and Miles Norris (9.6 PPG, 4.5 RPG).
4. Virginia vs 13. Ohio
Saturday
7:15pm on truTV
Virginia won the ACC regular season title but had to drop out of the conference tournament due to COVID cases within their program. Which players they will have available is an open question at this point. Virginia is a typical Virginia team, playing at a snail’s pace but operating an efficient offense that finds open shots. The Cavaliers rank in the Top 20 in the nation in both Free Throw shooting (81.7%) and three point shooting (38.1%). One of the difficulties in defending the Cavaliers is that their big men are also good outside shooters. Sam Hauser (16.0 PPG, 6.7 RPG) and Jay Huff (13.1 PPG, 7.1 RPG) both shoot over 40% from beyond the arc. It takes a special kind of team to knock off Virginia, given how they slow the game down, but Ohio’s high-scoring offense will give the Bobcats a shot. Ohio averages 80.9 points per game (17th in the nation) and shares the ball very well (17.9 APG, 6th in the nation). Ohio came from the 5th seed in the MAC to beat top-seeded Toledo and second-seeded Buffalo, topping 80 points in all three of their conference tournament games. Ohio is led by dynamic guard Jason Preston (16.6 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 7.2 APG) who lit it up in the MAC Tournament and has risen up NBA draft boards. Preston single-handedly took over games and will be difficult for Virginia to defend on the outside. The Bobcats also have a quality front line of Dwight Wilson III (14.9 PPG, 7.5 RPG), Ben Vander Plas (12.8 PPG, 5.7 RPG) and Ben Roderick (12.4 PPG) who can match up with Virginia’s size and are all capable scorers. This one has all the makings of a potential first round upset, especially with Virgina’s COVID issues.
6. USC vs 11. Wichita St/Drake
Saturday
4:30pm on TNT
USC looked like the team to beat in the Pac-12 for much of the season, but the Trojans dropped 3 of 4 in late February. Once the calendar flipped to March they needed a buzzer-beater to top rival UCLA and double overtime to beat Utah in the Pac-12 Tournament before falling to Colorado in the semifinals. USC ranks in the Top 30 in the nation in both offensive and defensive efficiency as well as rebounding. The Trojans are led by Pac-12 Player of the Year Evan Mobley (16.8 PPG, 8.6 RPG, 3.0 BPG) who is a likely Top 5 pick in the NBA Draft. With Mobley manning the inside, Tahj Eaddy (13.7 PPG) and Drew Peterson (9.9 PPG) have provided quality guard play. The showdown between former Missouri Valley Conference rivals Wichita State and Drake was previewed in our First Four preview. Both Wichita St and Drake are guard-heavy teams that would struggle with Mobley on the inside. Wichita is led by AAC co-Player of the Year Tyson Etienne (17.0 PPG). Drake is hoping ShanQuan “Tank” Hemphill (14.1 PPG, 6.3 RPG) can return for Thursday’s game after suffering a foot injury in February. Without Hemphill and point guard Roman Penn, who was lost for the season with an injury, Drake has relied on the play of guards Joseph Yesugu (12.1 PPG) and DJ Wilkins (10.6 PPG).
3. Kansas vs 14. Eastern Washington
Saturday
1:15pm on TBS
Kansas had an atypical 6-5 start to conference play but turned it on down the stretch and won 7 of 8 to end the season, including a 13-point victory over Baylor. Their only setback in that time was a double-overtime loss to Texas. They had to bow out of the Big XII Tournament due to COVID cases within the program, so the availability of all of their players for the NCAA Tournament is unknown at this time. Kansas was led by guard Ochai Agbaji (14.2 PPG) and the frontcourt tandem of David McCormack (13.4 PPG, 6.1 RPG) and Jalen Wilson (12.1 PPG, 8.2 RPG). This is a matchup of strength on strength as the Jayhawks were a much better defensive squad than offensive and Eastern Washington’s strength is in their offense. Eastern Washington came from the #2 seed in the Big Sky to capture the title for the first time since 2015 (though this was their 3rd straight Big Sky title game). Like Kansas, Eastern Washington closed the year on a hot streak, winning 13 of their last 14 games. The Eagles leading scorer is forward Tanner Grovers (16.4 PPG, 8.1 RPG) who was the Big Sky Player of the Year and conference tournament MVP. Aside from Groves, their next 9 highest scorers are all guards. Kim Aiken Jr (11.7 PPG, 8.5 RPG) and Tyler Robertson (11.3 PPG, 3.0 APG) are the primary scorers in a backcourt that is comprised of capable shooters all over the court. Eastern Washington is one of the best free throw shooting teams in the country (78.7%) which could come in handy if they can hold a late lead.
7. Oregon vs 10. VCU
Saturday
9:57pm on TNT
Oregon won the Pac-12 regular season title, winning 10 of their last 11 regular season games. The Ducks fell to rival Oregon State in the semifinals of the Pac-12 Tournament. This game matches Oregon’s offense (16th in offensive efficiency) against VCU’s stout defense (12th in defensive efficiency). The Ducks get a majority of their scoring from their starting five, led by Eugene Omoruyi (16.7 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 2.2 APG) and Chris Duarte (16.7 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 2.3 APG). Oregon also ranks in the Top 25 in the nation in 3-point shooting, knocking it down at a 37.9% clip from distance. The ball tends to change hands a lot in a VCU game. The Rams are 5th in the nation in steals (9.2 SPG) but also are among the worst in turnovers, committing nearly 15 per game. VCU finished a half-game behind St. Bonaventure in the A-10 and lost to the Bonnies in the conference title game. The Rams are led by dynamic guard Nah’Shon Hyland (19.5 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 2.1 APG). The Rams will go deep onto their bench and will need a big game out of forward Vince Williams Jr (10.6 PPG, 5.2 RPG) to counter Omoruyi on the inside.
2. Iowa vs 15. Grand Canyon
Saturday
6:25pm on TBS
Iowa has one of the most explosive offenses in the nation. The Hawkeyes rank 2nd in offensive efficiency and average 83.8 points per game. They have limited turnovers (9.5 per game, 4th in the nation) and shared the ball well (19.1 assists per game, the best in the nation) as well as ranking in the Top 15 in rebounding (40.1 per game) and 3-point shooting (38.6%). Since losing 4 of 5 in early February, Iowa went 8-2 the rest of the way with their only losses coming to Michigan and Illinois. The Hawkweyes are led by Luke Garza (23.7 PPG, 8.8 RPG) who is the nation’s second-leading scorer and the leading candidate for National Player of the Year. The 6’11” Garza being able to knock down shots from the outside at a 40.7% pace makes him nearly impossible to defend. In addition to Garza, Iowa’s guards have been dropping bombs from the outside all season. Joe Wieskamp (14.7 PPG, 6.6 RPG) has hit 47% of his 3s while CJ Fredrick (7.8 PPG) has hit an insane 49% from beyond the arc. Point guard Jordan Bohannon (10.9 PPG, 4.5 APG) averages 38.9% from 3, which is better than all but 10 teams nationally, but is 4th on this incredibly hot-shooting Iowa team. Grand Canyon won the WAC Championship by beating New Mexico State, just the second time since 2012 that New Mexico State did not win the WAC’s automatic bid. The Antelopes are making their first NCAA Tournament appearance in school history. Grand Canyon is one of the best rebounding teams in the country (40 per game) thanks to their monster front line of 7’0″ Asbjorn Midtgaard (14.0 PPG, 9.9 RPG) and 6’10” Alessandro Lever (13.3 PPG, 5.4 RPG). Jovan Blacksher Jr (11.0 PPG, 5.3 APG) leads the backcourt. Grand Canyon is not a great outside shooting team and is going to have to take advantage of their inside dominance if they are going to hang with Iowa.
