March Madness: Picking the Final Four teams
By Ben Handler
West Region: #2 Arizona
I’ve loved the Wildcats all season and they’ve warranted it for the most part. But their past two games they’ve gone cold on offense and had disheartening low-scoring losses, including one to the Oregon Ducks in the Pac 12 tournament.
But I’m going to trust the overall body of work and assume that ‘Zona dials it back up on offense, going back to what worked all season.
I also love the path for Arizona as a 2 seed. North Carolina is the weakest one seed, and I think they’ll get bounced before the Elite 8. Baylor is a good squad, but I place them on upset alert against New Mexico in round 2.
I think the Cats have a good chance to be favored in every game they play in this region, and I don’t have them facing a top 4 seed until Alabama in the Elite 8. That won’t be a cakewalk, but I think Arizona is re-focused this year and will roll to the Final Four in front of many Cats fans in Phoenix.
I do worry about the Cinderella potential of New Mexico, led by former NBA player Eddie House’s son Jaelen House. But ultimately, I think the Cats just have too much talent for the Lobos.
