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Teams the Huskies beat this Season
No. 3 Seed in the East Region: Oklahoma (22-10)
Remember when the Huskies held on to a close lead in the final seconds of a game in Vegas this season? That’s right, the Dawgs beat the Oklahoma Sooners on December 20th 69-67 and moved to 10-0 for the season. At the time, it seemed like both teams were destined to be sure locks for the NCAA Tournament. Early (we didn’t know how early) predictions had the team as a 3 seed in the tournament. It is ironic that the Sooners are the 3 seed in the tournament. The Sooners went on to go 15-7 since the UW game. The Huskies went 6-15.
Who knew?
The Sooners are led by junior guard and leading scorer Buddy Hield who averages 17.5 PPG.
The Sooners first game is against 14 seed Albany. The Great Danes ousted Stony Brook (remember them?) to win the automatic bid from the America East Conference.
No. 5 Seed in the South Region: Utah (24-8)
The Huskies surprised the Utes by beating them on Senior Day last week. The team was hot for most of the season by ended the season losing the last 4 of its last 7 games.
The Utes are led by Delon Wright and hope not to be one of those 12-5 casualties that happens each year
No. 8 Seed in East Region: San Diego State (26-8)
The Aztecs lost the Mountain West Conference Championship game 45-43 to the Wyoming Cowboys. Still, Steve Fisher’s team won the Mountain West regular season and has improved since losing to the Dawgs 49-36 on December 7th in Seattle. The team is 2nd in the nation in points allowed (53.1) and you should look for the under when this team plays.
As an 8 seed, the Aztecs have a stiff test right off the bat as it plays St. John’s, a team that averages 71 points a game, in Charlotte. Should be interesting.
No. 14 Seed in the South Region: Eastern Washington University (26-8)
The Eagles narrowly escaped the Big Sky Conference championship game with a win against Montana at Montana. Notably, Montana was led by the 23 points and 17 rebounds of Martin Breunig (Geez, where was that when he was with the Huskies).
The Huskies beat the Eagles on December 14th, 81-77 in Seattle. The Eagles are led by Sophomore Guard Tyler Harvey who averages almost 23 points a game.
EWU has a tough test ahead of them as it plays 4 seed Georgetown.
Others to watch
No. 2 in the South Region: Gonzaga (32-2)
Could this be the year that Mark Few finally makes it to The Final Four? If it does, they’ll go through Seattle as the team has a date against 15 seed North Dakota State on Friday.
This is probably the most talented and deepest team the Bulldogs have had in years. This team is no longer a mid-major Cinderella. Of course, Zag fans have been telling Dawg fans this for years
The team is anchored by Kentucky transfer Kyle Wiltjer and Kevin Pangos. If the Zags do make it to Indianapolis, it will need to go through top seed Duke in the South.
No. 2 in the West Region: Arizona (31-3)
The Wildcats decimated the Oregon Ducks to win the Pac 12 tournament Saturday night. At 31-3, the Cats have to be one of the favorites to make it to The Final Four. As you know, Sean Miller has a stacked team and with Brandon Ashley, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Stanley Johnson up front and T.J. McConnell running the show, we can see them playing Wisconsin to see who gets to Indy.
No. 8 in the West Region: Oregon (25-9)
The Ducks were trounced on Saturday but still could be a dangerous team in the tournament. Led by Joseph Young, the Ducks will face Oklahoma State in a very good 8-9 matchup.
No. 11 in the South Region: UCLA (20-13)
The Bruins are a surprise entrant to the dance. Steve Alford’s team made a late season surge, played a good non-conference (and perhaps relied on its 4 letters) to get in. The team, led by Norman Powell, will get a stiff test when it plays Larry Brown’s (yes, that Larry Brown) SMU team.
Tell us your Final Four and whether any team can take down Kentucky.
Good luck with your brackets. Hopefully a "Rick N." is not playing in your bracket challenge.