NCAA Tournament Team Capsules

Published 9:07 pm Monday, March 14, 2022

West Regional

NO. 1 GONZAGA (26-3)

Spokane, Wash.

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Top-ranked Gonzaga, making its 23rd consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance, is led by 7-foot freshman Chet Holmgren the potential No. 1 pick in the June’s NBA draft and 6-10 junior Drew Timme, the 2022 West Coast Conference player of the year.

NO. 16 GEORGIA ST. (18-10)

Atlanta

Led by senior Corey Allen, who scored 29 points in both the semifinals and the finals of the Sun Belt Conference tournament, the Panthers have won 10 straight games.

NO. 8 BOISE ST. (27-7)

Boise, Idaho

Tough and defensive-minded, the Broncos won their first Mountain West Conference tournament title with a 53-52 win over San Diego State. Boise State makes its fourth NCAA Tournament appearance since coach Leon Rice took the helm in 2010.

NO. 9 MEMPHIS (21-10)

Memphis, Tenn.

The Tigers, in their fourth season under coach Penny Hardaway, return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2014. Freshman Jalen Duren, a likely lottery pick in June’s NBA draft, leads Memphis in scoring (12.2), rebounding (8.0) and blocks (2.2).

NO. 5 UCONN (23-9)

Storrs, Conn.

Senior guard R.J. Cole (15.7 points) and sophomore forward Adama Sanogo (14.9 points, 8.9 rebounds) give the No. 20 Huskies who are making their second consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance under fourth-year coach Dan Hurley a potent inside-outside duo.

NO. 12 NEW MEXICO ST. (26-6)

Las Cruces, N.M.

New Mexico State is led by 6-6 guard Teddy Allen, who led the Western Athletic Conference in scoring this season at 19.3 points per game. The Aggies are experienced and have size up front and in the back court.

NO. 4 ARKANSAS (25-8)

Fayetteville, Ark.

The 15th-ranked Razorbacks have four wins over Top-25 teams, including an 80-76 win over then-No. 1 Auburn on Feb. 8. Senior guard JD Notae leads the team in scoring (18.4 per game), assists (3.7) and steals (2.2).

NO. 13 VERMONT (28-5)

Burlington, Vt.

Vermont has won six consecutive America East Conference regular season titles but makes its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2019 and just its third since 2012. The Catamounts have won eight consecutive games.

NO. 6 ALABAMA (19-13)

Tuscaloosa, Ala.

The Crimson Tide ranked as high as No. 6 after back-to-back wins over then-No. 3 Gonzaga and then-No. 14 Houston in December limp into the NCAA Tournament on the heels of three consecutive losses.

NO. 11 RUTGERS (18-13)

Piscataway, N.J.

The Scarlet Knights have made back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances for the first time since 1975-76.

NO. 11 NOTRE DAME (22-10)

South Bend, Ind.

Coach Mike Brey’s team finished second in the Atlantic Coast Conference this season and is back in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2018.

NO. 3 TEXAS TECH (25-9)

Lubbock, Texas

The 14th-ranked Red Raiders haven’t missed a step under first-year coach Mark Adams. Texas Tech has appeared in six of the last seven NCAA Tournaments to be played (the Big Dance was canceled due to COVID-19 in 2020).

NO. 14 MONTANA ST. (27-7)

Bozeman, Mont.

Second-year coach Danny Sprinkle led the Bobcats to their fourth NCAA Tournament appearance in program history and their first since 1996 the same year Michael Jordan led the NBA’s Chicago Bulls to 72 regular-season wins.

NO. 7 MICHIGAN ST. (22-12)

East Lansing, Mich.

Coach Tom Izzo has his Spartans making their 24th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. Michigan State had a three-game win streak snapped by a loss to ninth-ranked Purdue in the semifinals of the Big Ten tournament but has won just five of its last 13 games.

NO. 10 DAVIDSON (27-6)

Davidson, N.C.

The Wildcats return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2018 behind a balanced, experienced group. Foster Loyer and Hyungjung Lee lead four Davidson players averaging double-figures scoring, each averaging more than 16 points per game.

NO. 2 DUKE (28-6)

Durham, N.C.

The seventh-ranked Blue Devils hope to send off legendary coach Mike Krzyzewski who is retiring after 42 years, with 12 Final Fours and five national championships, at Duke with one last deep run in the NCAA Tournament.

NO. 15 CAL ST.-FULLERTON (21-10)

Fullerton, Calif.

Seniors E.J. Anosike and Damari Milstead give the Titans making their fourth all-time appearance in the NCAA Tournament a dynamic inside-outside duo for as CSU Fullerton team that has won its last four games.

South Regional

NO. 1 ARIZONA (31-3)

Tucson, Ariz.

The second-ranked Wildcats won the Pac-12 Conference Tournament championship in Tommy Lloyd’s first season as coach. Bennedict Mathurin (17.4 points, 5.6 rebounds per game) leads a team that has won its past six in a row and 15 of 16.

NO. 16 WRIGHT ST. (21-13)

Dayton, Ohio

Trey Calvin’s jumper with 10.5 seconds left helped the Raiders edge Northern Kentucky 72-71 for the Horizon League tournament championship. Junior guard Tanner Holden leads the nation with 201 made free throws on 257 attempts, which rank second.

NO. 16 BRYANT (22-9)

Smithfield, R.I.

Bryant routed Wagner 70-43 for the Northeast Conference Tournament title in a game marred by a brawl between spectators in the stand. The Bulldogs boast the nation’s highest-scoring tandem in senior guard Peter Kiss (25.1 points per game) and junior guard Charles Pride (18.0).

NO. 8 SETON HALL (21-10)

South Orange, N.J.

The Pirates are dancing for the fifth time in seven seasons and are 16-13 in 13 appearances. They overcame a 3-6 start in Big East play to win eight of 10 games and feature a strong tandem in guards Jared Rhoden (15.9 points per game) and Bryce Aiken (14.5).

NO. 9 TCU (20-12)

Fort Worth, Texas

The Horned Frogs enter the NCAA Tournament 3-7 but racked up some impressive wins down the stretch, topping then-No. 9 Texas Tech and then-No. 6 Kansas in consecutive games before beating No. 22 Texas 65-60 in the Big 12 Conference tournament.

NO. 5 HOUSTON (28-5)

Houston

The No. 18 Cougars topped Memphis 71-53 for their second consecutive American Athletic Conference tournament title. They reached the Final Four last season and rank fourth nationally in scoring defense at 59.1 points allowed per game.

NO. 12 UAB (27-7)

Birmingham, Ala.

The Blazers beat Louisiana Tech 82-73 for the Conference USA tournament championship and have set a single-season program record for wins. Junior guard Jordan Walker, who previously played at Seton Hall and Tulane, averages 20.4 points per game and was C-USA’s player of the year and tournament MVP.

NO. 4 ILLINOIS (22-9)

Champaign, Ill.

The No. 16 Fighting Illini won the Big Ten Conference regular season championship but were upset by Indiana in the tournament. Seven-foot center Kofi Cockburn ranks 11th nationally in scoring (21.1 points, 10.6 rebounds per game), the only player to average at least 20 points and 10 boards per contest.

NO. 13 CHATTANOOGA (27-7)

Chattanooga, Tenn.

The Mocs won the Southern Conference tournament championship on graduate David Jean-Baptiste’s buzzer-beating 30-foot jumper to beat Furman 64-63. They’ve won five in a row and are led by sophomore guard Malachi Smith, who raised his scoring average from 16.8 to 20.1 points per game this season.

NO. 6 COLORADO ST. (25-5)

Fort Collins, Colo.

The No. 23 Rams fell in the Mountain West Conference tournament semifinals but are making their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2013 and 11th overall. Their seeding is the highest in program history and they enter 4-11 lifetime in the tournament.

NO. 11 MICHIGAN (17-14)

Ann Arbor, Mich.

The Wolverines earned an at-large bid and seek to reach their fifth consecutive Sweet 16. Coach Juwan Howard returned to the team before the Big Ten Tournament after a five-game suspension for hitting a Wisconsin assistant during a heated postgame handshake line.

NO. 3 TENNESSEE (26-7)

Knoxville, Tenn.

The ninth-ranked Volunteers topped Texas A&M 65-50 for their first Southeastern Conference Tournament title since 1979. They enter having beaten No. 5 Kentucky, No. 4 Auburn and No. 14 Arkansas in league play. Guard Santiago Vescovi sank 95 3-pointers this season and ranks in the top 45 nationally at 39% accuracy from behind the arc.

NO. 14 LONGWOOD (26-6)

Farmville, Va.

The Lancers earned their first NCAA Tournament bid after winning 19 of its past 20 games with a 21-point victory against two-time defending Big South champion Winthrop. Even better, their women’s squad also earned an automatic bid, just the third such occurrence in NCAA history.

NO. 7 OHIO ST. (19-11)

Columbus, Ohio

The Buckeyes enter the tournament having lost four of five but went 8-6 against 11 teams in the field. They will be making their 31st NCAA Tournament appearance and fourth in a row.

NO. 10 LOYOLA OF CHICAGO (25-7)

Chicago

The Ramblers are making consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances for their first time since 196-64 after reaching the Sweet 16 last season. They won the Missouri Valley Conference tournament and are allowing opponents just 31% from 3-point range. Fifth-year guard Lucas Williamson averages 14.0 points per game.

NO. 2 VILLANOVA (26-7)

Villanova, Pa.

The three-time national champions earned their fifth Big East Conference Tournament championship in seven years. Collin Gillespie (15.9 points per game) and Justin Moore (15.0) lead a lineup with six players averaging at least 9.1 points per contest. The No. 8 Wildcats are 14-0 against Delaware, including a 78-70 victory in the 2019-20 season.

NO. 15 DELAWARE (22-12)

Newark, Del.

The Fightin’ Blue Hens are making their sixth NCAA Tournament appearance after winning the Colonial Athletic Association championship. They feature a balanced offense with six players averaging at least 9.7 points per game, led by Jameer Nelson Jr. (13.7).

East Regional

NO. 1 BAYLOR (26-6)

Waco, Texas

The Bears are in a familiar position: Coming off a loss in the Big 12 Tournament. They shrugged it off last season, winning six straight on their way to a national title. All-Big 12 point guard James Akinjo leads the way.

NO. 16 NORFOLK ST. (24-6)

Norfolk, Va.

Norfolk State has won games in each of its prior NCAA Tournament appearances, including a 2012 win over No. 2 Missouri in one of the bigger upsets in tournament history and a First Four win over Appalachian State last year.

NO. 8 NORTH CAROLINA (24-9)

Chapel Hill, N.C.

Had a season-best six-game winning streak snapped by Virginia Tech in the ACC Tournament semifinals. The Tar Heels made just 3 of 26 3-pointers, the fewest makes in a game when a North Carolina team attempted 25 or more.

NO. 9 MARQUETTE (19-12)

Milwaukee

Led by first-year coach Shake Smart, the Golden Eagles are making their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2018-19 and 34th overall. In the teams< first of two tourney meetings, Marquette beat North Carolina 67-59 to win the 1977 championship in Al McGuire’s last game.

NO. 5 St. MARY’S (CAL) (25-7)

Moraga, Calif.

Awaits the Wyoming-Indiana winner. This is the Gaels< highest seed after twice being seeded seventh. Saint Mary’s is 1-3 as a single-digit seed with the lone win coming against No. 10 VCU in the first round of the 2017 tournament.

NO. 12 WYOMING (25-8)

Laramie, Wyo.

Won 24 regular-season games, the most since the 1950-51 team. First NCAA Tournament trip since 2015 and first at-large berth since 2002.

NO. 12 INDIANA (20-13)

Bloomington, Ind.

The one-time powerhouse earned its first bid since 2016 after losing to Iowa on a last-second 3-pointer in the Big Ten semifinals. Trayce Jackson-Davis joined Juwan Morgan as the only Hoosier to record multiple 30-point, 10-rebound games in their career since 1996-97.

NO. 4 UCLA (25-7)

Los Angeles

The Bruins try to repeat last year’s success after making it from the First Four to the Final Four (the program’s 19th). Tyger Campbell, Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Johnny Juzang all are first-team All-Pac 12 performers.

NO. 13 AKRON (24-9)

Akron, Ohio

Akron has won eight straight games, including a 20-point romp over rival Kent State in the Mid-American Conference championship game. Forward Enrique Freeman is averaging 13.2 points and 10.8 rebounds.

NO. 6 TEXAS (21-11)

Austin, Texas

The Longhorns have lost their last three games, blowing a 20-point first-half lead to TCU in the Big 12 quarterfinals. Guard Andrew Jones is a cancer survivor who was co-winner of the United States Basketball Writers Association’s Perry Wallace Most Courageous Award.

NO. 11 VIRGINIA TECH (23-12)

Blacksburg, Va.

The Hokies beat basketball blue bloods North Carolina and Duke to win their first ACC Tournament championship. Hunter Cattoor is coming off a career game against Duke when he scored 31 points and made 7 of 9 3-pointers.

NO. 3 PURDUE (27-7)

West Lafayette, Ind.

The Boilermakers are 24-0 in games scoring 70 or more points and 3-7 when not reaching that total, including a loss to Iowa in the Big Ten championship game. Led by first-team All-Big 10 guard Jaden Ivey, whose fadeaway 25-foot buzzer-beater beat Ohio State in one of the team’s biggest moments.

NO. 14 YALE (19-11)

New Haven, Conn.

Won the Ivy League’s automatic NCAA bid for the third straight season with a 66-64 championship game win over Princeton. Guard Azar Swain, the tournament MVP, scored 23 against Princeton and 25 against Penn in the league tournament.

NO. 7 MURRAY ST. (30-2)

Murray, Ky.

The 19th-ranked Racers have won an NCAA-best 20 consecutive games and are coming off their 18th Ohio Valley Conference Tournament championship. Forward KJ Williams and guard Tevin Brown form a 1-2 offensive punch and follow current NBA all-star Ja Morant as the program’s latest dynamic players.

NO. 10 SAN FRANCISCO (24-9)

San Francisco

San Francisco is making its first tournament trip since 1998. The Dons are the first West Coast Conference team since Pepperdine in 2002 to receive an at-large bid.

NO. 2 KENTUCKY (26-7)

Lexington, Ky.

Fifth-ranked Kentucky is back in the NCAA Tournament after missing last spring for the first time since 2013. The Wildcats feature forward Oscar Tshiebwe, the SEC Player of the Year and a favorite for several national honors including the Naismith and Wooded awards. They are making their record 59th tournament appearance.

NO. 15 St. Peter’s (19-11)

Jersey City, N.J.

Won its first Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament title since 2010-11, led by tourney MVP KC Ndefo. The league’s defensive player of the year and one of the nation’s top shot blockers, Ndefo won MVP honors despite scoring just seven points in the title game.

Midwest Regional

NO. 1 KANSAS (28-6)

Lawrence, Kan.

The Jayhawks won the Big 12 regular season and tournament championships and enter the tournament as a No. 1 seed for the ninth time in Bill Self’s 19 years as coach. They’ll face the Texas Southern-Texas A&M-Corpus Christi winner.

NO. 16 TEXAS SOUTHERN (18-12)

Houston

The Tigers earned their 10th tournament berth with a dominant second half in their 87-62 victory against top-seeded Alcorn State in the SWAC Championship.

NO. 16 TEXAS A&M-CC (23-11)

Corpus Cristi, Texas

The Islanders beat the top two seeds in the Southland Conference tournament under first-year coach Steve Lutz to earn their first NCAA bid in 15 seasons.

NO. 8 SAN DIEGO ST. (23-8)

San Diego

The Aztecs will be making their 14th trip to the tournament and ninth in the last 13 years, but they haven’t won a game since 2015. They were 30-2 in 2020 and projected as a No. 2 seed before the pandemic canceled the tournament.

NO. 9 CREIGHTON (22-11)

Omaha, Neb.

The Bluejays are no strangers to success in the tournament under coach Greg McDermott. This will be their 10th trip in his 12-season tenure, and they reached third-round in 2012, 2013 and 2014 and a trip to the Sweet 16 in 2021.

NO. 5 IOWA (26-9)

Iowa City, Iowa

The Hawkeyes matched their victory total in the Big Ten Tournament since 2012-13 by winning four times this year to claim their first championship since 2006.

NO. 12 RICHMOND (23-12)

Richmond, Va.

The Spiders earned a return to the field for the first time since 2011 the only way they could have, by winning four times to take the automatic bid for the Atlantic 10. They were led Jacob Gilyard, a graduate student and the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player after averaging 19.8 points while playing all 160 possible minutes in the four victories.

NO. 4 PROVIDENCE (25-5)

Providence, R.I.

The Friars return to the field for the first time since 2018 with their highest seed since the field was expanded. They could have a decided logistical advantage with their opening game in Buffalo, N.Y.

NO. 13 S. DAKOTA ST. (30-4)

Brookings, S.D.

The Jackrabbits enter the tournament as Summit League Tournament champs for the first time since 2018 with the nation’s longest winning streak at 21 games. They haven’t lost since Dec. 15 on the road at Missouri State.

NO. 6 LSU (22-11)

Baton Rouge, La.

The Tigers will enter the tournament under unique circumstances, having fired coach Will Wade just days ago for alleged NCAA rules violations. LSU started the season with 12 straight wins, but was just 10-11 the rest of the way.

NO. 11 IOWA ST. (20-12)

Ames, Iowa

The Cyclones under first-year coach T.J. Otzelberger achieved a plus 18 win total compared to last season, when they were 2-22 and finished the season on an 18-game losing streak. It’s Iowa State’s eighth bid since the 2011-12 season.

NO. 3 WISCONSIN (24-7)

Madison, Wis.

The Badgers enter the field after a pair of disappointments. They lost at home last Saturday to Nebraska, causing them to share the Big Ten regular season title will Illinois, then were beaten by Michigan State in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament.

NO. 14 COLGATE (23-11)

Hamilton, N.Y.

The Raiders’ third berth in the past four years comes in the home state of their opponent, but that’s not seemingly been a sign of doom. Earlier this year, scoring leader and Patriot League Tournament MVP Jack Ferguson scored 25 points in a 100-85 victory at the Carrier Dome.

NO. 7 SOUTHERN CAL (26-7)

Los Angeles

Coach Andy Enfield became the Trojans’ target after guiding Florida Gulf Coast to the Sweet 16 in 2013 and just earned a contract extensions through 2027-28. He’s led the Trojans to four NCAA Tournaments. most of any coach in school history.

NO. 10 MIAMI (23-10)

Coral Gables, Fla.

Coach Jim Larranaga has never taken the Hurricanes past the Sweet 16, which he’s done twice in five prior appearances, but he has experience on that front: He took George Mason, then of the Colonial Athletic Association, to the Final Four in 2006.

NO. 2 AUBURN (27-5)

Auburn, Ala.

The Tigers struggled all season from 3-point range, and coach Bruce Pearl said after a quarterfinal loss to Texas A&M in the SEC quarterfinals that they should expect to see more of defenses daring the Tigers to beat them from outside going forward.

NO. 15 JACKSONVILLE ST. (21-10)

Jacksonville, Ala.

The Gamecocks won the Atlantic Sun Conference regular season championship but lost in the tournament semifinals. However, they got the ASUN’s automatic bid because tournament champion Bellarmine is ineligible for the automatic bid in the second-year of a four-years transition to Division I membership.