By Andrew Posadas
The time is upon us to fill out a bracket that seals the fate of the NCAA tournament in our opinion. If you’re like me, you’ve watched enough college basketball this year to be temporarily granted the title of “expert analyst.” You’ve spent countless hours watching conference tournaments this past weekend. You’ve watched the NCAA Selection show and you’ll watch “Bracketology” on ESPN until the first game tips off at noon this Thursday.
However, no matter which teams you pick to win, there’s one question that will have you pondering the next few days: who’s this year’s Cinderella?
Having seen the brackets, three teams might use fairy godmother’s magic to make a deep run in this tournament.
1.UCLA-11th seed, East Region
All of this depends on UCLA winning their First Four game in Dayton against Saint Bonaventure on Tuesday night. Should they win, the bottom half of the East region should be on alert. Granted, the Pac-12 Conference underperformed this year, with only three teams receiving bids this year. Conference woes aside, do not sleep on UCLA. They had two big wins against fellow NCAA tourney teams in Arizona and Kentucky, both coming away from home. Aaron Holiday is one of the most underrated guards in the country; he isn’t afraid to take and make big shots. Thomas Welsh is a walking double-double with a dangerous midrange game. Add young, talented freshman Jaylen Hands, and the Bruins have the recipe to get to the second weekend. Remember this: the last time UCLA entered a tournament as an 11th seed? Back in 2015, where they ended up in the Sweet Sixteen.
2.Providence-10th seed, West Region
Coach Ed Cooley and his Friars were the talk of the town in Manhattan this past weekend at the Big East Conference tournament. A team floating on the bubble, Providence needed a good showing to cement their resume in looking for an NCAA tourney bid. Not only did they have a good showing, they reached the finals of the Big East tournament, losing to Villanova in overtime. Along the way, they beat NCAA tournament teams Creighton and top-seeded Xavier — especially impressive considering they were down at halftime in both of those games, only to force overtime and earn hard-fought victories. This team has no surrender in them. Senior Guard Kyron Cartwright brings Coach Cooley’s “never say die” attitude onto the court every single game. To get to the Sweet Sixteen this year, they will have to get past UNC in the second round. The last two times they’ve faced each other, Carolina has come out on top. Is the third time the charm for this Providence squad? We shall see.
3.Loyola-Chicago-11th seed, South Region
My last choice for a Cinderella epitomizes what a Cinderella truly is: a school nobody has heard of who ends up shocking everyone and busting some brackets along the way. The “Ramblers” are making their first NCAA tourney appearance since 1985, where they made it into the Sweet Sixteen as a four seed. Thirty-three years later, this year’s Ramblers squad is seasoned with upper-classmen ready to jump into the national spotlight. Spreading the wealth on offense, five players on Loyola-Chicago average double figures in scoring. Not only do they rank third nationally in offensive field-goal percentage, their defense ranks fifth in the nation, only allowing 62.2 points per game. This is a balanced team on both sides of the floor who have a signature win against NCAA tournament team Florida in Gainesville back on Dec. 6th. If any double-digit seed in the tournament has the potential to make it into the Sweet Sixteen and possibly deeper, look no further than the Ramblers from Chi-Town. The mark of a Cinderella is a team with experience and balance. Loyola-Chicago fits the bill perfectly.