NCAA Tournament Preview: Midwest Region

The Midwest Region of the NCAA Tournament has already been dubbed "the region of chaos" by Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports, and rightly so. With lots of potential for upset due to the stronger teams dealing with injuries that significantly affect their depth, the lower seeds look poised to wreak some serious havoc. In fact, all of the top-4 seeds failed to secure their conference tournaments despite high ratings all year long, while Iowa State, Michigan, and Rhode Island all pulled off upsets to get automatic bids and conference tournament titles.

MIDWEST REGION PREVIEW

THE FAVORITES

No. 1 Kansas Jayhawks

The Jayhawks have been resilient all season, ending with a 28-4 record overall and earning their 13th consecutive Big 12 championship. Kansas is led by a talented lineup made up of National Player of the Year candidate Frank Mason (20.8 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 5.1 apg), projected lottery pick Josh Jackson (16.4 ppg, 7.2 rpg), and sophomore guard Devonte Graham (13.1 ppg, 4.3 apg). All three create a hard-to-stop offense, scoring nearly 83 points per game. Kansas' most glaring weakness is in their frontcourt, as they lost 7-foot freshman Udoka Azubuike to a season-ending wrist injury. Without Azubuike, they have had to rely upon the likes of Landen Lucas and Carlton Bragg to fill up frontcourt minutes. They came up short their first Big 12 Tournament game to TCU, but with Josh Jackson returning from a one-game suspension, the Jayhawks are still looking formidable and are a common pick among experts reach the Final Four.

No. 2 Louisville Cardinals

Rick Pitino's Cardinals bounced back quickly from a recruiting scandal that forced them out of last season's Big Dance, and now boast one of the longest and most athletic rotations in the field of 68, as well as the sixth-most efficient defense in the country (per KenPom). Louisville's rotation can go nine deep, and Pitino isn't afraid to switch things up in the frontcourt based on the opponent. This creates a matchup nightmare for other teams, who not only have to deal with leading scorer and starting shooting guard Donovan Mitchell (15.7 ppg), but four versatile big men in 7-footer Anas Mahmoud, 6-10 Ray Spalding, 6-9 Jaylen Johnson, and 6-10 Mangok Mathiang. Louisville bowed out of the ACC Tournament in a narrow loss to Duke, but could be poised to make a deep run into the tournament.

No. 3 Oregon Ducks

The Ducks recently lost big man Chris Boucher (11.8 ppg, 2.5 bpg) to a season-ending ACL tear, a JUCO transfer who provided them with solid bench minutes at both power forward and center. With their third-leading scorer and best shot blocker missing, this will put more pressure on top scorers Dillon Brooks, Villanova transfer Dylan Ennis, and Tyler Dorsey, as well as big man Jordan Bell, who will now be forced to play more than his average of 29 minutes per game. On the bright side, Oregon's clutch factor, Brooks, has served them well all season when healthy, earning a trio of buzzer-beating shots to clinch victories against Tennessee, UCLA and California. The Ducks boast several strong wins over the best teams in the Pac-12, but were defeated in the Pac-12 Tournament title game to Arizona. If the team can rally without Boucher, they could make a nice run in this year's tournament.

No. 4 Purdue Boilermakers

The Big Ten regular season champions come into the tournament with another staggering frontcourt composed of Big Ten Player of the Year Caleb "Biggie" Swanigan, and 7-2 center Isaac Haas, who together combine for 31.3 points per game, and each make over 53 percent of their shots from the field. These numbers are even more impressive for Swanigan, considering the big man makes 43 percent of his three-point shots. Purdue may finally have the backcourt they've needed to make a deep run in the tournament as well -- they have a rotation that runs nine players deep, and collectively they shoot 40 percent from behind the arc. Coach Matt Painter's team is a strong 4 seed that could look to create upsets if eventually matched up with Kansas in the Sweet Sixteen.

CINDERELLA WATCH

No. 11 Rhode Island Rams

The Rams made it to the Big Dance for the first time since 1999 when they defeated VCU in the Atlantic 10 Tournament Championship. Their biggest asset could be the fact they're finally getting healthy, which has led to convincing victories down the stretch. Senior guard E.C. Matthews bounced back from a season-ending knee injury in 2015-16 to lead his team in scoring with 14.8 points per game, and senior forward Hassan Martin missed games this year due to a quad injury. Furthermore, junior Jarvis Garrett missed an eight-game stretch due to an illness. With all their pieces back together, I could see Rhode Island not only beating Creighton (who is without their best player Mo Watson), but even an Oregon team without Chris Boucher.

No. 7 Michigan Wolverines
The Big Ten Tournament champions are rolling. Why? Could it be news networks obsession with their near disastrous plane crash on the runway as they left for Washington D.C. bringing them together? Or is it their experience and tenacity brought to the court by seniors Zak Irvin and Derrick Walton Jr.? It could very well be a little bit of both, but either way, the Wolverines have emerged victorious in five consecutive games leading up to the Big Dance, and they could just have the recipe and momentum to knock off two incredibly tough challenges in Oklahoma State and Louisville to make it to the Sweet Sixteen.

BIGGEST BUST

No. 5 Iowa State Cyclones

The Cyclones haven't lived up to tournament expectations in quite awhile. In fact, they've bowed out before the Sweet Sixteen five of the seven appearances they've made in the tournament since 2000. Despite the fact that they have an incredible offense and won the Big 12 tournament unexpectedly, I don't think they can keep up their streak. Iowa State has a couple of fantastic seniors making up their backcourt in Monte Morris and Naz Mitrou-Long, but I find it tough to pick this team over others, even though all of their losses, with the exception of Iowa and Texas, have came to tournament teams. They take care of the ball, but could get exposed on the glass due to their lack of size on the interior.

FIRST-ROUND UPSET

No. 12 Nevada Wolf Pack

In accordance with my statements above, I think Nevada has the potential to be the biggest upset in this quarter of the bracket over Iowa State, who have perennially been a bust. Second-year coach Eric Musselman has put together a long and athletic team since taking over. They, like Iowa State, have a very high-powered offense with a lot of versatility, which could lead to a shootout. Whoever has the hot-hand could very well take this one, and with NBA prospect Marcus Marshall and sophomore star Cameron Oliver leading the way, the Wolfpack could be too much for Iowa State to handle.

PLAYER TO WATCH

Miles Bridges, G, Michigan State -- Bridges has enough athleticism to power his team to victory despite their lack of front court depth if he and fellow freshman Nick Ward can get the ball rolling early and stay out of foul trouble. He averages 16.8 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.6 blocks per game. Before losing to Minnesota, Bridges kept showing off this athleticism, with one 360-breakaway dunk, and a couple of way-above-the-rim alley-oops. Even if Michigan State doesn't come away with the victory, Bridges is sure to be fun to watch in the tournament.

SWEET 16 PICKS

No. 1 Kansas Jayhawks

I have a feeling a full-strength Kansas team is going to too much for either No. 8 Miami or No. 9 Michigan State. Miami has potential for an upset, as they were in a one of the nation's toughest conferences and are battle-tested, but they have shown inconsistencies on both the offensive and defensive end that make me pick Kansas. Michigan State has a similar story, but lacks the necessary depth and experience to beat a well-rounded team like the Jayhawks.

No. 4 Purdue Boilermakers

Purdue draws a Vermont team with no wins over the top-25. This would easily be the hardest task in Vermont's season, even though they went 16-0 in conference play. Purdue will use their superior size to generate tough matchups on the interior against either Iowa State or Nevada as well.

No. 11 Rhode Island Rams

I think Rhody has the momentum on their side, coming off the A10 Championship, and could defeat a weakened Mo Watson-less Creighton team in the round of 64. After that, they would face either an Oregon team with a lack of frontcourt depth, or No. 14, MAAC Tournament champions Iona.

No. 7 Michigan Wolverines
Michigan is hitting absolutely every important shot, and playing tremendous defense. The Wolverines made 10 three-pointers and shot 56 percent from the field against Wisconsin in the Big Ten Tournament Championship, led by Derrick Walton . With their offense firing on all cylinders, the Wolverines will make a tough out, and could even beat Louisville.

FINAL FOUR PICK

I struggle with this pick, but I'm going with No. 4-ranked Purdue. They have superior size to almost anyone in the country, and could outmatch Kansas on the inside with the dominant presence of both Caleb Swanigan and Isaac Haas. While this will take considerable effort on the defensive end, if Purdue gets on a hot streak, they are very, very dangerous. If the case is how I previously picked, they would then face Michigan or Rhode Island. The Boilermakers know Michigan well, and despite getting eliminated by them in the conference tournament, have a better chance of beating them than Michigan does of keeping up its hot streak. Additionally, they would outmatch No. 11 Rhode Island, who would at that point likely be word down after pulling an upset on both Oregon and Creighton.