Texas Basketball: A look at the bottom half of the Midwest Region
By Shane Black
Potential Sweet Sixteen Matchups
No. 3 seed – Xavier Musketeers – (25-9, 17-6)
Year one of the Sean Miller return has been a success, to say the least. Coach Miller led the Musketeers to their highest winning season since 2018 as Xavier finished second in the Big East regular season and tournament.
The Musketeers are a high-flyin’ offense that averages 81.4 points per game, good for 12th in the nation. This team has five double-digit scorers, including four players that average 14+ PPG.
Miller runs a seven-man rotation that features five seniors and one junior. Guards Souley Boum and Colby Jones make up one of the nation’s most electric backcourts and are a duo that can carry a team in March. Xavier can have lapses on the defensive end, but their well-drilled offensive scheme will allow this team to hang with anyone in the country.
No. 6 seed Iowa State Cyclones – (19-13, 10-10)
The Iowa State Cyclones enter the NCAA Tournament reeling. They hold a 2-7 record over the last three weeks and have not beaten a team other than Baylor since Feb. 15. Third leading scorer Caleb Grill is no longer with the team, a massive loss for a squad that already struggles to put the ball in the bucket.
Texas split the season series against the Cyclones, losing by 11 in Ames but winning by 18 inside the Moody Center. This Iowa State team gets after you on the defensive end, ranking second in turnover percentage and eighth in adjusted defensive efficiency. Their adjusted tempo of 64.3 possessions per game is the sixth-slowest of any team in the Tournament.,
Iowa State will have no problem limiting opposing offenses; the question becomes, can they score enough to advance? Coach TJ Otzelberger needs senior guards Jaren Holmes and Gabe Kalscheur to combine for 30-35 PPG if the Cyclones have any chance of advancing deep into the Tournament.
No. 11 seed Mississippi State Bulldogs – (21-12, 9-11)
Mississippi State was one of the last four teams admitted into the NCAA Tournament and will head to Dayton for a First Four matchup against Pittsburgh. The Bulldogs had a rough stretch in late December/early January, where they won just one of nine games, but put together solid bookends of the season to get a chance to prove their meddle in the dance.
First-year head coach Chris Jans is all about one thing: defense. Jans is a defensive mastermind that has coached up this Bulldog team to defend as aggressively as anyone in the country. Mississippi State finished the season ranked sixth in adjusted defensive efficiency and gave up over 70 points just five times in regulation. The Bulldogs look to slow the game down and force you to run 25 seconds of solid offense to even get a good look at the hoop.
Their offense, however, has been an Achilles heel. Mississippi State averaged under 60 points in their 12 losses this season and shot the nation’s worst 26.3 percent from three. The Bulldogs could muck up a game or two, but if they want to go on a cinderella run, upperclassmen Tolu Smith, Shakeel Moore, and DJ Jefferies have to give Coach Jans solid outputs on the offensive side of the ball.
No. 11 seed Pittsburgh Panthers – (22-11, 15-7)
Pittsburgh was one of the last four teams admitted into the NCAA Tournament and will head to Dayton for a First Four matchup against Mississippi State. The Panthers took advantage of a down ACC and finished tied for third in the conference with a 14-6 record. Pitt is 4-5 this season against NCAA Tournament teams, with their best wins coming at home against Virginia and Miami.
Coach Jeff Capel’s team is paced by their offense which averaged 76.1 points per game this season. Upperclassmen guards Jamarius Burton and Blake Hinson combined to average over 31 PPG and are the kind of backcourt that can carry a team deep into the Tournament.
The Panthers get after you on the defensive end and are one of the better teams in the country at forcing turnovers. That said, their offense is also prone to getting erratic with the basketball.
Pittsburgh is a team that, when everything is clicking, can run with anyone in the country. Unfortunately for Coach Capel and company, their volatile nature has plagued them all season.
No. 14 seed Kennesaw State Owls – (26-8, 18-3)
The turnaround fourth-year head coach Amir Abdur-Rahim has brought to the Kennesaw State basketball program has been nothing short of extraordinary. During his first season as head coach, the Owls finished 1-28. Three years later, they are into the program’s first NCAA Tournament as a 14-seed.
Kennesaw State finished the season 26-8, tying Liberty for the A-Sun regular season crown while taking down the Flames 67-66 in the A-Sun Tournament Championship. The Owls have played two NCAA Tournament teams this season, losing to No. 4 seed Indiana 69-55 and No. 12 seed VCU 64-61.
Next. 3 blue-chip recruits Texas can secure in March. dark
This team does not pop off the page with any gaudy numbers on either side of the ball. They trot out a nine-man rotation featuring six upperclassmen, including do-it-all guard Terrell Burden. The Owls have won 16 of their last 18 games and are a good shooting performance away from challenging Xavier in the Round of 64.