Who can win the NCAA Tournament? The teams that Eamonn Brennan thinks can do it
New York TimesThe Athletic has live coverage of the NCAA Tournament National Championship game. The KenPom.com top six Why they can win it all: As we’ve written at length the past few weeks, there is basically nothing to dislike about Houston’s profile as a national title team. Cronin’s last two UCLA teams have experienced plenty of success — the 2021 team shot its way to the Final Four, while last year’s team was very balanced the entire season before running into that super-hot UNC team in the Sweet 16 — but none of them have guarded like this. Combine an exhilarating scheme with lottery-pick talent, and then throw in the fact that Alabama is also one of the best defensive teams in the country — the Tide play fast, but they allow fewer points per trip than almost any other team in Division I — and it’s not hard to understand why so many people are picking this team to win it all. Nobody would argue the 2022-23 Zags are remotely close to the level hit by the 2020-21 team, which arrived at the Final Four undefeated, or even last year’s group, which featured Chet Holmgren as, like, a second offensive floor-stretching option, which was crazy at the time but is utterly ridiculous in retrospect.
History of this topic
Led by No. 1 seed USC, the Pac-12 has 7 teams in the NCAA Tournament in its final run
Associated Press
UCLA lands highest women’s NCAA tourney seed in its history, but falls short of No. 1
LA Times
NCAA Tournament East Region analysis: Can UConn emerge and repeat as champions?
New York Times
UCLA's March Madness toughness will be tested on Final Four trek
LA Times
NCAA Tournament West Region analysis: Kansas, UCLA, Gonzaga and more
New York Times
Will UCLA win the Pac-12 basketball title after being a preseason darling?
LA Times
‘Nothing replaces winning': Big 12 back from the brink
Associated Press
Roundtable: Here’s what UCLA and USC need to do to earn NCAA tournament success
LA Times
NCAA Tournament success has eluded Smart since VCU run
Associated Press
NCAA women’s basketball tournament: Third-seeded UCLA to open against Wyoming
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