The "Big Dance" is returning to Greenville for the 1st time since 2017. 8 Teams comprised of two four team pods will compete Friday at Bon Secours Wellness Arena. 6 games will be held in Greenville, 4 on Friday and then two on Sunday. Two teams of the 8 will move on to the round of 16. The 8 team field at "the Well" includes traditional powers like Duke and Michigan State and regional flavor like Auburn who held the #1 ranking for a large portion of the season, and Davidson who has been a solid mid-major for years.
The two games from the Midwest Regional will be the 2 seed Auburn taking on the 15 seed Jacksonville State. JSU is the only low-major who didn't win or get to the finals of their conference tourney, to get in the NCAA Tournament. They had the Atlantic Sun's best regular season record at 13-3 but lost in the conference Semifinals. It was a technicality that allowed them to get in the dance, as Bellarmine who won the A-Sun tourney is in their transition period into D-1 and isn't eligible for the NCAA Tournament yet. JSU is led by Darian Adams who averages 15.6 points per and shoots the three ball at a 38% clip.
Auburn comes in 27-6, the Tigers as I mentioned previously held the #1 ranking for weeks throughout the season. While Auburn was seen as one of the favorites to make the Final 4, the luster has come off during a bit of a late season swoon. Four of the six Auburn losses have come since February 7th. Auburn struggled shooting the ball from deep in the last month of the season and made just 32% of their 3 point attempts on the season. So they do have a weakness, however Auburn is immensely talented. They are one of the few teams that feature two players that average 7 or more rebounds per game and block 8 shots per game as a team. 7 footer Walker Kessler, averages 8 boards per and 4.5 blocks per which is good for 2nd nationally. They have star power with Jabari Smith a 6ft10 silky smooth Freshman who is a projected top 3 pick in the upcoming NBA draft. Smith averages 17 points and 7 boards per, Wendell Green Jr is their floor general averaging 12 PPG and 5 assists. K.D. Johnson scores a dozen per and is their best perimeter defender averaging 2 steals a contest.
Southern Cal will be in Greenville as the 7 seed from the Midwest region. The Trojans are led by Coach Andy Enfield who is no stranger to success in March. Enfield become a coaching commodity after he led Florida Gulf Coast to upsets over Georgetown and San Diego State in the 2013 tournament. Enfield FGCU team is the only 15 seed to ever make the round of 16. His So. Cal team isn't as exciting as that team, but they've won over 25 games. The Trojans are 26-7 and had a 14-6 mark in the Pac-12. They hang their hat on the defensive end, allowing just 66 point per game. They also have offensive balance with 4 players scoring in double figures. Southern Cal is led by Isaiah Mobley, who's the brother of former Trojan standout and current Cleveland Cavalier Evan Mobley. Isaiah has picked up the production since his brother went pro last summer, scoring 14 per game and grabbing 8.5 boards. Also, it'll be a homecoming of sorts for Trojan Forward Chevez Goodwin. The Columbia, SC Native will be back hooping in his home state. Goodwin had stops at both Charleston and Wofford before going to L.A.
Their opponent will be the Miami Hurricanes, the 10 seed in the Midwest Region. They are led by Kam McGusty, a 6th year Senior who averages 17.6 per game. The Katy Texas native was recently named to the ACC Tournament 1st team. The Canes have two other players averaging in double figures in Isaiah Wong at 15 points per and an impressive 4 rebounds per game for a guy generously listed at 6ft 2. Jordan Miller adds 10 points per and 6 boards to the Miami line up. Miami Head Coach Jim Larranaga is also no stranger to winning this time of year. He was the architect of George Mason's improbable Final 4 run in 2006. The Patriots were just the second 11 seed in history to make that run, since then VCU and Loyola have done so.
The 4 team pod in the West Region features an intriguing 7 vs 10 match up. The 7 seed is Michigan State led by legendary Coach Tom Izzo, who has led the program to 8 Final Fours. They will match up with 10 seed Davidson coached by one of the best mid-major level coaches in the game in Bob McKillop. In his 32 years at the helm there, he's now led Davidson to the NCAA Tournament 10 times. Most basketball fans remember Davidson's Elite 8 run in 2008 with McKillop and Steph Curry. This year's Davidson team got their 1st ever at-large birth as they fell in the Atlantic-10 Tournament Final to Richmond. The Wildcats will travel well to G-Vegas, as the road trip is under 2 hours one-way.
Coach K's final run in the NCAA Tournament will start in Greenville. The legendary coach has led the program to 12 Final Fours and 5 National Titles. Duke is loaded with talent, as they have 5 players who are projected 1st round picks in this year's NBA draft. Coach K will look to avoid a repeat of history though. In 2017, when the NCAA Tournament was last in Greenville the Devils were a 2 seed and fell to South Carolina, as the Gamecocks went on to make their only Final 4 appearance. Duke will take on the West Region's 15 seed, Cal-State Fullerton who won the Big West Conference Title. There's no doubt that Greenville will be flooded with Duke fans and hoop fans in general looking to see if Coach K can make one last run at a title, before hanging it up.
The opener at the Well Friday will be Auburn and Jacksonville State, that game is set for a 12:40 tip off. Miami and Southern Cal is the 2nd game of the daytime session at 3:10. Duke will take the floor in primetime in a 7:10 scheduled tip with Cal-Fullerton. Michigan State and Davidson will be the nightcap, it is set to get underway at 9:40. The times for Sunday's games are yet to be announced. 8 teams will break out the dancing shoes in the Upstate and two will tango their way to the round of 16.