The South Region is where the Texas Tech basketball team finds itself and here’s a realistic path to the Final Four for the Red Raiders.
They say that the NCAA Tournament is all about matchups. That’s why fans of every tournament team are prone to obsessing over their quadrant of the draw.
This year, Tech finds itself in the South Region where there is an opportunity for the Red Raiders to make some noise. That’s because, when we take a look at the overall seedings of the teams in that quadrant that are ranked higher than Tech, you’ll find that only one, No. 3 Arkansas, is the tournament’s top team with that seed.
No. 1 seed, Baylor, No. 2 seed Ohio State, No. 4 seed Florida State, and No. 5 seed Villanova are all the second-highest overall seeded teams of the four teams with their regional seeding. The same can be said of Tech’s first-round opponent, No. 11 seed Utah State.
But what’s interesting is that the two top seeds in this region are each showing signs of vulnerability down the stretch. After an 18-0 start to the year, Baylor has dropped two games in the last three weeks and was also pushed to the limit by an Iowa State team that finished with just two wins on the year. Many people believe that this Baylor squad is not fully recovered from the COVID-19 pause that caused them to halt their season for the better part of three weeks.
Meanwhile, Ohio State has lost five of its last eight games, including four straight to close out the regular season. Prior to that, many believed that the Buckeyes were in line for a No. 1 seed but now, they look like they are not exactly firing on all cylinders.
Another team that is vulnerable in the South Region is Villanova. That’s because the Wildcats will be playing the NCAA Tournament without their star point guard Collin Gillespie, who suffered a torn MCL two weeks ago.
Even Florida State is starting to show some cracks. The Seminoles have lost three of their last six games including the ACC Tournament final to underdog Georgia Tech.
In all, this region is one of the more wide-open draws in the bracket and it should make for a fun two weekends of basketball. So let’s break down how this region might shake out in a way that sees Tech reaching the Final Four.