The best three weeks in sports starts this week! The bracket has been revealed for the 2024 Men’s March Madness Tournament. The full list of 68 teams was released at 6 pm ET on Sunday, March 18th. The First Four starts this Tuesday night, March 19th, and goes through Wednesday night. The first full day of games begins this Thursday, March 21st starting from 12:15 pm ET until the last game of the night tips off at 10:05 pm ET. Let’s talk about the West region, and who the favorites are to win this section of the bracket and advance to the Final Four.
March Madness West Region Matchups
Side note: First of all, how North Carolina is in the West region when it is on the East Coast makes no sense. However, March Madness has not been known for being geographically accurate historically. Anyway, without further ado, here are all the matchups in the “West” region.
(1) North Carolina vs. winner of (16) Howard vs. (16) Wagner
(8) Mississippi State vs. (9) Michigan State
(5) Saint Mary’s vs. (12) Grand Canyon
(4) Alabama vs. (13) Charleston
(6) Clemson vs. (11) New Mexico
(3) Baylor vs. (14) Colgate
(7) Dayton vs (10) Nevada
(2) Arizona vs (15) Long Beach State
West Region Contenders For 2024 March Madness
North Carolina
Record: 27-7
What a surprise. A number-one seed is a contender in its region. What is surprising though is the Tar Heels missed the tournament last year for the first time in over a decade. But in 2024, they’re back and it’s with a vengeance. They’ve got ACC Player of the Year RJ Davis, who is averaging 21.4 points per game, 3.8 rebounds, and 1.2 steals. Fifth-year player Armando Bacot has been another key piece to the team’s success this season. Bacot is averaging 14.1 points per game and 10.2 rebounds. He is a force to be reckoned with on the glass.
North Carolina will have quite the homecourt advantage to start the tournament, playing their first game in nearby Charlotte, North Carolina. This certainly won’t be the only factor in UNC having tournament success, but it sure does add that little bit of energy and inspiration to the team’s on-court performance.
Alabama
Record: 21-11
This is Alabama’s fourth tournament appearance in head coach Nate Oats’ five years with the team. They score the most points in the nation at 90.8. Their top player, guard Mark Sears averages 21.1 points per game, makes over half his shots, and has an impressive three-point percentage of 43.1. Notable wins include a 79-75 victory against eventual SEC Champion Auburn on January 24th. The Crimson Tide’s high-powered offense is what would get them deep into the west region. Their defense, on the other hand, would not as they allow 81.1 points per game and don’t force turnovers well. Let’s see if Nate Oats can produce some magic with Mark Sears and the rest of the squad to make a deep tournament run in the West region.
Dark Horse Contender: New Mexico
Record: 26-9
The 11th seed Lobos are a team people should keep an eye on in the West region. They won the Mountain West title and have one of the best offenses in the country, averaging 81.5 points per game. This New Mexico team has great ball security and forces turnovers well. Their notable wins are beating 5th seed San Diego State twice. One win was 88-70 on January 13th, and the other was 68-61 on March 16th.
The Lobos don’t have one guy that scores a big percentage of their points, but rather a well-balanced offensive attack that has multiple scorers. Four players average 10 or more points per game. Their top scorer is guard Jaelen House who averages 16.1 points per game. Fellow guard Donovan Dent averages 5.6 assists per game along with 14.3 points. With their well-balanced offensive game combined with their defensive prowess that includes an average of 8.8 steals per game, New Mexico has the chance to knock off the higher seeds.