2016 NCAA Tournament: Bracket, Preview, Breakdown & Predictions

East Region

(1) North Carolina Tar Heels vs. (16) Winner of Florida Gulf Coast Eagles vs. Fairleigh Dickinson Knights

Finally, North Carolina is playing the type of basketball we’ve expected from them all season. The Tar Heels couldn’t have picked a more perfect time to finally put it all together. Brice Johnson had been carrying the load for UNC, but Marcus Paige has re-established himself as a scoring threat the last few games.

Another Dayton Opening Round game, this one featuring two mid-majors that won’t have much of a chance in this game against the Tar Heels. FGCU sloshed through the regular season but destroyed Atlantic Sun regular-season champ North Florida in the semifinals on their way to the title.

Meanwhile, Fairleigh Dickinson won its last five games to claim the Northeast Conference title.

Not much to see here.

Winner: North Carolina by 17

(8) USC Trojans vs. (9) Providence Friars

Two teams that went from potential No. 5 seeds to two teams just narrowly securing NCAA tournament bids early enough that they didn’t have to worry about getting in.

USC’s a fun, athletic team that had some really good wins early in the season (Wichita State, Arizona) but really struggled to keep it together late, going 3-7 in their final 10 games of the season.

Providence couldn’t live up to that early-season success, either. Kris Dunn and Ben Bentil carried this team all season and they appeared to teeter down the stretch, including a three-game losing streak that included losses to DePaul and Marquette.

At this point, it’s hard to see either team making a whole lot of noise in the tournament beyond this game. Neither is playing great basketball, but Dunn and Bentil will be the difference here.

Winner: Providence by five

(5) Indiana Hoosiers vs. (12) Chattanooga Mocs

Is Indiana actually good? That’s a question we’ve had to ask all season. They were not good in the early portion of the season but came together after James Blackmon’s season ending injury. It’s not often a team excels without one of their better players, but that’s what Indiana has done, winning the Big Ten regular-season title to boot.

Chattanooga’s a team that’s been playing with house money all season, entering the year with a new coach then losing their top player to an injury early in the season. Going 29-5 is an incredible feat and the Mocs have done so by relying on everybody to step up. It’s a unit, not individuals, which makes them as dangerous a team as anyone.

Winner: Chattanooga by seven

(4) Kentucky Wildcats vs. (13) Stony Brook Seawolves 

Underseeded? Probably. Kentucky’s been clicking in all aspects, winning each of their last five games and 10 of their last 12. Tyler Ulis has been amazing this season, playing both ends of the court (SEC Player of the Year and Defensive POY) despite not being an outside shooter. That’s left for Jamal Murray.

Stony Brook’s the feel-good story of the NCAA tournament, FINALLY getting over the hump and winning the America East title behind Jameel Warney’s 43 points. Warney’s a beast, plain and simple. He’s physical, uses his body well and has great touch around the rim.

The matchup of the game is the battle of the bigs. Kentucky’s bigs haven’t played up to expectation this season, but they still have size. Warney, for all his talents, his only 6-foot-8. Having that size advantage to get Warney off his game will be a deciding factor and Ulis’ play is hard to pick against here.

Winner: Kentucky by 20

(6) Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs. (11) Winner of Michigan Wolverines vs. Tulsa Golden Hurricane

Despite losing its top two players from last season, Notre Dame has come back and been as solid as you could hope. Zach Auguste and Demetrius Jackson are a dynamic duo for the Fighting Irish, averaging more than 30 points per game. They’re rather inconsistent, though. For all the good wins Notre Dame has, they also have some head scratching losses, including at Florida State and at Georgia Tech.

I had Tulsa in my preseason field, but I don’t feel like they deserve to be here. However, their backcourt of James Woodard and Shaquille Harrison is as good as most in the country, averaging 30 points, 10 points and six assists.

They’ll have the edge over Michigan here, but probably don’t have enough three-point defense (allowing 36.1 percent from downtown) to contain Notre Dame’s outside attack (shooting 36.9 percent).

Winner: Notre Dame by 15

(3) West Virginia Mountaineers vs. (14) Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks

Two defenses that play a similar style but in very different ways. West Virginia’s stifiling defense forces teams into 18.15 turnovers per game, which ranks second in the nation. Meanwhile, Stephen F. Austin ranks first in that category, forcing 18.63 turnovers per game.

The question of this game is who will take care of the ball better? West Virginia’s turnover rate is a little better considering their competition level in the Big 12 while Stephen F. Austin benefits from the Southland Conference being … not great.

Brad Underwood knows how to win, though, but so does Bob Huggins. This one could actually go either way, it just depends on if you believe that the Mountaineers are that much better than the Lumberjacks. If you don’t, think long and hard on this one.

Winner: West Virginia by four

(7) Wisconsin Badgers vs. (10) Pittsburgh Panthers 

Greg Gard has been fantastic for Wisconsin since taking over for Bo Ryan in December. He took a team that looked like an NIT at best to being firmly in the NCAA tournament field rather quickly. The Badgers lost their last two games of the season, but won 11 of 12 prior to that.

Another team I’m not really sure should be here, but they’re here. Pittsburgh lost four of the last six games prior to the start of the NCAA tournament, a stretch that features a 17-point loss to North Carolina in the ACC tournament. But they also beat Duke by 14 a couple weeks ago. So what is this team exactly? A mystery.

Winner: Wisconsin by 11

(2) Xavier Musketeers vs. (15) Weber State Wildcats

One of those teams that you wouldn’t be surprised to make a Final Four run but also wouldn’t be shocked to see them bounced earlier than expected. Four players average double figures in scoring and two others are just less than 10 points per game. Xavier’s deep and can beat teams with any number of people leading the way.

Joel Bolomboy’s a name you’ll want to remember for this game. A lanky big man with great leaping ability, Bolomboy’s the Big Sky Player of the Year and can dominate a game. However, one thing that’s evident in his game is he tends to pick his moments and isn’t always engaged. That’s how Xavier kills opponents and it’ll lead them here.

Next: Midwest Region