March Madness 2022: Here's what to know about every team in the Midwest region
[Regional breakdowns: West | East | South | Midwest]
With the field for the 2022 men's NCAA tournament now official, we're breaking down each team in the field in the lead-up to the first tournament in two years. Here's what you need to know about the West region.
[Join the Yahoo Fantasy Tourney Pick 'Em $25K Best Bracket Contest]
No. 1 Kansas (+950 to win national title)
28-6, Big 12 champion
The Jayhawks finished 14-4 in the Big 12 and enter the NCAA tournament on a five-game win streak. Kansas is led by future NBA wing Ochai Agbaji as he averages nearly 20 points per game and shoots over 40% from three. KU has lost in the second round of the NCAA tournament in each of its last two appearances, but made the Final Four the last time it was a No. 1 seed in 2018. And Kansas appears to have one of the easiest paths to the Final Four of any of the No. 1 seeds in 2022.
No. 2 Auburn (+1400)
27-5, at-large
The Tigers won the regular-season SEC title and lost to Texas A&M in the SEC tournament. Potential No. 1 overall NBA draft pick Jabari Smith leads the Tigers with 17 points per game and North Carolina transfer Walker Kessler is a huge presence in the post. Kessler leads the team with eight rebounds and 4.5 blocks a game. A low-scoring affair seems be the way to beat Auburn. The Tigers averaged nearly 79 points per game and have scored exactly 62 points in each of their last three losses.
No. 3 Wisconsin (+8000)
24-7, at-large
Wisconsin is led by star sophomore and Big Ten player of the year Johnny Davis. He averages 19.7 points per game and 8.2 rebounds and has scored 10 or more points in each of the Badgers’ last nine games. Wisconsin, however, does enter the tournament on a two-game losing streak after losing to Nebraska to end the regular season and Michigan State in the Big Ten tournament. Eleven of Wisconsin’s 24 wins came by five points or fewer.
No. 4 Providence (+15000)
25-5, at-large
The Friars were the regular-season Big East champions, thanks to an eight-game winning streak that spanned across January and February. Both Nate Watson and Aljami Durham average over 13 points per game and the team gets to the free throw line over 20 times per game. That can be huge in the NCAA tournament, though Providence shoots less than 73% from the line as a team.
Randomly pick your final four teams in this 3D augmented reality slot machine:
No. 5 Iowa (+2500)
26-9, Big Ten champion
The Hawkeyes beat Purdue for the Big Ten tournament title on Sunday in a low-scoring game by Iowa and Purdue standards. Iowa lost three of four games to end January but then finished the season with a 12-2 record over its last 14 games and failed to score 80 points in just five of those games. Keegan Murray averages nearly 24 points per game and also pulls down nine rebounds. He could be a Sweet 16 nightmare for Kansas if the two teams meet in Chicago.
No. 6 LSU (+12500)
22-11, at-large
The Tigers enter the NCAA tournament without coach Will Wade. He was fired after LSU was eliminated from the SEC tournament by Arkansas because of the NCAA’s notice of allegations against the school. Wade, as you likely know, was been implicated in the FBI’s pay-for-play investigation and the Tigers cut ties once they formally got notice from the NCAA about alleged violations. On the court, Tari Eason leads the team with 17 points per game and Missouri transfer Xavier Pinson has been a key addition at point guard with nearly five assists a contest.
No. 7 USC (+12500)
26-7, at-large
USC made the Elite Eight a year ago as a No. 6 seed and returns to the tournament a seed lower and without likely NBA Rookie of the Year Evan Mobley. His brother, Isaiah, leads the Trojans with 14 points and eight rebounds a game and Drew Peterson shoots 41% from 3-point range. USC could be easily undone by bad free-throw shooting, however. The Trojans shoot just 66% from the stripe.
No. 8 San Diego State (+25000)
23-8, at-large
The Aztecs lost to Boise State in a close game for the Mountain West title on Saturday. That 53-52 defeat broke a six-game win streak that started after a one-point loss to the Broncos on Feb. 22. The Aztecs are one of the best defensive teams in the country and allow just 58 points per game — no one broke 60 against SDSU in the Mountain West tournament. Matt Bradley averages 17 points per game for San Diego State and shoots nearly 42% from behind the arc.
No. 9 Creighton (+25000)
22-11, at-large
Can we expect a very low-scoring game between the Blue Jays and Aztecs in the first round? Creighton is also one of the better defensive teams in the country and gives up 65 points per contest. The Big East title game loss to Villanova was by a score of 54-48 and Providence scored just 58 points against the Blue Jays in the semifinals. Ryan Hawkins and Ryan Kalkbrenner are a solid 1-2 combination in the post. The forwards each average over 13 points and nearly eight rebounds a game.
No. 10 Miami (+25000)
23-10, at-large
The Hurricanes finished fourth in a weak ACC and needed a buzzer-beater against No. 13 seed Boston College in the quarterfinals to advance to the semifinals to play Duke. Miami was swept by both Virginia and Florida State during the season but won games against Duke, North Carolina, and Virginia Tech. Senior Kameron McGusty averages almost 18 points per game and sophomore Isaiah Wong scores over 15 points a game.
No. 11 Iowa State (+25000)
20-12, at-large
The Cyclones got in as an at-large despite finishing 7-11 and sixth in the Big 12. Iowa State started the season 12-0 in non-conference play before winning just eight games after the calendar flipped to 2022. ISU’s streakiness continued into this year too. Iowa State had a four-game losing streak ahead of a four-game win streak broken by a three-game losing streak to end the season. Senior guard Izaiah Brockington leads the Cyclones in both points and rebounds.
No. 12 Richmond (+100000)
23-12, Atlantic-10 champion
The Spiders stole an NCAA tournament bid with a win over Davidson in the A-10 title game on Sunday. Richmond upset Dayton in the semifinals to get to the title game and knocked the Flyers out of the NCAA tournament. Seven of Richmond’s 22 A-10 regular-season and tournament games were decided by a single possession. Forward Tyler Burton leads the team with 16.3 points and 7.7 rebounds a game.
No. 13 South Dakota State (+50000)
30-4, Summit champion
A loss in the Summit League tournament would have been a cruel way for SDSU to end its season. The Jackrabbits went 18-0 in Summit League play and became the first school in league history to go undefeated in the regular season. SDSU then dispatched North Dakota State by six in the conference title game to clinch the league’s automatic berth. Baylor Scheierman and Douglas Wilson each average over 16 points per game and we’ve got a feeling the Jackrabbits will be an extremely popular upset pick.
No. 14 Colgate (+300000)
23-11, Patriot champion
The Raiders are back in the NCAA tournament as a No. 14 seed for the second consecutive season and enter the tournament on a 15-game win streak. Colgate’s last loss came to Boston on Jan. 28 and its only other conference loss was at Lehigh on Jan. 4. Both of those losses were by four points. Five players average at least 10 points per game for a team that makes 10 threes per game.
No. 15 Jacksonville State (+300000)
21-10, A-Sun champion
Jacksonville State is in the tournament despite losing to Jacksonville in the A-Sun tournament. Bellarmine won the A-Sun tournament but is ineligible for the NCAA tournament as its transitioning to the top level of college basketball. That means Jacksonville State got the A-Sun’s tournament berth as the regular-season champion. The Gamecocks went 13-3 in the conference and is the fifth-best 3-point shooting team in the country at 39%.
No. 16 Texas Southern (+500000)
18-12, SWAC champion
The Tigers are making their third NCAA tournament appearance of the last four postseasons and have been in the First Four each of those three times. Texas Southern is 2-0 in play-in games after beating North Carolina Central in 2018 and Mount St. Mary’s in 2021. This is a Tigers team that’s exceptionally deep and doesn’t have a go-to scorer. Eight players average between six and 9.9 points per game.
No. 16 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (+500000)
23-11, Southland champion
This is the Islanders’ first NCAA tournament appearance since 2007 when they were a No. 15 seed and lost to Wisconsin in the first round. This year’s team went just 7-7 in conference play and finished fourth in the conference before winning three games in the conference tournament to get to the NCAA tournament. Isaac Mushila leads the team with 13.5 points and 9.5 rebounds per game.
