CHICAGO — The Midwest Region in the 2022 NCAA Tournament features a handful of interesting teams at the top and bottom.
No. 1 seed Kansas leads the way, following by Auburn, which was the No. 1 ranked team in college basketball for a period during the season, Big Ten Champion Wisconsin Badgers, Big East Champion Providence and Big Ten Tournament Champion Iowa.
Some lower seeds including the No. 7 seed USC and No. 10 seed Miami will also look to shake things up in this bracket.
No. 1 seed Kansas is looking to get back to the Final Four for the first time since 2018. Kansas ranks sixth overall in KenPom after a 28-6 year. They have strong guard play with their leading scores being Ochai Agbaji and Christian Braun. They’re hot right now too, winning their last five games including three in the Big 12 Tournament.
LOCKED ON BRACKET BREAKDOWN SHOW: Catch the full bracket breakdown from the Locked On Podcast Network to help you preview the tournament and fill out your bracket
No. 2 seed Auburn faltered a bit down the stretch but they are a very strong team, and probably the most talented Tigers team of all time led by Jabari Smith. But three of their five losses on the year came in their final six games. Getting to the Final Four is not going to be an easy mission.
No. 3 seed Wisconsin won a share of the Big Ten after another spectacular season. However, their 33rd ranking in KenPom is by far the lowest out of all the 3 seeds in the tournament. They also lost their final two games of the year to Nebraska and Michigan State. They’re going to have to do very well to make a run in this tournament.
No. 4 seed Providence had an incredible regular season, winning the Big East, but they’re another team in this region that faltered a little bit down the stretch, losing two of their last three games. They have no easy task in the first round against a 30-4 South Dakota State team.
No. 5 seed Iowa is a really interesting team coming in. They went on an incredible run to win the Big Ten Tournament and they're playing their best right now. If they can get to the Sweet 16, they have an upset chance against Kansas. Iowa All-American Keegan Murray is averaging nearly 24 points per game and they have plenty of experience on the floor at all times.
Midwest Region First Round Matchups
No. 1 seed Kansas vs. No. 16 seed Texas Southern
No. 8 seed San Diego State vs. No. 9 seed Creighton
No. 5 seed Iowa vs. No. 12 seed Richmond
No. 4 seed Providence vs. No. 13 seed South Dakota State
No. 6 seed LSU vs. No. 11 seed Iowa State
No. 3 seed Wisconsin vs. No. 14 seed Colgate
No. 7 seed Southern California vs. No. 10 seed Miami (FL)
No. 2 seed Auburn vs. No. 15 seed Jacksonville State
Upset alert
Pretty much every NCAA Tournament game there’s a possibility for an upset, but let’s look at a few games where upset will be on the mind of many filling out a bracket.
No. 13 South Dakota State vs. No. 4 Providence
The 13 seeds have done very well in the past few NCAA Tournaments and South Dakota State has the best chance to advance out of the first weekend this year. South Dakota State is a 30-4 team that ranks 12th in offensive efficiency by KenPom. Providence is a weak defense team that could get exposed here. The magic of their regular season ran out at the end of the year. They’re definitely on upset alert.
No. 14 Colgate vs. No. 3 Wisconsin
If a 14-seed is going to advance into the second round, there might not be a better chance the tournament than here with Colgate against Wisconsin. We saw Colgate give Arkansas a lot of trouble last year before Arkansas ended up with the win. They’re coming right back with that experience following another strong season. If they can find a way to shut down All-American Johnny Davis, they have a shot at winning this game.
Elite Eight predictions
On the Locked On Bracket Breakdown show, our three experts have the following teams advancing to the Elite Eight in this region, the national quarterfinals.
Andy Patton, Locked On Zags podcast: No. 1 Kansas vs. No. 2 Auburn
Chris Gordy, Locked On SEC podcast: No. 2 Auburn vs. No. 1 Kansas
Lee Sterling, Locked On Bets podcast: No. 1 Kansas vs. No. 3 Wisconsin