NCAA Tournament No. 1 and 2 Seeds South and Midwest Region Profiles
The March Madness brackets are being filled out, and the picks and pools finalized for the 2022 NCAA Tournament. March Madness tournament betting at leading online sportsbooks is most popular for the opening weekend games with wall-to-wall basketball as teams shoot for a spot in the Sweet Sixteen.
There are some fundamental keys to NCAA Tournament success as you evaluate the match-ups and stats prior to and during the tournament. As you break down the brackets and match-ups, futures odds and BetOnline each round of the NCAA Tournament, here are some team profiles, stats and odds outlook to track as the top teams advance through the NCAA Tournament.
The biggest sporting event of the year offers so many action-packed games throughout the tournament, and especially opening weekend. The top teams and seeds will be most popular picks in NCAA Tournament brackets and pools, and I've chipped in some profiles of those teams from the South and Midwest Regions.
Also, check out the top teams No. 1 and No. 2 seeds and profiles from the East and West Regions.
N - Neutral site A - Away
NET ranking: takes into account game results, strength of schedule, game location, scoring margin, net offensive and defensive efficiency, and the quality of wins and losses.
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No. 1 and 2 Seeds South Region
No. 1 Arizona
Key Wins: UCLA (2x), USC (A), Illinois (A), Michigan (N)
National Title Odds: +700
Final Four Odds: +150
KenPom: Top 5 offense and 2 point % shooting and top 10 effective FG%. Top 20 defense and top 10 effective FG% defense (adjusted efficiency ratings)
Twitter: @ArizonaMBB
Arizona's NET ranking is 2, and the Wildcats went 6-3 vs Quad 1 opponents and 9-0 vs Quad 2. Arizona was top 3 in the country in scoring (84.6 PPG).
No. 2 Villanova
Key Wins: Tennessee (N), Seton Hall (A), Providence (2x), Marquette (A), UCONN (2x), Creighton (2x)
NCAA Title Odds: +2200
Final Four Odds: +475
KenPom: Top 10 offense and top 30 defense. No. 1 in free throws (82.3%).
Twitter: @NovaMBB
Villanova's NET ranking is 8, and the Wildcats went 7-6 vs Quad 1 opponents and 10-1 vs Quad 2.
No.1 and 2 Seeds Midwest Region
No. 1 Kansas
Key Wins: Baylor, Texas Tech (2x), Iowa State (A), Texas, TCU (2x), Michigan State (N)
NCAA Title Odds: +1100
Final Four: +200
KenPom: Top 10 offense and top 30 defense.
Twitter: @KUHoops
Kansas had 12 Quad 1 wins - most in the country. The Jayhawks four Big 12 Quad 1 losses were all on the road, and they lost to Kentucky at home. Kansas has a NET ranking of 6.
No. 2 Auburn
Key Wins: Kentucky, Alabama (2x), Texas A&M, LSU, Murray State, Loyola-Chicago (N),
NCAA Title Odds +1200
Final Four: +250
KenPom: Top 25 offense, top 10 defense and defensive FG% and 2 point %. No. 1 in blocks %.
Twitter: @AuburnMBB
Auburn has a NET ranking of 11, and the Tigers went 8-5 vs Quad 1 opponents and 7-0 vs Quad 2.
FairwayJay is a proven sports handicapper including past documented top of the leaderboard college basketball results. FairwayJay chips in additional sports betting coverage and reporting on industry news and events. Read more great insights from FairwayJay and follow him on Twitter: @FairwayJay