PPG Paints Arena will play host to first- and second-round NCAA men’s basketball tournament games March 15 and 17. Between now and Selection Sunday, the Post-Gazette is taking a weekly look at the teams projected to play here by ESPN “Bracketology” expert Joe Lunardi. We’re also keeping an eye on Penn State, which still has an outside chance to make the field. Here’s this week’s update:
Remember a couple of weeks ago when the local draw was looking pretty lame? Lunardi now expects we’ll have plenty of headliners and story lines to look forward to.
We’ll start with the No. 1 seeds. Yes, plural.
Xavier has joined Villanova on the top line this week and is slotted to join the Wildcats in Pittsburgh.
The reason? The selection committee gives higher seeds geographical consideration in the early rounds of the tournament, and Pittsburgh is one of only two host cities located reasonably close to either team’s home base. Detroit would also be in the mix, but it’s expected to absorb Michigan State and Purdue as No. 2 seeds.
It’s certainly possible the committee could flip and give each city a No. 1 and a No. 2 if those four teams remain in their current seedings. That would be a little more conventional. If you’re a local fan, however, it’s hard to complain about getting to see half the tournament’s top seeds take the PPG Paints Arena floor.
There’s also plenty of intrigue among the lower seeds slated to visit.
Oklahoma and star guard Trae Young have been pegged for a No. 8 seed and would play No. 9 N.C. State in the first round for the right to face the Wildcats, according to Lunardi. That’s interesting for two reasons.
The first, obviously, is Young. The freshman is averaging 28.3 points per game for the Sooners this season and is arguably the favorite to be named national player of the year. It would be neat to see him get a couple of games here.
It might also be fun to see N.C. State advance, though. That would likely set up a rematch between Villanova and the Wolfpack team it lost to as a No. 1 seed the last time the NCAA tournament visited Pittsburgh in 2015. Many of the principals from that matchup are gone, but it’s still rare to see a rematch of a recent tournament upset, let alone in the city where it happened. It doesn’t get much better than that for a second-round storyline.
Arkansas and Miami are slated for the other 8/9 matchup, with the winner advancing into a likely matchup with Xavier.
Penn State, meanwhile, has pretty much played itself off the bubble. The Nittany Lions aren’t on Lunardi’s radar this week as they head to the Big Ten tournament following losses against Michigan and Nebraska this past week.
The conference tournament will offer its opportunities. If the Lions get past an initial matchup with Northwestern, they’ll draw an Ohio State team they’ve beaten twice this season in the quarterfinals, then probably a ranked Purdue squad in the semifinals. Win those games and it’s possible Penn State will have the resume to sneak in, even if it falls short of a tournament title.
That’s an iffy proposition, though, so coach Patrick Chambers’ team is a much better bet for the NIT unless it can somehow earn the conference’s automatic bid with four wins in four days.
The full projected Pittsburgh draw is as follows:
East Region
No. 1 Villanova vs. No. 16 Arkansas-Pine Bluff/Wagner
No. 8 Oklahoma vs. No. 9 N.C. State
Midwest Region
No. 1 Xavier vs. No. 16 Florida Gulf Coast
No. 8 Arkansas vs. No. 9 Miami
Adam Bittner: abittner@post-gazette.com and Twitter @fugimaster24.
First Published: February 27, 2018, 4:22 p.m.