2015 NCAA Tournament: Davidson leads local mid-majors

Let the madness of the 2015 NCAA tournament begin.

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The field of 68 was set on Sunday night as the conference tournaments ended and tickets were further punched into the field. In a field full of mostly power-conference teams, the three local mid majors (which we ranked yesterday), all found out their fate and have interesting challenges in their own right.

Region: South

March 20

Seattle, Washington

Davidson finds themselves at a higher seed than most thought, holding the tenth slot in the South region taking on the seventh seed Iowa Hawkeyes.

The Hawkeyes have reached the tournament for the second straight season with a 21-11 record. Having been battle-tested by the Big Ten, they’re led be senior forward Aaron White who is first on the team in scoring and rebounding.

This proves an interesting matchup for the Wildcats, who will have to use their dynamic style in order to make things interesting. Should they contain White, they’ll be moving on to the Round of 32.

Region: West

March 19

Jacksonville, Florida

The champions of the SoCon are exactly where they want to be, as a dangerous 12-seed going up against a quality SEC opponent in the heart of SEC country.

The Razorbacks are just coming off being dismantled by Kentucky in the SEC Tournament championship game, and were rewarded with the fifth seed in the west region for a 26-8 season.

Wofford will outmatched primarily in the paint, and will need to score quickly and efficiently if they want a chance. If they can catch the Hogs napping, we could have the first of a few 5-12 upsets in this year’s tournament.

Region: West

March 20

Omaha, Nebraska

What is a Chanticleer, you ask? They’re the back-to-back champions of the Big South Conference, and despite head coach Cliff Ellis’s cries for a higher seed and more credit, they were given the distinction of being Wisconsin’s first opponent.

The Badgers come in as the champions of the Big Ten, and have been a house of fire over the past couple of months. Frank Kaminsky is arguably one of the best players in the country, but the supporting cast also proved their fight most recently in an overtime win against Michigan State that gave Wisconsin the conference crown.

The Chanticleers have lots of veteran presence, and could give the Badgers trouble early, but the talent of Kaminsky could prove too tough to overcome. Then again, who knows? Some feel that the time has come for a 16-seed to finally defeat a top-seed.

It is March, after all, anything could happen.