It’s the most wonderful time of the year (at least for basketball fans). Yes, March Madness is here, and as I write, millions of people are filling brackets out with hopes of winning whatever office pool or friend league they are in. While everyone has different strategies, one would think the people who watch the most basketball or have the most basketball knowledge would win every time. Well, if you’ve ever competed in a bracket league before, you know that is far from the truth. Every year no matter how many articles you read from college basketball experts or how many games you watch during the regular season, Jessica from accounting who couldn't name a single player in the tournament wins the whole thing. So this year, for the sake of basketball diehards, I decided to make a bracket where instead of picking the teams who are projected to win, I picked the teams whose style of play is the most aesthetically pleasing, using my College Basketball Watchability Index. There have been countless times, and I’m sure I’m not the only one to experience this, where I pick a team with a boring style of play to go far in the tournament because they’ve been successful (i.e Cincinnati, Virginia), only to find myself rooting for the double-digit seed underdog playing them because of how fun they are to watch (i.e Florida Gulf Coast, Loyola Chicago). Sports are about entertainment, and while undoubtedly defense wins championships, no one wants to see final four games where teams are failing to score 50 points in 40 minutes of playing time. So, for all the fans out there who just want to see good basketball this March, here is Max’s Watchability Index Bracket. (For info about MWI, click here: https://fanalysis.weebly.com/blog/december-12th-2018) Most Watchable Teams: North Carolina: Ranking inside the top ten in both Pace of Play and Assists Per Field Goals Made, Roy Williams' style very closely resembles the Run TMC Warriors that were so fun to watch in the early 90s (minus the horrid defense). The Tar Heels are always a joy to watch and should be playing late into the tournament. Michigan State: The number one passing team in the nation now three years in a row, here's hoping Tom Izzo's squad can at least make it to the second weekend this time so we can see more of the beautiful basketball his team exhibits. Virginia Tech: Maybe the most complete team in the nation besides it's in-state rival Virginia, the only Watchability stat that Tech doesn't rank inside the top 30 in the nation is Pace of Play, which they rank inside the bottom 50 due to their elite defense. Buzz Williams' squad will be a tough out this March. Buffalo: Fast and efficient is two words many people use to describe Steve Kerr's Golden State Warriors. The same also goes for Nate Oat's Buffalo Bulls. Ranking 16th in Offensive Efficiency and 12th in Pace of Play, this might be my favorite team in this year's tournament, and maybe ever. Marquette: Shooting almost 40 percent from three while ranking inside the top 100 in three point attempts, this team loves to pull it from deep, and I love them because of it. Not to mention they rank inside the top 100 in both offensive efficiency and pace of play. Nevada: Top 20 in Offensive efficiency, the Martin brothers may be the most entertaining duo in college basketball. Auburn: With an astounding 43% percent of their points coming from the three, Bruce Pearl's Seven Seconds or Less offense is one of the more fun to watch in the nation. Honorable Mentions: Iowa State: Top 20 in both efficiency categories but just average in APFGM and PoP from three. and bottom 100 in Pace of Play. Wofford: While 40 percent of their points come from three and are elite in efficiency, they are bottom 100 in APFGM Villanova: Even though they're not nearly as fast and efficient as their last two championship squads, the Cats still rank inside top 50 in APFGM and ninth in Pace of Play. And with Jay Wright still at the helm, they should be on every team's radar. Least Watchable Teams: Cincinnati: Inside the bottom 100 in Effective Field Goal Percentage, Pace of Play and PoP from three, Mick Cronin is one of the many control freak coaches that make the sport unwatchable. Wisconsin: Even though the Bo Ryan era is long gone, his replacement Greg Gard has made sure to produce the same mind numbingly boring style of basketball, ranking inside the bottom 100 in APFGM and Pace of Play. Syracuse: With PoP from three being the only stat they rank inside the top half of the nation in, Jim Boeheim is the Grand Master of the Control Freak Coaches Clan. Kentucky: Nothing against coach Calipari, who usually has had to change his usual run and gun offense to a post centric one because of personnel, but that will always earn you a low ranking in my index. Kansas State: Efficiency is a concept Control Freak Coach Bruce Weber has yet to grasp. ranking inside the bottom 100 in both offensive efficiency and effective field goal percentage, the Wildcat's offense is not much different than the offense you see at your average pick up game at the YMCA. Michigan: John Beilein and Jim Boeheim have similar sounding names, don't they? Well they also have similarly shitty offenses. The only stat that the Wolverines rank inside the top 100 in is offensive efficiency, and they play at one of he slowest paces in the league, 13th slowest to be exact. Florida State: The Seminoles rely on their outstanding length (no starter is under 6'6) to disrupt offenses and muck up the game as much as possible. It's an effective strategy, but it sure isn't a watchable one. Dishonorable Mentions: Minnesota: They shoot the fourth fewest threes in the nation, and are also bottom 50 in Effective Field Goal percentage. Not for me. Kansas: The poor Jayhawks' one promising season has been derailed by injuries, making an already borderline watchable team unwatchable. Washington: Their Head Coach Mike Hopkins was an assistant under Jim Boeheim for 20 years. That tell you all you need to know. Watchable Sleepers: Belmont: Rick Byrd might be my favorite coach in all of College Basketball. Despite the fact fact that he started coaching in 1986, he has adjusted to the times and has his Bruins playing the most NBA like style of basketball in the tournament, ranking inside the top 50 in every single Watchability category. Yale: If it wasn't for his teams lack of three point shooting, head coach James Jones would be one of my favorite coaches too. Still his team ranks inside the top 50 in both APFGM and offensive efficiency and will be easy to root for against ISO heavy LSU in the first round. Northeastern: While their rating is hurt by their bottom 50 ranking in Pace of Play, they are solid in every other category and elite in the efficiency categories, as they rank fifth in Effective Field Goal percentage and 13th in Offensive Efficiency. Northern Kentucky: Fifth in the nation is APFGM, i'll be praying for an upset against Texas Tech so I can see more of that beautiful teamwork. Murray State: Forget the fact that they have one of the most explosive guards in recent memory. Head Coach Matt McMahon makes sure his squad shares the ball (38th in APFGM), leading to their top ten ranking in offensive efficiency. Just wish they weren't playing Marquette.
1 Comment
Adam Mills
3/24/2019 09:04:57 am
Nice work max. I agree, Buffalo is a great watch. I was pulling for Nevada because my Aztecs got ‘em twice this year. Unfortunately, Nevada had trouble making baskets at the tail end of the season. I saw that upset coming.
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorAvid sports fan who loves writing. Basketball will be main topic of focus Blog Posts
June 2019
Videos |