CARDINALS

Bracket Picks: 9-step guide to the West Region

Jeff Greer
Louisville Courier Journal

The field for the 2016 NCAA Tournament is out, even if none of us ever thought we'd see the bracket during the two-hour megabonanza thing CBS tried to pull off Sunday night.

(At least teach Charles Barkley how to use the picks board before he goes on the air. Please?)

In an effort to help you pick your bracket, these nine-step guides for each region in the tournament are designed to give you some information that'll hopefully serve as some background for your predictions.

Other regional guides: East | South | Midwest

As the headline says, this guide is for the West Region, so let's break it down. The four regional semifinalists will play in the Sweet 16 in Anaheim.

1. Team to beat: Oklahoma. I think the Sooners are the best team in the region, and they are my Final Four pick. Buddy Hield is the best player in the region. The Sooners are a balanced team, with the 20th-most efficient offense and 11th-most efficient defense in the nation. They play a fun pace, and while so many experts worry about their reliance on jump shots, they seem to forget Oklahoma shoots 42.6 percent from 3-point range.

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2. Contenders: Oregon, Texas A&M, Duke, Baylor. I may be suffering a little bit of East Coast Bias with regard to Oregon, because I just don't think the Ducks deserve a 1 seed. Their best nonleague wins at Valparaiso and Baylor, and they lost to Boise State and UNLV. That said, they are an incredibly efficient offensive team that won a good league. Texas A&M is physical and tough, with a bunch of veterans. Duke can score its way past anyone, even with a really short bench. Baylor has talent every season, so it's hard to count the Bears out. Scott Drew has guided them to a Sweet 16 and two Elite 8s since 2010.

3. Dark horse: Texas. I really like the Longhorns, and Shaka Smart led them to wins over West Virginia (twice), Oklahoma, North Carolina, Iowa State and Baylor. Texas A&M beat them back in November, and I think Texas gets revenge in March.

4. Cinderella: Yale. I didn't pick many upsets in this region, despite its potential for absolute chaos with a few of the weaker top seeds in the NCAA Tournament. But I do like Yale's defense, which is 21st in the nation in efficiency. The Bulldogs only lost by a bucket at SMU earlier this season, and they can shoot the 3 a little bit. Against a Baylor team that ranks 291st in the nation in 3-point defense, that's not good for the Bears.

5. The upset to pick: VCU over Oregon State. Another region where I picked mostly chalk in the first round, but I watched VCU a few times this season, and get the sense the Rams can upend a solid Oregon State squad. VCU's defense forces turnovers on 21.9 percent of its opponents' possessions, and the Rams rebound well on their own defensive glass.

6. Best first-round matchup: Baylor vs. Yale. I am sweating out this game, because I really do think Yale can surprise the Bears. Either way, it should be a great first-round game.

7. Best potential matchup: Texas A&M vs. Texas. For the same reason I picked Indiana-Kentucky in the East, this rivalry game has so much potential for awesomeness. I'd love to see Oklahoma-Oregon or Oklahoma-Duke, too.

8. Best player: Buddy Hield. Every analyst in the country said they were splitting hairs between Hield and Michigan State's Denzel Valentine for player of the year, and I agree. Hield is just a captivating college player, and he can carry Oklahoma to a title. He's that good.

9. Best coach: Mike Krzyzewski, Duke. Duh.

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Mar 10, 2016; Kansas City, MO, USA;  Oklahoma Sooners guard Buddy Hield (24) shoots a free throw against the Iowa State Cyclones in the first half during the Big 12 Conference tournament at Sprint Center. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports