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ESPN’s Seth Greenberg joined Get Up on Thursday morning to preview the start of the NCAA Tournament regional semifinals. When asked about the safest and riskiest teams to back, he kept the analysis right at home in the SEC.
Asked who he has the most confidence in entering the Sweet 16, Greenberg named the SEC Tournament champs, the Florida Gators.
“After watching the SEC Tournament, they were absolutely incredible,” Greenberg said. “The pace they play with, the force they play with, the confidence they play with, the freedom they play with, their ability to defend and protect the rim, their ability to get to the offensive glass, their ability to have different guys step up. In the NCAA Tournament, you’re going to have one of those games they had against a very good UConn team, and at the end of the game, they made plays.
“… This Florida team is the most complete and deepest team in college basketball.”
According to the latest March Madness odds, Florida is the second-most likely team to cut down the nets and claim this year’s national championship.
Florida faces 4-seed Maryland in the Sweet 16 on Thursday. Should the Gators beat the Terps, they’d face either Texas Tech or Arkansas in the regional final.
Going the other way, Greenberg said Auburn is the team that inspires the least amount of confidence after the first 2 rounds.
“I’m a little worried about Auburn,” Greenberg said before referencing Auburn’s run of 3 losses in 4 games prior to the start of the tournament. “They haven’t been dominant. Chad Baker-Mazara, we know he’s the lightning rod. He can impact the game so many different ways — positively and negatively. He has the little hip pointer and he did not look good at the end of that (Creighton) game. They need him 100% healthy.”
Greenberg even went so far as to predict a Michigan victory over the Tigers in the Sweet 16 as long as forward Vlad Goldin stays out of foul trouble and Michigan keeps the turnovers low. Auburn is a 9.5-point favorite in that game at ESPN Bet. They’ll play on Friday.
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
