I get flooded with texts this time every year: what should we do with our bracket? Who are the right upsets to pick? What inside information can you give us that would help?

While it's flattering, I'll be the first guy to tell you that my bracket is no better than anyone else's. The NCAA Tournament is just as frustrating for those of us who use KenPom religiously, study and understand the film/ players and let that perspective get to our heads. In reality, your guesses are as good as mine.

But what I can do is save myself (and you) some time by typing up all the advice I'd give and putting it in one place. We'll do a quick region-by-region breakdown with some information on each team, just to see what the tournament might be like. In the West Region, everyone is chasing unbeaten Gonzaga. There are a couple of tricky matchups in their way, but they're still the heavy favorites to push through to see if they can keep a perfect season blemish-free.

I get flooded with texts this time every year: what should we do with our bracket? Who are the right upsets to pick? What inside information can you give us that would help?

While it's flattering, I'll be the first guy to tell you that my bracket is no better than anyone else's. The NCAA Tournament is just as frustrating for those of us who use KenPom religiously, study and understand the film/ players and let that perspective get to our heads. In reality, your guesses are as good as mine.

But what I can do is save myself (and you) some time by typing up all the advice I'd give and putting it in one place. We'll do a quick region-by-region breakdown with some information on each team, just to see what the tournament might be like. Now we dive into the South Region, where Baylor has a wide open field and some tough, early matchups in their path.

I get flooded with texts this time every year: what should we do with our bracket? Who are the right upsets to pick? What inside information can you give us that would help?

While it's flattering, I'll be the first guy to tell you that my bracket is no better than anyone else's. The NCAA Tournament is just as frustrating for those of us who use KenPom religiously, study and understand the film/ players and let that perspective get to our heads. In reality, your guesses are as good as mine.

But what I can do is save myself (and you) some time by typing up all the advice I'd give and putting it in one place. We'll do a quick region-by-region breakdown with some information on each team, just to see what the tournament might be like. Up second for us is the Midwest Region, featuring a molten hot one-seed in Illinois, an inexplicably tough path for them to the Elite Eight, and a bunch of defensive-minded juggernauts waiting on the other side of the bracket.

I get flooded with texts this time every year: what should we do with our bracket? Who are the right upsets to pick? What inside information can you give us that would help?

While it's flattering, I'll be the first guy to tell you that my bracket is no better than anyone else's. The NCAA Tournament is just as frustrating for those of us who use KenPom religiously, study and understand the film/ players and let that perspective get to our heads. In reality, your guesses are as good as mine.

But what I can do is save myself (and you) some time by typing up all the advice I'd give and putting it in one place. We'll do a quick region-by-region breakdown with some information on each team, just to see what the tournament might be like. We start with the East region, where #1 seed Michigan is potentially without one of their senior leaders and the field is wide open behind them.

The more you learn about and follow the Abilene Christian basketball program, the more improbable their run to the 2021 NCAA Tournament seems. It's not their first trip to the dance, but that doesn't erase the proximity of where they were a decade ago: a poor Division II program struggling with funding. Almost three hours west of Dallas on the borderline of the desert, the Wildcats have built themselves into more than just a feel-good story: they're a legitimate threat to beat 3-seed Texas in the first round.

Their roster is comprised of a good mix of JuCo guys, local talent and a few out-of-state guys to plug in the gaps. They're deep, with nine guys who play between 14 and 29 minutes a game, and regularly go with a ten-man rotation. Every single player shoots the 3-point shot; they take 22.4 a game and give up only 17.8. They get to the free throw line a TON and are 20th in the nation in free throw attempts. As a top-50 offense, they get a lot of love for their versatility, pace and analytic-friendly approach -- they've taken 533 3-pointers in the half-court and only 105 mid-range jumpers.

In reality, it's their defense that makes them a dangerous Cinderella team. They're 24th in field goal percentage defense (40.0%), 34th in 3-pt. defense (30.6%), 7th in scoring defense (60.5 PPG) and first in the country in turnovers forced per game (20.3).