It’s never too early to start your bracket.
Do you think Kansas Jayhawk will reclaim their title in March Madness, or will the Tarheels come and reclaim “their” thrown in an upset. With the return of seniors and transfers among the NCAA, who will be on top is one of the many questions going into this upcoming season. 368 Men’s D1 teams will battle it out next season, for the title of National Championships? Which will rise to the occasion and which will fall under pressure? Here is a look at my Final Four predictions for this upcoming season.
Carolina Tarheels
With the majority of their starting 5 returning: Caleb Love, Armando Bacot, Leaky Black, and R.J Davis, it is safe to say the Tarheels should be expected to finish in the Final Four with their already established team chemistry and power dynamic of Love and Bacot. Tarheels will be introducing three 3 freshmen who could potentially help drive this team to another appearance in the final four.
Kansas Jayhawks
Why wouldn’t the National Champions be contenders for the upcoming season? With a championship under their belt, they are more determined than ever to bring another title back to Kansas. The departure of guard Ochai Agbaji, who averaged 18.8 PPG, will leave two Jayhawks returning back to the starting lineup. However, Kansas heavily recruited top athletes who can come in and fit right into the shoes of Agbaji with McDonald’s All-American Gradey Dick.
UCLA Bruins
Going into the 2022 season as the No.2 preseason ranking, the Bruins are coming back and they see red. After being booted by Carolina in the Sweet 16, the Bruins return trio: Johnny Juzang, Peyton Watson, and Jaime Jaquez. These 3 and newcomer Amari Bailey will definitely fight to claim the title.
Arizona Razorbacks
With an elite recruiting class, stacked with 5-star recruits, the Razorbacks are a force to be reckoned with this upcoming season. Like other teams, the Razorbacks will be losing key players such as JD Notae who averaged 18.3 ppg but may lose 9 additional players to the draft or portal. There is undoubtedly no reason that the Razorbacks do not make the final four this season. With a few little tweaks to their offensive, Coach Musselman and his team are in good shape to be victorious.
Honorable Mention: The Miami Hurricanes
The Hurricanes came and rained on their opponents this season. It was fascinated to see these underdogs rise to the challenge and beat teams that they were expected to fall to. With the departure of All ACC– Defensive team Charlie Moore and First Team All-ACC Kameron McGusty along with Rodney Miller Jr., Deng Gak, and Sam Waardenburg, Miami’s starting 5 is going to look a little different with familiar faces carrying the canes. The Canes’ historic season in the school record book might be just the push they need to continue storming through the NCAA.
Now I haven’t picked who I believe would be the National Champions but March Madness comes with constant changing of brackets until finalization, so bear with me.
