The madness officially arrives today. Two games will tip off in Dayton, signifying the beginning of the First Four. March Madness begins and there are a lot of storylines to watch across all regions, including the rest. Along with the South region, here are five storylines to follow in the West region.

Is Florida fool’s gold?

The Florida Gators (30-4, 14-4 SEC) look like the team to beat right now. They are fresh off of winning the SEC tournament, defeating Missouri, Alabama, and Tennessee along the way. Walter Clayton Jr. looks like a Most Outstanding Player candidate should the Gators pick up steam in the tournament. That said, there are some recent trends that go against Florida.

First, head coach Todd Golden is 0-2 in the NCAA tournament. Both of these games were close losses and it seems all but a guarantee Florida will care of Norfolk State, but this team also has not made it past the opening weekend since 2017. Second, five of the last six SEC tournament winners have failed to get past the Sweet 16, the lone exception being Auburn in 2019. Lastly, the SEC went 3-5 in the Round of 64 last year. Florida may have the most to prove out of the entire field and how they handle adversity determines how far they go.

The Legendary Quadrant

Imagine hearing five years ago that Rick Pitino, John Calipari, and Bill Self would all be in the same quadrant of a bracket to start off March Madness. Not only that, but Calipari and Self’s teams are squaring off in the first round! It would seem impossible, but it is a reality in the West region. John Calipari’s Arkansas Razorbacks (20-13, 8-10 SEC) take on Bill Self’s Kansas Jayhawks (21-12, 11-9 Big 12) in the Round of 64. The winner (likely) awaits Rick Pitino’s St. John’s Red Storm (30-4, 18-2 Big East).

Bill Self and John Calipari have crossed paths multiple times, including once in the National Championship. Self’s Jayhawks won a National Championship as recently as 2022, but has not gotten past opening weekend since. Calipari has not coached a team past opening weekend since 2019. Something’s got to give between these two. St. John’s, meanwhile, drew one of the hottest teams in the country: Omaha (22-12, 13-3 Summit) and its trash can-smashing team and fans. The odds are in their favor, but will Omaha become the fourth 15th-seed in five years to defeat a 2nd-seed?

The Crab Five

Remember these five names: Derik Queen, Ja’Kobi Gillespie, Rodney Rice, Julian Reese, and Selton Miguel. They make up the highest-scoring starting five in Division I and have the task of taking Maryland to heights unseen since the Gary Williams era. Maryland has only advanced past opening weekend twice in the 23 seasons since it won the National Championship, but this may be the group to do it.

Analytics back up this Maryland team, too. In addition to having the highest-scoring starting five, the Terrapins also own the sixth-best adjusted defense and top-30 adjusted offense. This team plays fast, too, owning the 56th-highest tempo in Division I. This team’s scoring can snowball quickly. With that lockdown defense, too, this Maryland team is poised to make a deep push.

Does Cinderella live in Des Moines?

The Drake Bulldogs (30-3, 17-3 Missouri Valley) are living proof that talent can be found at any collegiate level. Head coach Ben McCollum and three of Drake’s top four scorers are from Division II powerhouse Northwest Missouri State. Tavion Banks, one of the best sixth men in college basketball, transferred in from Northwest Florida State College.

This team won 12 straight to start the regular season, including sweeping the Charleston Classic (wins over Miami, Florida Atlantic, and Vanderbilt). Drake also has a top 50 adjusted defense, per KenPom, and the best scoring defense in the country, allowing just 58.4 points per game. This Bulldogs team can decide its opponent isn’t allowed to have fun at any given moment. Those teams can do damage in March.

UConn’s quest to three-peat

Safe to say this has been a trying year for Dan Hurley and his UConn Huskies (23-10, 14-6 Big East). The back-to-back defending champions went 0-3 in the Maui Invitational, picking up losses to Colorado and Dayton in the process. The Huskies went unranked for the final month of the season and now sit as the eighth seed in the region for the first time in program history.

UConn has a trio of reliable scorers in Solo Ball (14.6 PPG), Liam McNeeley (14.5 PPG), and Alex Karaban (14.4 PPG). Karaban and Ball were both on last year’s team, so those two know what it takes to win. Experience is key at this time of year and Dan Hurley has an all-time record of 14-4 in the NCAA tournament. Never count out the Huskies.

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