NCAA March Madness kicks off this week with games at Moda Center  by Cameron Crowell March Madness is here. If you are a true basketball sicko you’ve probably already called out of work to watch the first two rounds of National C ollegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) tournament play, starting Thursday, March 19. If you’re not a basketball sicko and just looking for some high octane fun, play hooky and watch along. If enough of us do, our basketball-related national holiday demands may finally be met. This (unscientific) poll says a third of Americans are on board—the March Madness Strike is on!  Portland’s very own Moda Center plays host to the Western Region’s first and second rounds this Thursday and Saturday (March 19 and 21). The winners of the first two rounds at Moda Center earn the coveted trip to the Sweet Sixteen, continuing to the ultimate shot at the national title. So dip your toes into collective action by buying single session tickets, or go all-out on a pass for all six games. The Mercury has a breakdown of each of the teams, the potential future NBA stars, season-long narratives, and the respective fanbases that will be bringing their unique brand of crazy to town this week. Session 1 (Thursday, March 19) Game 1: Wisconsin Badgers (5 seed) vs. High Point Panthers (12 seed); 10:50 am Wisconsin Badgers (24-10 record) The Wisconsin Badgers are coming off a close loss to the University of Michigan in the championship of the Big Ten Tournament. The Badgers are led by one of the best guard duos in the country in senior Nick Boyd and junior John Blackwell. Blackwell has shot the hell out of the past three years in Madison, while Boyd is new to the team after transferring from San Diego State (and Florida Atlantic before that)—combined, they fuel this high-powered offense averaging 39.6 points per game. Historically, head coach Greg Gard’s Wisconsin teams are known for having a bunch of tall white guys shooting a lot of threes. And that’s pretty much what you’re getting in the rest of the roster with role players like center Nolan Winter, guard Andrew Rohde, forward Aleksas Bieliauskas, and former University of Portland standout Austin Rapp. A superpower advantage for The Badgers? That there is a massive amount of Midwest transplants populating Rip City. Hell, these guys already fill up NW Portland sports bar Jerry’s Tavern for every Wisconsin football and basketball game. I know you cheese curd sickos will show out in full force.             View this post on Instagram                       A post shared by Wisconsin Basketball (@badgermbb) High Point Panthers (30-4) This small, private North Carolina Methodist university comes to Portland after running away with the low-major Big South regular season and conference tournament titles. While their gaudy 30-win regular season effort comes at the luxury of a much easier schedule than the power conference teams, High Point play under the very unfortunate catch-22 many very good low-major teams experience—if your college basketball program is too good, and nobody has heard of your school, major conference teams do not want to schedule your team because a loss might be seen as deeply embarrassing. So while the Panthers went through the regular season without many significant challenges, they also haven’t lost a basketball game since early January with 14 straight wins (the longest active win streak in all of college basketball). High Point averages 90 points per game, good for 4th most out of 365 teams in the NCAA, on the backs of a lightning fast play tempo. They start four seniors and a junior, with a couple more seniors adding significant minutes off the bench. Their quick scoring comes from a mostly balanced attack between Terry Anderson, Rob Martin, Cam’Ron Fletcher, and Owen Aquino. A veteran roster, offensive firepower that doesn’t just rely on one guy, a crazy-long string of consecutive wins, Wisconsin being susceptible to losing to BAD teams, and the historic 12 seed-vs-5 seed line are all the makings of a trendy “upset” pick. However, I don’t see High Point playing anyone over 6’9”, a hard pill to swallow against the sheer corn-fed height of Wisconsin.            View this post on Instagram                       A post shared by HPU Athletics (@highpointpanthers) Game 2: Arkansas Razorbacks (4 seed) vs. Hawai’i Rainbow Warriors (13 seed); 1:25 pm Arkansas Razorbacks (26-8) Arkansas’ flagship public school finished the regular season second in the loaded Southeastern Conference (SEC), then continued their hot streak by winning the SEC tournament over Vanderbilt. This team is powered by the bloodsoaked “name, image, and likeness” dollars supplied by the Tyson Chicken corporation, big-name coach John Calipari, and the dazzling star power of freshman point guard Darius Acuff Jr. Seriously, this team is an offensive machine on the back of their 6’3” guard, summarily dismantling every team in front of him this past week with performances of 37 points, 24 points, and 30 points respectively. He scores at will, while also leading college basketball’s best conference in assists. Acuff Jr. brings the (second) most star power to Moda Center this weekend and is likely to be a lottery pick in this summer’s NBA draft. So Blazer fans, look out— between Portland’s proclivity for drafting small guards and Acuff Jr. about to get a taste of what our city has to offer, perhaps drafting him is an inevitable match made in purgatory. As for the Razorbacks, unfortunately their kryptonite might just be their own head coach’s knack for losing important NCAA tournament games they are heavily favored to win.           View this post on Instagram                       A post shared by Southeastern Conference (@sec) Hawai’i Rainbow Warriors (24-8) The Honolulu hoopers are arriving in Portland after winning the Big West Conference Tournament after a second place finish during the regular season. While the Rainbow Warriors are more known for their football prowess during the 2000s, this year’s basketball team is no slouch. Head coach Eran Ganot runs an innovative defensive system—where most “good” defenses like to slow the game down, limiting inside shots with “help defense,” the Rainbow Warriors are pioneers of the fast-paced “No Help” defense. That means each individual defender is solely responsible for guarding the man in front of them in hopes of limiting open three-point shots. It’s a risky endeavor that relies on the trust of ALL players on the court, but one that is good for the #43 defense according to the advanced statistical ranking system of KenPom (elite for a mid-major school). Playing weird basketball is what makes March Madness special, and Hawai’i is as weird as they come—which is why this might just be the upset of the week.           View this post on Instagram                       A post shared by Hawaii Basketball (@hawaiibasketball) Session 2 (Thursday, March 19) Game 3: Brigham Young University Cougars (6 seed) vs. Texas or North Carolina State (11 seed); 4:25pm BYU Cougars (23-11) While many universities produce doctors, scientists, and critical thinkers that challenge conventions, Brigham Young University (BYU) is perhaps most famous for their unbeatable output of conservative influencers and Mormon TikTokers that ask their classmates, “Have you ever soaked before?” Besides lowest common denominator content, they also undoubtedly produced one of the best college basketball players of the past two decades in Jimmer Fredette (2007-2011), who in his senior season won the National Player of the Year award leading his team to the Sweet Sixteen (2010-2011). Outside of that season, however, the Cougars almost exclusively come in as a high seed and lose in the first or second round. This year, BYU hopes to change those fortunes with the help of the likely #1 or #2 overall NBA Draft pick in freshman forward AJ Dybantsa. Why did a 6’9” future superstar that isn’t a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints choose BYU? Well the church school Danny Ainge and the Utah Jazz local donors are paying him $7,000,000—the highest sum of any college basketball player this season. And for pretty great returns as Dybantsa leads the entire country in points per game (25.3). Though it remains to be seen if the Cougars can beat the OVERRATED allegations again this year since the rest of their lineup is made up of future insurance adjusters and FBI agents.           View this post on Instagram                       A post shared by The ROC (@byuroc) Texas Longhorns (18-14) or North Carolina State Wolfpack (20-13) BYU will face the winner of Tuesday’s “First Four” game between Texas and NC State. Both schools bring storied basketball histories. Texas once had future Hall of Famer and NBA Twitter addict Kevin Durant, while NC State made a surprise run to the Final Four just two years ago featuring fan-favorite DJ Burns Jr. While as recently as 2021, a team made it from the First Four to a Final Four game, it typically is a spot reserved for schools with a lot of fans (that can count on high viewership) who underachieved and don’t really deserve to make the tournament. This year, I fear, is no different. Though it would be cool if former Oregon State guard Jordan Pope, who transferred to Texas two years ago, could make a homecoming to the Beaver State. Game 4: Gonzaga Bulldogs (3 seed) vs. Kennesaw State Owls (14 seed); 7pm Gonzaga Bulldogs (30-3) It’s really a beautiful thing that a tiny Jesuit university in Spokane, Washington can be a perennial powerhouse nationally in college basketball. Gonzaga is consistently the class of the Northwest. All head coach Mark Few has done since getting the Gonzaga job is win. Since 2015, the Bulldogs have made the Sweet Sixteen (or better) nine out of ten times, the most among any team in the sport (to go with two national championship runner ups). After dominating a difficult non-conference schedule, tying for first in the West Coast Conference (WCC) regular season, and winning the WCC tournament outright. Anything less than another trip to the Sweet Sixteen should be viewed as a failure at this point. The Bulldogs boast one of the nation’s premier front courts in forwards Graham Ike and Braden Huff. Both are truly massive human beings, even by basketball standards (Ike is listed at 6’9”, 250 lbs and Huff is 6’10” and 250 lbs). But what sets Ike apart is his unlimited motor when he’s in the game, grabbing every rebound that comes even remotely his way, soaring out of the gym for highlight dunks, and scoring at Shaquille O’Neal level efficiency. The Gonzaga Bulldog fanbase is known to be both rabid (they nicknamed their arena “The Kennel”) and travels well. Expect a pack of Eastern Washingtonians to descend on inner Northeast Portland, barking at your favorite local watering holes all weekend.           View this post on Instagram                       A post shared by Gonzaga Men's Basketball (@zagmbb) Kennesaw State Owls (21-13) The lowest rated team coming to Portland this weekend is the large suburban Atlanta commuter school Kennesaw State. Typically any school with “State” in its name that isn’t actually named after the state they’re in (Georgia) is not long for the NCAA tournament. The Owls finished tied for sixth in the Mid-Major Conference before an unlikely Conference tournament victory guaranteed them a spot in the greater NCAA tournament. This team is mediocre: not truly bad on either side of the ball, led by a pair of sophomores in guard RJ Johnson and forward Braedan Lue. Unfortunately they will be without their star player from the first half of the season, Simeon Cottle, who was suspended in January after another federal investigation of fixing basketball games at the behest of crooked sports betters. Yes, it was separate from the investigation that got Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups locked up. Needless to say, I don’t think the Owls stand much of a chance facing off against the Bulldog freight train.            View this post on Instagram                       A post shared by Kennesaw State MBB (@ksuowlsmbb) Session 3 (Saturday, March 21) Game 5: Winner of Wisconsin/High Point vs. winner of Arkansas/Hawai’i; Time TBA Game 6: Winner of BYU/Texas/NC State vs. winner of Gonzaga/Kennesaw State; Time TBA ...read more read less