2025 NCAA Tournament Region (West) Breakdown, Preview And Picks - Florida Is The Best Team In The Country vs The Magic Of Rick Pitino
I've done this every year since I've been at Barstool and we roll on in 2025. I'll be looking at each region the next two days to get everyone ready for the NCAA Tournament. Not the First Four, the real field of 64. We'll look at matchups, previews, players to watch and what team could be a sleeper to come out of each region.
West Region
Storylines
1. Florida is the best team in the country - This is where this year gets weird. Florida just steamrolled the SEC Tournament. Florida is basically what everyone says is the best team in the country. It makes sense. They have guard play, they have depth, they have a ton of bigs. They are awesome. I wish that wasn't the case, but they are. Howevah, they are the 4th 1 seed which is how they end up in this brutal region. It becomes the hot team vs the field basically.
2. The region of death - I wanted to put this as its own storyline after mentioning it quickly before. This is the best region. You have Florida, you have Rick Pitino, Texas Tech is awesome, UConn is the 8th seed after going back-to-back, Colorado State favored as a 12 seed, The Crab Five, Kansas was preseason 1, Arkansas is a school. Yeah, you get the point. This is the region that everyone will agree is the deepest. Again, I get it because it's the 4th 1 seed, but for the first time since 2015 probably it's hard to say the 4th 1 seed is this good. Usually it's pretty clear, you can make a case Florida deserved the overall 1 seed.
3. Pitino vs Cal/Self - We gotta bring it up. It needs to be said a lot, this is a TV show. We're looking at potentially Calipari vs Pitino in Providence? Come on. That was the coaching rivalry for years, once we all got over John Chaney threatening to kill John Calipari. Cal doesn't win? Fine. Seriously, that's fine. Bill Self vs Rick Pitino. That's how you sell a second round game right there.
4. Injuries - I know you can do this for basically any region, but there are injury concerns across the board here. Boogie Fland has been out for Arkansas and rumored to be coming back for the NCAA Tournament, while Adiou Thiero is doubtful. St. John's Aaron Scott hurt his thumb and was wearing protection in the Big East title game. Tyrese Hunter for Memphis was in a walking boot on Sunday, no one is really sure what that injury level is yet. Texas Tech might have the two biggest injuries in Chance McMillan and Darrion Williams who missed the last Big 12 Tournament game but are expected to play.
5. The mid-majors are alive - I know Drake tends to be this team every year. If not Drake, it's basically the 2nd MVC team most years. They are going to be a popular pick to beat Missouri because Drake is awesome. Colorado State is favored. Grand Canyon isn't an ideal matchup for Maryland and won a game a year ago. You have 3 mid-majors who could win the first round game and be live for the 2nd round.
Players to Watch
There are a couple ways to look at this, but I'm looking at this strictly as an intrigue factor. These are players that could be lotery picks in the NBA Draft, could pu a team on their back or are just flat out good. We're trying to avoid the obvious ones, All-American's like a Walter Clayton or JT Toppin in this region.
1. Nique Clifford (Colorado State) - Like I said, Colorado State is favored in the 5/12 game here and it's because of Nique Clifford. We know PJ Haggerty from Memphis, but it's Clifford who can match him. He went for 25, 26 and 24 in the three MWC Tournament games. He even had 14 and 11 rebounds in two of the games. The dude can do it all. He's the definition of must watch TV.
2. Bennett Stirtz (Drake) - I'm guessing people know Stirtz by now and if you don't he transferred from Division II with McCollum to Drake this year. He won MVC Player of the Year, does it all for Drake and is the head of he snake. Like I said, Drake is the intriguing mid-major because of what they did, they are consistent, they play slow but are efficient.
3. Christian Anderson (Texas Tech) - The freshman at Texas Tech is quickly becoming one of their most important players. JT Toppin is the star, I mentioned the injuries, but Anderson has taken a leap lately. He will launch threes, if he gets hot it completely changes their ceiling.
4. Zuby Ejiofor (St. John's) - Again, RJ Luis was Big East POY and Kadary Richmond is the name, but it's Ejiofor who might be the key piece for the Johnnies. Big man can step out, get to the line easily and be the leading scorer when he has to be. You get Pitino out there coaching him and it's the perfect combo.
5. Will Richard (Florida) - I had no idea what Florida guy to pick. Walter Clayton is the All-American, Alijah Martin played in a Final Four at FAU. But we go with the 3rd guard that starts for them. Richard is a guy who is made to score. He's attempted nearly 200 threes on the year. This is the guy that I assume wins them the close game if Clayton is off.
Honorable Mention: Rodney Rice (Maryland), Tamar Bates (Missouri), Solo Ball (UConn), Jeremiah Fears (Oklahoma)
My Favorite Bet to Make the Final Four (odds here)
St. John's +600
Do I think Florida is going to win this? Of course. But I'm not going to take a -125 play here. I would have went Texas Tech, but the injuries scare me a little bit. There's something magical going on with the Johnnies. Pitino is pushing every button right. They have 4 losses by a combined 7 points. They know how to win and it's basically impossible to kill this team. Again, Florida is the favorite for a reason but I'm looking for something with a plus sign here.
Matchup you want to see - Texas Tech vs St. John's in the Sweet 16. Two teams who can get after it defensively if they have to, two offenses who find different ways to score. This feels like the best possible Sweet 16 matchup.