NCAA Tournament: 7 Teams With Most Momentum

    NCAA Tournament time is here, so let's take a look at the seven teams with the most March Madness momentum.


    NCAA Tournament time is here, so let’s take a look at the seven teams with the most March Madness momentum.


    The bracket is set and opponents are known. As the NCAA tournament tips off this week, players and coaches alike need to have a feel for whether their team is trending up or down. Some schools are on the rise, hoping to ride the wave well into March. Others are moving in the opposite direction and looking for a tourniquet.

    It goes without saying that teams want to be playing their best basketball as the postseason begins. For the teams that can capitalize on that, it can serve them well. So which schools have the most momentum?

    SOUTH REGION

    Wichita State

    An overtime loss at Seton Hall on Dec. 19 dropped the Shockers to a lackluster 5-5 record on the season. Since then, Wichita State has won 19 of 22 games. Two of the three losses in that stretch came at the hands of another tournament team, Northern Iowa, most recently in overtime of the Missouri Valley Conference tournament’s semifinal. Wichita State squares off against fellow 11th-seed Vanderbilt on Tuesday in the First Four.

    WEST REGION

    Texas A&M

    Following a loss to LSU on Feb. 13, their fourth in a row, Aggies coach Billy Kennedy admitted his team got “out-toughed.” If he was trying to send a message, apparently it was received. A sense of urgency kicked in for A&M, which had just dropped out of the top 25. The Aggies were victorious in their next eight outings and the difference was defense, holding all but one opponent – Kentucky, though that game went to overtime – below 70 points. Though the third-seeded Aggies, who will face Wisconsin-Green Bay on Friday, fell to Kentucky in another overtime contest on Sunday in the SEC championship game, they’re clearly back to playing at a high level.

    EAST REGION

    Stephen F. Austin

    At least on paper, no one has more momentum than the streaking Lumberjacks. The good news? They’ve won 20 games in a row dating back to Jan. 2. The bad news? Only once have they beaten a team in the RPI’s top 150. That’s Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, who the Lumberjacks downed three times this season, most recently an 82-60 thumping while capturing their third straight Southland title on Saturday. The 14th-seeded Lumberjacks will meet their toughest test of the season when they take on the East’s no. 3 seed, West Virginia, on Friday.

    MIDWEST REGION

    Utah

    If only the Utes never had to face Oregon this season. The Ducks handed Utah three of its eight losses, including an 88-57 drubbing in Saturday’s Pac-12 championship. Prior to that, the Utes rattled off nine straight victories, including wins over a pair of ranked opponents in Arizona and California. Shaking off the blowout loss to Oregon will be key as third-seeded Utah faces Fresno State on Thursday.

    ALSO TRENDING UP

    Kentucky

    The Wildcats, winners in 10 of their last 12 and the 4th seed in the East, avenged an earlier meeting with Texas A&M on Sunday to claim the SEC conference tournament championship.

    Oregon

    The West region’s top seed has won 14 of its last 16 games with the only setbacks being back-to-back road losses to California and Stanford in February.

    California

    No. 4 in the South, the Golden Bears racked up victories in 9 of 11 games since February with their only losses to ranked teams—on the road at Arizona and against Utah in overtime in the Pac-12 tournament semifinals.

    MORE: Four Potential Cinderellas In The 2016 NCAA Tournament

    DOWNLOAD THE APP

    Have the full Stadium experience

    Watch with friends

    Get rewards

    Join the discussion