Tourney Talk: Five teams to keep an eye on

“Tourney Talk” is a column by Michael Fiumefreddo about the men’s basketball NCAA tournament.

T-minus 16 days before the 68-team March Madness bracket is set. But even with such little time to go before the Big Dance, changes are inevitable. The final games of the regular season and conference tournaments will cause drastic changes to the current field.

Over the past three weeks, I’ve revealed which teams should be in line for a No. 1 seed, which teams can be this year’s Cinderella story and which teams have a shot at winning the title. The problem is teams like Purdue, Alabama and even Oral Roberts are already on everyone’s radar; there are still 50-plus teams that fly under the radar heading into March.

I looked into these teams so you don’t have to, and I’ve come up with five teams to follow over the next 16 days.

USC Trojans

What kind of Annenberg Media article would this be if I didn’t mention the Trojans? USC spent the last few weeks playing jump rope on the bubble line, and ESPN’s Bracketology currently has them heading to Dayton for a First Four matchup with Oklahoma State.

But USC is far from locked into the bracket, and even winning all three remaining regular season games — including over No. 7 Arizona — might not be enough to secure their spot. It comes down to their performance in the Pac-12 Tournament.

As it stands right now, the Trojans have a bye as the No. 3 seed. The bad news is their first game could be against Oregon, who beat USC in Eugene 78-60 two weeks ago. A loss there certainly eliminates the Trojans, but a win and a close game or potential win in the semifinals sends the Trojans dancing.

However, for the first time all season, USC is fully healthy. Freshman forward Vince Iwuchukwu showed he’s ready for significant minutes against Oregon State, and both redshirt junior forward Joshua Morgan and sophomore guard Reese Dixon-Waters are back on the court after missing some time. The Trojans’ tournament hopes now fall on the shoulders of Andy Enfield’s ability to lead his team through the next three weeks.

Eastern Washington Eagles

Must be something about teams named the Eagles in mid-majors right now. The Oral Roberts Golden Eagles and the Eastern Washington Eagles are the only teams undefeated in conference play this season.

What’s important to note about Eastern Washington, though, is its current winning streak: an NCAA-best 18 games. In fact, the Eagles are the only team that has not lost in the 2023 calendar year. Hopefully that raised your eyebrows, but take it with a grain of salt.

EWU plays in the Big Sky Conference, where even an undefeated record and conference championship is only good for, at most, a No. 12 seed. The Eagles’ non-conference record is 6-7, and their most notable win is against Cal. They haven’t faced a top 25 team either, which they’ll likely have to do in the first round of March Madness.

Yet, should Eastern Washington continue its winning streak, it’ll be upwards of 20 games and nearly four months long. The Eagles also boast a top-five field goal percentage in all of college basketball, which will make them a popular pick to upset a top seed in at least the first round.

Northwestern Wildcats

The Big Ten has been all about Purdue, and if the conference is truly a battle for second place, Northwestern has the edge.

Let’s not forget, the Wildcats recently knocked off the Boilermakers and followed that game with another ranked win over Indiana. Northwestern’s 11-6 record in a conference that Bracketology projects to have nine teams is nothing to look past.

But, like the next two teams, the Wildcats are projected to be in upset range: No. 5 and 6 seeds often face one of the better mid-major teams or a Power Five First Four winner. Their projection as a No. 6 seed seems low for the No. 21-ranked team in the country, but the Wildcats are surging at the right time. Should they challenge or take the Big Ten crown from Purdue, Northwestern can climb to a No. 3 or 4 seed and make some noise in the tournament.

Creighton Blue Jays

Unlike Northwestern, Crieghton started off the season as a favorite to win it all. The Blue Jays opened the year in the top 10 but fell out of the rankings after losing six straight. They re-entered the top 25 two weeks ago and are now at No. 19 after winning nine of their last 11.

My guess is as good as yours as to who wins the Big East. The top four teams are all within two games of each other, and that doesn’t include Villanova or UConn. While Northwestern has to go through a juggernaut in Purdue to vault itself up in seeding, Creighton has a much easier route to a conference championship. All the Blue Jays have to do is show why they were regarded as a top 10 team earlier this year.

Miami Hurricanes

The ‘Canes are the title contender nobody’s talking about. After Virginia’s loss to Boston College on Wednesday, Miami sits atop the ACC standings. Should the dominoes fall their way, the Hurricanes could see themselves as high as a No. 2 seed heading into the dance, and this scenario is likely.

Step one: Win the final two games of the year. Both games happen to be at home, where the ‘Canes have yet to lose this year. Step two: Win the ACC tournament. They’ll face some tough opponents in Virginia, Clemson, UNC, Duke and Pittsburgh, but Miami’s bested all of them aside from Pitt, which could change in their final game of the season. Follow that up with some chaos in other conferences, and the ‘Canes are up there with the best.

But how far does that push Miami through March Madness? Don’t forget this team, led by junior guard Isaiah Wong and senior guard Jordan Miller, went to the Elite Eight as a No. 10 seed last year. Their top five scorers all returned this year, and Wong has played his way onto the Wooden Watchlist. Miami has shown its ability to compete against top teams with a 2-0 record against top 25 opponents. They’ve stayed out of the spotlight most of the year, but the ‘Canes are on track to shine when the lights are brightest.

Tourney Talk runs every Friday.