Before you fill out your bracket with all chalk, take a look at some weaknesses the top seeds have and possible matchup problems that may await:
Ohio State
Weakness » Depth. The Buckeyes are the most balanced team in the country, but they only go seven deep. If anyone gets into foul trouble, Ohio State may be forced to play one of its more unexperienced reserves.
Possible troublemaker » Kentucky’s Brandon Knight. In Ohio State’s two losses, Wisconsin’s Jordan Taylor had 27 points and Purdue’s E’Twaun Moore scored 38. Two big scoring guards dominated the Buckeyes. Could a third?
Kansas
Weakness » Ball control. The Jayhawks were in the middle of the pack in the Big 12 in turnover margin. In a loss to Kansas State, guard Tyshawn Taylor committed six turnovers. Kansas is a frontcourt-dominated team in a tournament that relies heavily on consistent guard play.
Possible troublemaker » Louisville’s press. Peyton Siva and Preston Knowles were both in the top five in the Big East in steals. Kansas defeated uptempo Missouri twice but turned the ball over 24 times in a 70-66 win on March 5.
Duke
Weakness » Quickness. On Jan. 30 St. John’s used a three-quarter court trap to force Duke into 17 turnovers as the Blue Devils were routed 93-78. Without Kyrie Irving, Duke can be forced into mistakes and quicker teams can handle Duke’s perimeter-oriented offense.
Possible troublemaker » An athletic frontcourt. Both Texas and San Diego State could give Duke problems with NBA-bound forwards Kawhi Leonard, Jordan Hamilton and Tristan Thompson.
Pittsburgh
Weakness » Playing with pace. Pittsburgh prefers to slow things down — averaging only 55 shot attempts a game (175th in the country). Two of the teams the Panthers lost to — Louisville and Connecticut — average more than 60 shots a game.
Possible troublemaker » ODU’s rebounding. Pittsburgh has outrebounded its opponents by more than 10 boards a game. But the Panthers have a minus-1 rebounding margin in its last three losses. ODU is one of only seven teams in the country that average more rebounds a game than Pittsburgh.
