NCAA Tournament Bracket Preview from the N&O is looking for some home cooking

With March Madness just around the corner, it’s time to start filling your brackets and dreaming of a trip to the Final Four. But before you do, make sure you enjoy your viewing party with some home cooking that will thrill everyone.

The NCAA Tournament is the ultimate college basketball experience, and no matter which team you pick to win it all, you’ll have a blast. Check out these tips and recipes for having the ultimate March Madness viewing feast!

Baylor

As the Big 12 regular season champion, Baylor is front and center in the East Region of this year’s NCAA Tournament. The Bears will open the tournament on Thursday with a first-round matchup against 16th-seeded Norfolk State at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth.

The Bears enter the NCAA Tournament with a 26-6 overall record and won a share of their second straight Big 12 title this season. Guards Jordan Lewis and Sarah Andrews are both averaging double digits, and senior center 6-3 Queen Egbo is scoring 10.9 points per game.

The Bears have eliminated some of the best teams in the nation this season, including Villanova, Michigan State, Oregon and VCU. They also faced a plethora of top-notch non-conference opponents. This team has what it takes to race to its third national championship in the past four years.

Kentucky

It’s been a long wait for John Calipari and the Kentucky Wildcats to reach the NCAA Tournament. Despite falling short last year, the Wildcats entered this season as one of the best teams in the country and were widely projected to earn a No. 1 seed. 2 in the eastern region.

The UK has had its share of bumps in the road this season. He lost two Quad 1 games on the road (at Mississippi State and Tennessee) and also had neutral losses to Duke to open the season and to Tennessee in the SEC Tournament.

That said, the UK is still in good shape to move forward. It has a shot at winning the SEC Tournament, has plenty of opportunities to bolster its resume, and is a team that can be matched with some dangerous opponents.

The first round of the tournament held big surprises. A handful of double-digit seeds beat the no.

Purdue

We are at the start of a long and busy week and March Madness is upon us. Luckily, we have experts at Breaking College Sports News ready to provide their region-by-region breakdowns of the tournament to give you a head start on compiling your bracket.

One of our favorite teams from the Big Ten, Purdue, is looking for some home cooking in Houston to return to the Elite Eight. Though they’ve had some tough games, including a loss to Iowa in the Big Ten Tournament, this team has made strides on both ends of the court.

They were able to rack up points against Kentucky and Murray State, two of their best offensive performances this season. They also have a top scorer in Sasha Stefanovic, who has been able to make double-digit triples in three of his last five matches. Against Texas, they’ll have to find a way to open it up as much as possible at the 3-point line.

Tennessee

With two more weeks to go in the regular season, there’s still plenty of room to move as teams vie for spots in conference tournaments. Tennessee capped off a game-ending victory against Kentucky on Saturday, shutting out the Wildcats 69-62.

It was a win that put UT back on track for a deep run in the SEC Tournament. The Vols now have 10 Quadrant 1 wins, defined as home wins against top 30 NET teams and neutral field wins against top 50 teams, four of which were against top 10 AP teams.

They also have two wins against Quadrant 2 teams, one against a team in the AP Top 25. He’s a great resume for Sunday’s draft, and he’ll be tested in Houston against Texas A&M on Sunday.

If UT advances, it will likely face St. Peter’s, a 15-seed who has won two games and is favorite to beat a pair of higher seeds. Then, he’ll likely face a North Carolina team that he’s batted before or a UCLA team that may be missing Jaime Jaquez.