Atlanta Hawks: 2019 NCAA Tournament Viewing Guide for Hawks Fans

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Eric Paschall #4 Atlanta Hawks (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /

#6 Villanova/ #11 St Mary’s, Thursday @ 7:20 p.m. EST

The defending national champions look far different than they did last year, as Jay Wright and the Wildcats lost a massive chunk of their team (Donte DiVincenzo, Mikal Bridges, Jalen Brunson and the Atlanta Hawks own Omari Spellman) following a dominant run to the title. St. Mary’s shocked the world by defeating a dominant Gonzaga in the West Coast Conference tournament. Eric Paschall is a definite NBA prospect, and Nova’s switch-everything system is also a good watch if you’re a fan of that NBA-style defense.

#8 Utah State/#9 Washington, Friday @ 6:50 p.m. EST

Despite the Washington Huskies getting rolled by conference rival Oregon in the conference championship game, the Huskies employ the “Boeheim zone” to sterling effect, especially with defensive menace Matisse Thybulle leading the charge. Thybulle memorably produced this spectacular highlight to seal a win earlier in the conference tourney:

We have previously outlined why Thybulle would be a good fit on the Atlanta Hawks in our most recent mock draft, so checking out this game makes sense.

#3 Houston/#14 Georgia State, Friday @ 7:20 p.m. EST

As Atlanta Hawks fans, why not cheer on the reigning two-time Sun Belt conference champions, the local Georgia State Panthers? The Panthers have a vast array of three-point shooters and are led by the bouncy guard D’Marcus Simonds, who is expected to make the jump to the pros this offseason. The scrappy Panthers made history a few seasons ago as a 14 seed, defeating the third-seeded Baylor Bears on R.J. Hunter’s miracle triple:

As the only team from Georgia represented in this year’s NCAA Tournament, it’s only fitting to root for the underdog. As Atlanta Hawks fans, it certainly makes sense.

#7 Wofford/#10 Seton Hall, Thursday @ 9:40 p.m. EST

A tough matchup for the Southern Conference champion Wofford Terriers, as Myles Powell and the Seton Hall Pirates are an athletic, fiery team that plays hard and nearly upset Villanova in the Big East conference championship. Powell, in particular, is a guaranteed bucket and he is averaging a gorgeous 22.9 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 2.0 steals per game in 36 minutes as the team’s top option of offense, per College Basketball Reference.