Let’s get this out of the best way: We had a great yr on this house a yr in the past. An actual good yr. We nailed the UConn nationwide championship decide, and completed within the one hundredth percentile (41,822nd out of over 20 million brackets) on ESPN.
Principally, we’re due for an enormous regression 12 months later. Fade this bracket.
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East Area
That is the hardest area within the event. I mentioned it on Sunday, you mentioned it on Sunday, it’s been mentioned 1,000,000 instances within the three days since Sunday.
Two issues are nonetheless true right here: 1) As robust as it’s on the prime, the area just isn’t proof against chaos. 2) I don’t consider anybody is thrashing Connecticut till I see it with my very own two eyes.
We get a chalky opening spherical, regardless that Yale retains it attention-grabbing towards Auburn and Morehead State pushes Illinois to the brink (got here very near pulling the set off on the upset). FAU/Northwestern appears like a toss-up, however the Owls get the sting due to their March pedigree. Drake over Washington State is the one numerical upset the area sees.
FAU practically pulls off one other March miracle within the second spherical and performs UConn nearer within the event than anybody has in two years. Dusty Could takes off to whichever energy convention job he decides he desires to take. San Diego State does pull off some repeat March magic and takes out Ken Pom darling Auburn to succeed in the second weekend and arrange a rematch of final yr’s nationwide title recreation.
Within the backside half of the bracket, Illinois outlasts BYU in probably the most enjoyable second spherical video games of the event, after which Iowa State continues the pattern of 2-seeds that started the season unranked not with the ability to make it out of the event’s opening weekend. Everybody begins questioning why Drake head coach Darian DeVries isn’t being focused by a few of these energy convention packages with head teaching vacancies. Darian DeVries begins getting focused by a few of these energy convention packages with head teaching vacancies.
The coach’s son, Tucker DeVries, continues his absolute tear within the event as he lights up Illinois within the Candy 16 to get the Bulldogs one recreation shy of the Ultimate 4. UConn handles SDSU in just about the identical vogue they did final April, after which ends the Cinderella story within the regional ultimate to guide its journey to Phoenix.
West Area
No less than one area goes to utterly crumble this weekend. The highest seeds within the West are definitely erratic sufficient to make that occur, however I couldn’t carry myself to tug the chaos set off right here.
Three double-digit seeds to advance to the second spherical. New Mexico over Clemson is the trendiest upset decide within the event for a motive: It’s not truly an upset decide. The Lobos are favored by 2.5 factors, and 11-seeds favored to beat 6-seeds are 10-1 all-time on this event. Nevada takes down Dayton within the ugliest first spherical recreation of the event, and Pat Kelsey’s Charleston workforce will get the win everybody thought they have been going to get a yr in the past by taking out an Alabama workforce that has been screaming “first spherical upset” for just about the final eight weeks.
Saint Mary’s beats Grand Canyon in essentially the most entertaining recreation of the primary spherical, and Colgate’s outdoors assault practically torpedoes third-seeded Baylor. The Raiders are going to get somebody on this event finally, and I’m already frightened that I is likely to be kicking myself for not recognizing that that is the yr.
Baylor does go down in spherical two, as Richard Pitino guides New Mexico to its first Candy 16 in program historical past. Some of the underrated fan bases in all of faculty basketball is floating for the subsequent week.
Each Arizona and North Carolina reap the good thing about unscary competitors to arrange the “Caleb Love Bowl” within the Elite Eight. Each Love and First Crew All-American R.J. Davis placed on reveals in an up-and-down thriller. Finally, the mini-tradition of early Tommy Lloyd flameouts is eviscerated, and Zona lastly will get again over the hump and into the Ultimate 4 for the primary time since 2001.
The Pac-12 lives for a minimum of a number of days longer.
South Area
Right here’s the place issues crumble.
Buzz Williams is nice for a minimum of one second weekend run all over the place he goes, and he hasn’t had his at Texas A&M but. That adjustments this weekend. Buzz was a missed layup on the buzzer away from knocking off Zion Williamson and Duke within the Candy 16 throughout his final season at Virginia Tech. He lastly will get that signature event win this yr because the Aggies upset top-seeded Houston within the second spherical.
A&M then turns proper round and loses to the signature Cinderella of this yr’s event, James Madison, within the Candy 16. The Dukes beat Wisconsin after which, uh, Duke to seize the hearts and minds of the American sporting public.
Serve is usually held within the backside half of the bracket, outdoors of Colorado going from the First 4 to taking out a wounded Florida workforce within the first spherical. Kentucky and Marquette sq. off in a chalky Candy 16 matchup, the place the event ghost of Dwyane Wade carries the Golden Eagles into the Elite Eight.
I’ll repeat this statistic 50 instances each March till it stops being a pattern: Each event however one since 2012 has featured a minimum of one workforce seeded seventh or worse. Just about each professional bracket that you just’re going to seek out on the web options zero Ultimate 4 groups seeded seventh or worse. Current historical past says they’re all going to be fallacious.
If it’s all going to crumble anyway, you may as properly swing massive: JAMES MADISON IS GOING TO THE FINAL FOUR.
Midwest Area
I get that Samford over Kansas is stylish, but it surely’s stylish for good motive. The Jayhawks are banged up, they weren’t deep to start with, they usually’re taking part in a veteran workforce that’s going to press them for 40 straight minutes. The world is about to get a crash course on Bucky Ball.
The opposite massive upset that everybody appears to have isn’t going to occur. McNeese is aggressive with Gonzaga, however the Bulldogs haven’t misplaced a primary spherical recreation within the NCAA event since 2008, and that doesn’t change this yr. The Zags then decide off Samford two days later to make the Candy 16 for a ninth consecutive season. Everybody on the planet responds to that truth by tweeting out that they’ve nonetheless by no means received a nationwide title.
Oregon picks off an overachieving South Carolina workforce and Creighton survives a scare from Akron to arrange the Dana Altman Bowl in spherical two, which the Bluejays win. Colorado State makes it 2-for-2 for the First 4 at-large groups, however will get pummeled by Tennessee within the second spherical.
Purdue will get pushed to the brink by TCU, which has everybody predicting one other early March exit. These talks stop when the Boilermakers blowout Gonzaga within the Candy 16.
It appears like we’re overdue for an Elite Eight weekend loaded with powerhouse 1v2 matchups. We’re getting it this yr, and this one is likely to be essentially the most extremely anticipated.
It’s Purdue vs. Tennessee within the “Shedding Fan Base May be Pushed to Give Up School Basketball Endlessly” traditional.
It’s Purdue. Purdue followers are those that is likely to be pushed to surrender faculty basketball eternally.
Tennessee lastly breaks by and rids itself of the title of “greatest faculty basketball program to by no means make a Ultimate 4.” Dalton Knecht introduces himself to the portion of the sports activities world that also doesn’t know who he’s with an outrageous string of performances.
FINAL FOUR
The semifinal video games suck. UConn embarrasses Arizona, and James Madison seems to be like numerous Cinderella Ultimate 4 groups have appeared over time once they attain the game’s largest stage.
Fortunately, the title recreation salvages the season’s ultimate chapter. Tennessee stays inside placing distance for all 40 minutes, however by no means will get all the best way over the hump and into the lead.
UConn turns into faculty basketball’s first back-to-back nationwide champion since 2006-07, and Danny Hurley establishes himself as the brand new teaching face of the game.