The Cinderellas Belmont Bruins I was ecstatic to see Belmont make the cut as one of the last at-large teams. The Bruins notched 26 wins in a very competitive Ohio Valley Conference and actually beat out Murray State for the regular season league title. They were neck and neck with Ja Morrant’s Racers in…
So You Think You Can Dance?
March Madness: Perfect In All of Its Flaws The NCAA tournament is unlike any spectacle in sports: 68 teams competing in a single-elimination format where fortune, momentum, and contrasting styles collide. Played out a thousand times, there would be a thousand outcomes. The only constant is madness. There’s more to this tournament than meets the…
Conference Tournament Schedules
America East – March 9th – 16th (ESPN+) American Athletic – March 14th – 17th (ESPN2/U) Atlantic 10 – March 13th – 17th (ESPN+, NBCSN, CBS) ACC – March 12th – 16th (ESPN/ESPNU/ESPN2) ASUN – March 4th – 10th (ESPN+, ESPN) Big 12 – March 13th – 16th (ESPNU, ESPN, ESPN2) Big East – March…
The Final Chapter: The Wolverines and the Wildcats
Something’s gotta give. Monday’s National Championship features one of the most compelling match-ups in sports: historic offense vs. elite defense. This is the first time we’ve had a top-three offense play a top-three defense since 2013. The top three offense that year was the Michigan Wolverines, who were bested by Louisville’s top-rated defense (until that…
The Best Players Still Playing
The one-and-dones are out, but plenty of talent remains. Talent gets you in to the NCAA tournament; experience wins it. Three weeks ago the field of 68 boasted a slew of tremendous ‘one-and-done’ talent. You could spot NBA-bound college freshmen like Michael Porter Jr, DeAndre Atyon, Marvin Bagley, Mohamed Bamba, Jaren Jackson, Trae Young,…
Loyola-Chicago: A Cinderella Story
The slipper still fits. Cinderella teams are one aspect of the tournament that anyone can appreciate. They add an element of excited uncertainty and unbalance to the equation. When David slays Goliath not once but repeatedly, we are compelled to wonder – what’s this dude’s secret? We latch on to the inner-workings of the Miracle…
No Shortage of Madness
Even when we expect the unexpected, the NCAA tournament leaves us speechless. There are three things you can count on in life: death, taxes, and Madness. And thanks to the latter, there’s never a dull tax season. March Madness truly is an amazing phenomenon. Despite a rich history of stunning upsets, amazing moments, and unlikely…
Reseeding the Field
Teams remaining, highest to lowest seeds: Kansas (1), Villanova (1), Duke (2), Purdue (2), Michigan (3), Texas Tech (3), Gonzaga (4), Kentucky (5), Clemson (5), West Virginia (5), Nevada (7), Texas A&M (7), Florida State (9), Kansas State (9), Syracuse (11), Loyola-Chicago (11). My power rankings leading into the second weekend: 1. Villanova 2,…
Sweet Sixteen Schedule
Sweet 16/regional semifinals THURSDAY 7:07 p.m., CBS: No. 7 Nevada vs. No. 11 Loyola-Chicago (Brian Anderson, Chris Webber, Lisa Byington) 7:37 p.m., TBS: No. 3 Michigan vs. No. 7 Texas A&M (Kevin Harlan, Reggie Miller, Dan Bonner, Dana Jacobson) Approx. 9:37, CBS No. 5 Kentucky vs. No. 9 Kansas State (Anderson/Webber/Byington) Approx. 10:07., TBS: No. 4 Gonzaga vs. No. 9 Florida State (Harlan/Miller/Bonner/Jacobson) FRIDAY 7:07 p.m., CBS: No. 1 Kansas vs. No. 5 Clemson (Jim…
First Look: The Frontrunners
Villanova Villanova is as complete, if not more complete, than its 2016 National Championship team. They rank 2nd overall in adjusted efficiency, aka they are a top-tier team on both the offensive and defense ends. And when it comes to the offensive side of the ball, when this team plays its A game, no one…