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MARCH MADNESS OVERVIEW:

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• This is one of the most famous and exciting tournaments in the world, across any sport! A total of 68 teams gain entry and will all be looking to advance to the heralded Final Four… played this year come the first week of April at the Alamodome in San Antonio.
   

• This tournament will generate roughly a billion dollars (not kidding) for the NCAA’s organizational revenue – something to consider when trying to make sense of the Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) money being given to college players nowadays. 
   

• Fans will see 48 games on display between Thursday at lunch time and carrying through Sunday evening… a span of roughly 80 hours. Various four-team pods, all at different sites around the country, will play either Thursday-Saturday or Friday-Sunday. The remaining schools (16) then get to return to campus and regroup before traveling to new sites for the Sweet 16.
   

• Speaking of the Sweet 16… a double-digit seed has advanced to this round in each of the last 16 years, and 37 of the past 39 dating back nearly four decades. Don't count out the underdogs!​

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THINGS TO WATCH:

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• Connecticut (UConn) is looking to become the first three-peat champions since John Wooden’s famous UCLA program back in the1970’s. But the odds are much steeper for the Huskies this time around, landing as an eight seed and not featuring quite as many talented pieces.
   

• Duke features the nation’s top player and pro prospect in 6-foot-8 Cooper Flagg, who will surely go first overall in the upcoming NBA Draft. But he suffered an ankle injury in the ACC Tournament and his status remains in question. Flagg will no doubt play this opening weekend… but just how healthy/impactful will he be?
   

• Houston is still looking to break through and win its first national championship in program history. The Cougars have made the Sweet 16 five times in a row, including two recent trips to the Elite 8, and even made the Final Four back in 2021. Is this finally the year they go all the way? Hall of Fame Coach Kelvin Sampson and fifth-year journeyman point guard L.J. Cryer sure believe so.
   

• Auburn is the tournament’s top overall seed and features a standout coach/player duo in the likes of Bruce Pearl and star forward Johni (pronounced Juh-nye) Broome… He is pushing Flagg for National Player of the Year honors and led Auburn to a 28-5 record this year in the rugged Southeastern Conference (SEC).
   

• The SEC has placed a record 14 teams into the March Madness bracket this year. Four of its teams – Florida, Auburn, Tennessee and Alabama -  finished Top 10 in the national poll of the regular season.

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• Michigan (a No. 5 seed) can’t be feeling much respect with how they were placed in the bracket. Wisconsin is a 3, Purdue and Maryland are 4’s… Yet Michigan beat all those teams - two of them twice - on its way to winning the Big Ten Tournament. Now Michigan gets sent to the west coast, on short rest, to play a very dangerous UC San Diego team in the Denver altitude… brutal.
   

• Akron, winners of the Mid-American Conference, has a 21-1 record since the calendar flipped to January and are entertaining to watch. The Zips are the 16th-fastest team in the country regarding tempo and shoot/make plenty of 3’s, but also don’t place much defense on the other end. How might they fare in a potential run-and-gun matchup against Arizona (with dynamic, and sometimes reckless, guard Caleb Love) in the opening round?

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• Yale shockingly knocked off Auburn in the first round of last year’s tournament, and will now be trying to deliver a similar fate to Texas A&M… or maybe even Michigan in the second round? Yale ranks eighth nationally in three-point percentage, choosing shots wisely and making almost 39% from long range.

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• Legendary coach Rick Pitino has admirably turned around St. John’s into a national contender. The Red Storm won the Big East and are a No. 2 seed in the West Region. This group plays swarming defense and doesn’t allow its opponents to get many good shots. In fact, only one team has scored more than 70 points against them in the last month (Marquette in overtime).

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• Free throws are very important! Wisconsin is the best in the country at 82.8%  as a team, more than two percentage points better than anyone else. Other NCAA qualifying teams in this bracket to rank Top-10 nationally in this category include Gonzaga (third), Lipscomb (fifth), Xavier (sixth), Oklahoma (seventh) and UConn (tenth).

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• Many questioned whether North Carolina, featuring a subpar resume in terms of who they were able to beat in regular season, deserved to be selected into this tournament. UNC heard that criticism and responded by absolutely destroying San Diego State in Tuesday night’s play-in game. The Tar Heels are now being installed as a slight favorite over Mississippi in the true first round game on Thursday.

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• McNeese, who some think could be a tricky “Cinderella” team, has lost just once since the middle of December and are led by former LSU coach Will Wade. They have won 57 games over the past two years and won’t be afraid of anyone, putting a rather tough and edgy lineup on the floor. They made this tournament last year but got blitzed by Gonzaga in the first round.

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• Colorado State is one of the hottest teams in the country, having won 10-straight games and cruising through the Mountain West Conference Tournament. The oddsmakers in Vegas sure do respect the No. 12-seeded Rams by making them a favorite over No. 5 seed Memphis, which is led by former NBA player Penny Hardaway. Keep an eye out for Colorado State leading scorer Nique Clifford, who recently transferred from rival Colorado.

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• Bryant University, a relative unknown to the average fan, is a No. 15 seed that will have to play Michigan State in the first round. However, Bryant is the second-tallest team in the country with 11 players standing 6-foot-5 or taller. That includes a pair of near seven-footers. There are a lot of things you can teach in the game of basketball… but you can’t teach height! ​

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• There are some players with memorable/unique names competing in this field – Supreme Cook (Oregon), Phat Phat Brooks (Michigan), Townsend Triple (BYU), Bez Mbeng (Yale), Solo Ball (UConn), Birgir Irving (High Point), Dain Dainja (Memphis) and Zuby “Zuby-Doo” Ejiofor (St. John’s) to name a few!

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• Tom Izzo is one of the best coaches in the history of college basketball, having won 734 games at Michigan State since taking over in 1995. However, his program has only garnered one national title (2000) despite advancing to many other Final Fours. He has an electric player this year in Jase Richardson, the son of former NBA star (and slam dunk champion) Jason Richardson.

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If you’ve read this far down, it’s easy to understand how unique and dynamic this tournament can be. Try to have fun in your own ways – joining a pool, forming a contest at home with your family, printing a giant bracket to put on your wall and fill out as things progress, make a quirky side bet with a close friend, travel and watch a game up in Cleveland (one of the opening host sites), etc. No matter what, enjoy!

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Coach Adam