March Madness is here and college campuses across the United States are in the midst of a hoops frenzy. Selection Sunday is literally hours away, and soon we’ll be burning the midnight oil, studying hard, all believing we are top of the class Bracketology students.
Only time will tell as the weeks and rounds unfold. One thing is guaranteed though, non-stop excitement until the NCAA Basketball champions are crowned at State Farm Stadium, Glendale, Arizona on April 8th.
Embed from Getty ImagesUConn Favourites to Defend Their Crown
UConn romped to a 76-59 victory against San Diego State in Houston, Texas to seal the NCAA Basketball mens title last year. The joint-biggest winning margin in the Final since Duke reigned supreme in 1992. It was the University of Connecticut a.k.a the Huskies’ fifth championship win ever. In reaching that total they became the joint-fourth best college side in the history of the NCAAB Championship, which dates back to 1939.
Only eight teams played in the inaugural 1939 edition of the tournament, organised by the National Association of Basketball Coaches. The East Regional sides: Brown, Ohio State, Villanova and Wake Forest and from the West: Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas and Utah State. The Oregon Ducks would beat the Ohio State Buckeyes in the final to claim the first crown. The only one the Ducks have won to this day. The nearest they’ve been since is the Final Four in 2017.
March Madness: The Big Dance, Big Dogs
From an original 8, the number of teams involved would expand over the years and has been set at a current tournament level of 68 from 2011 onwards. Since 2022, 32 of the 68 have qualified by winning their individual conference tournaments. The remaining 36 sides are decided by a selection committee. So even though some of the bigger teams may fail to win their conference tournaments, they know they are very likely/guaranteed to receive a wildcard berth on Selection Sunday.
As well as defending champs, the UConn Huskies, looking to add to their five championship titles, other multiple winners with high hopes this year include: Kentucky, North Carolina and Duke. UCLA top the all-time winners’ chart with 11 crowns, but they’ve not gone the distance since 1995 and are roughly 40th+ in the bookies list of potential 2024 winners.
Embed from Getty ImagesMarch Madness Memorable Upsets
It’s been 39 years since 8th-seeded Villanova shook the hoops world to claim NCAAB Championship honours. Those 1985 winning Wildcats are the lowest ranked side ever to clinch the crown. While going the whole way is obviously beyond dreamland for the minnows, famous shocks continue to happen at the NCAA tournament and is what keeps us on the edge of our seats. Everybody loves an underdogs story.
The 2023 NCAAB tournament began with a huge shock as No.1 seeds, Purdue, were dumped out by No.16 outfit Fairleigh Dickinson. Only the second time since the event was extended to 64 teams, that a No.16 side had accomplished such a feat. However, Purdue wouldn’t be the only names to lose face, as like dominos, the big sides continued to drop in 2023. For the first time since the NCAA Tournament began seeding teams in 1979, all four No.1s were eliminated before the Elite Eight stage.
The only other giant-killing act of No.1s being dumped out by a No.16, occurred in 2018 when tournament second-favourites Virginia were ousted in sensational fashion, 74-54 by UMBC. Jairus Lyles would go down in Retrievers’ folklore as he sunk 28 points and grabbed 4 rebounds and 3 assists. The fairy tales wouldn’t last long for either Fairleigh Dickinson & UMBC though, as both would suffer second round exits in their respective years. But their moments of triumph are never to be forgotten and will spur on other minnows to repeat those magical feats.
Who’s In with a Shot at 2024 Stardom?
UConn are the bookies’ favourites to regain their NCAA title. If they do so, they’ll become only the third side to achieve it in the past 50 years (Florida – 2007, Duke – 1992). The Huskies have had a better build-up to this year’s tournament than last year’s though, so confidence will be high. They suffered 8 defeats before their 2023 March Madness campaign, but at the time of writing have only lost 3 games this term. They also went on a 14-game win streak between December 23rd and February 17th.
The Houston Cougars are one of four teams who joined the Big 12 expansion this season, the others being BYU, Cincinnati and UCF. Houston have been building momentum over recent years. They’ve regularly topped their conference standings (the AAC until this season) and they reached the Final Four of the NCAA tournament in 2021. Being knocked out at the Sweet Sixteen stage last year was a huge disappointment though. Cougars coach Kelvin Sampson will know the pressure is on. They are currently on a 11-game winning run, but can they keep their heads?
Embed from Getty ImagesPurdue Pursuing Redemption
The shockwaves caused by Purdue’s defeat against FDU still resonate around the college hoops scene. Like Houston, the Boilermakers know they will need to bounce back. They have topped the ‘Big Ten’ table for successive seasons for the first time under Matt Painter’s 18-year reign and the first time since 1996. Their regular season campaign may have gone well, but it’s the ‘Big Dance’ that matters most. In Zach Edey, they have one of the biggest stars in the NCAA game right now. The 7-foot-4 senior tops the scoring charts and is third in rebounds. With NBA teams watching intently, he knows he and the Boilermakers will need to leave a (positive) mark this season.
After the top-3 fancied sides of UConn, Houston and Purdue, there are large group of teams with similar claims. They include those with illustrious pasts (Kentucky, North Carolina, and Duke). The Kentucky Wildcats lie second with 8 titles on the overall NCAA tournament standings. They arrive at the 2024 party looking to end a 12-year wait for a crown. But the omens do not bode too well. John Calipari’s Wildcats were ousted during the early stages of the 2022 & 2023 NCAA tournaments after mediocre conference campaigns. They haven’t fared much better this year. Kentucky were knocked out of the SEC tournament in the quarter-finals earlier this week, and are 23-9 this season.
Will The Tar Heels Stick Around?
North Carolina and Duke both have a long and impressive NCAA tournament history. The Tar Heels with 6 titles, the Blue Devils with 5. It’s North Carolina who have fared better of the two recently, winning the title in 2017 and finishing runners-up in 2016 and 2022. However, 2023 was a shocker for the Tar Heels. They missed out on the ‘Big Dance’ for the first time since 2010 after finishing 7th in the Atlantic Coast Conference. They bounced back well this term though, with star man R.J. Davis controlling affairs on court and he will be essential if they are going to be successful.
It was never going to be easy for Jon Scheyer taking over from one of the all-time great basketball coaches. Mike Krzyzewski hung up his clipboard in 2022, after a staggering 42-year reign at Duke. The 2023 season was always going to be a transitional period for the Blue Devils and so it proved. They finished 3rd during the regular season (Atlantic Coast Conference), won the conference tournament and exited in the Second Round of the NCAA tournament. Duke fans were expecting improvement this term. Unfortunately, they look to be losing their touch at the worst possible time. They suffered two losses to the Tar Heels towards the end of the regular season. NC State would then dump them out of the ACC tournament.
Deep Breaths, Not Long Now
Enjoy, sit back, and expect the unexpected over the coming weeks. The fact that 16 different teams have reached the last four NCAA Tournament Final Four stages shows how open the competition can be. The compelling uncertainty of March Madness all gives us hope (for now) of passing our Bracketology studies with flying colours.
Sky Sports coverage of March Madness (the 85th edition of the NCAA Tournament) gets underway on Wednesday 20th March. You can also stream games on the NCAA March Madness Live app.
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