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We’ve all been there…one of these tourney games gets underway and immediately you see you’re on the wrong side of the action. It’s what makes the tournament great but also maddening. In particular for this year, most brackets were busted because we saw so much “chalk” the first couple days. Sometimes it feels like we should’ve just known a particular team or conference wouldn’t show up. Lets discuss some of those below…
1. One Seed Dominance
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Last year was a debacle for the 1 seeds with Purdue losing to FDU, Houston/Alabama eliminated at the Sweet 16, and Kansas falling in the round of 32. But not this year as the top seeds have looked mostly stellar thus far. UConn has won their two games by a combined 56 points, North Carolina smacked Tom Izzo by 16 in a game that was supposed to be close, and Purdue crushed the soul of Utah State winning by 39 in the second round. The only 1 seed to feel real game pressure was Houston with an OT thriller against Texas A&M.
2. Auburn Falling on Their Face…Again
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I knew to never pick Auburn in the NCAA Tournament. I like Bruce Pearl a good amount but could feel this loss coming in my bones. Outside of Auburn’s magical run in 2018, Pearl has just 3 tourney wins since 2014.
3. Calipari’s Tumble Continues
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I said on air that no one had more pressure on him outside of Matt Painter than Kentucky’s John Calipari. The first half of Cal’s resume at UK is quite different than the second half. Kentucky has won just 1 tournament game in the last 3 years, missed the tournament in 2020, and hasn’t been the Final Four since the 2014-15 season. We should have seen this coming. This particular UK team ranked 112th in defense, 263rd in defensive turnover percentage, and just fizzled out of the SEC Tournament.
4. Why Did We Believe in McNeese State?
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Will Wade has NEVER been as respected as a head coach until this past week when his 12th seeded McNeese State Cowboys took the court against Gonzaga. It was the sexy pick to take Wade’s team to not only beat the Zags but make the Sweet 16 by topping a Kansas team who seemed left for dead. McNeese St lost by 21 and was never really in the game against Gonzaga.
5. Alford’s Tourney Woes Continue
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I saw an alarming number of people I know picking Nevada in their first-round matchup against Dayton. Why? One of Alford’s teams hasn’t won a tourney game since 2016-17.
