This year has been a very quiet start to March Madness. All number 1 seeds stayed alive and 20 of the 32 games were won by double figures. The dominant teams won as expected and it is obvious that they came into March ready to compete. Unlike years in the past, there will be no cinderella team as the lowest seed entering the second round is the #12 seeds McNeese and Colorado State. These multiple blowout wins leave many underdog fans disappointed, however set up some great matchups in the next round.
#12 McNeese vs #4 Purdue
McNeese being the biggest upset in their last round win versus #5 Clemson makes the top of my list. They are set up for another challenge against #4 Purdue. McNeese last game was led by Senior guard Brandon Murray with 21 points coming off the bench and Junior guard Quadir Copeland with 16 points and 7 rebounds. I don’t know about you guys but this is the team that broke my bracket. Purdue in their expected victory against #13 High Point were led by the Junior duo of Trey Kaufman-Renn with 21 points and Braden Smith with 20 points. Many fans are ready for this game while many eyes are on famous McNeese manager Amir “Aura” Khan. Viral student manager has grown in popularity for his walkouts with the team holding a giant boombox and his overall energy that he brings to the game. In this intense matchup Mcneese, the underdogs, will need everything they can get, even some extra juice from the manager.
#6 BYU vs #3 Wisconsin
BYU had a strong performance in the first round beating VCU 80-71. Their team out-rebounded VCU by 9, while shooting 50% from the field. BYU played a very strong team game with 3 players in double digits and multiple close to double digits in scoring. BYU will need to keep this up as they take on #3 ranked Wisconsin. Wisconsin is coming off a dominant double digit win against Montana 85-66. The Badgers were led by Sophomore John Blackwell with 19 points and Senior Steven Crowl with 18 points. Wisconsin will lean on these guys once again in hopes of making it to the Sweet 16.
#10 Arkansas vs #2 St. John’s
In his first season as Razorbacks head coach, John Calipari led the team in an upset win vs the famous #6 Kansas Jayhawks. The Razorbacks were led by Senior guard Jonas Aidoo (22 points) and Junior Forward Trevon Brazile with a double-double (12 rebs, 11pts). St. John’s squad came off an expected dominant win against #15 Omaha (83-53). Junior guard RJ Luis Jr. led the team with 22 points and 8 rebounds. Shooting 5 for 8 from the 3 point line and 8 of 14 from the field. Overall a very dominant performance making them a tough team to compete with. However after Arkansas’ last game I believe that St. John’s may have to worry about John Calipari’s experience and his talented roster.
#8 UConn vs #1 Florida
#8 Uconn seeking their 3rd national championship in a row won a close game against #9 Oklahoma (67-59). Led by Head Coach Dan Hurley with controversy as he declined Los Angeles Lakers head coach position in pursuit of three peat at the college level. The Huskies are a well rounded team with their top scorers all averaging 14 points a game (Solo Ball, Alex Karaban, and Liam McNeeley). A very balanced team with a dangerous head coach. Onto #1 ranked Florida, having a dominant season entering the game 31-4, are led by Senior Guard Walkter Clayton Jr. with 17.7 points and 4.3 assists per game. They are looking to continue their strong season and top it off with a national championship. This would be their 3rd national championship ever. This might be the top matchup of round 2 of the National College Basketball tournament.
#6 Illinois Vs #3 Kentucky
Two famous basketball programs will go head to head with only one of them making it to the sweet 16. #6 Illinois is coming off of a solid win against #11 Xavier (86-73). They will look to lean on star Freshman Kasparas Jakucionis who is averaging a team high 15 points and 4.8 assists per game. They also have a total of 5 players who average double digit points, this will help take some pressure off of the freshman guard. For Kentucky they have a duo of Junior Guard Otega Oweh and Senior Center Amari Williams. Oweh leads the team in points with 16.4 per game and 1.6 steals per game. Williams leads in rebounds with 8.6 and blocks with 1.2 per game. These two will cause some problems for #6 Illinois but should be a good game to watch.
Further Down the Road
#1 Auburn showed a strong performance stomping out #16 Alabama St. 83-63. The Tigers are led by Senior Forward Johni Broome who averages a double double on the season (18.4 pts, 10.7 rebs per game). They will be a team to continue to watch as the #1 seed continues to assert their dominance.
#1 Duke showed another dominant win destroying #16 Mount St. Mary’s 93-49 in the first round. After missing 2 games due to a left ankle injury, Star Freshman Cooper Flagg returned for his first national tournament game and showed no signs of injury. Flagg had 14 points and 7 rebounds in only 22 minutes of play time. In a full game I would expect to see even more and with more rest he will be even more dominant. Overall Duke showed why they are a top seed and made the first round look like a joke.
#12 Colorado State started the tournament with an upset against a scrapy #5 Memphis team. This may be a team to keep an eye on further in the tournament as they have shown what they are capable of. Led by Senior Guard Nique Clifford, Standing at 6’6, 200 lbs. He averages 18.9 points, 9.7 rebounds, 4.4 assists, and 1.2 steals per a game, leading his team in all these categories. He is the heart and soul of this team and he will need some more help later down the road if the Rams want to make a deep run.
Throughout my analysis of the first round of March Madness, I have noticed one big thing different than in years past, there are no big upsets. The lowest seed as I stated earlier is the 12 seed. All seeds 13-16 have been eliminated, showing how dominant the top seeds are. I believe this is because of new NIL rules as athletes are able to make more money at bigger programs. It is also now more common for top athletes to transfer to make the most money they can. “College athletes seeking out new opportunities – and sometimes seeking out the highest bidder” (GreenspoonMarder, Josh Golberg). The bigger schools can provide more NIL money opportunities for athletes making the best athletes desire their school more. This makes it difficult for the lower seeds in the tournament to compete as they have less star athletes on their team. Overall I believe that the top teams will continue to dominate this March Madness and the future national tournaments as NIL continues to increase.