What happened in Thursday and Friday's first round

East: UConn

West: North Carolina

South: Kentucky

Midwest: Purdue

Championship: Purdue over UConn

There’s a reason no one has repeated as national champion since 2007: It’s really hard. Admittedly, UConn is really hard to pick against, but I’ve said Purdue since the start of the season and I’m not changing my mind. Everyone is reading disaster into the Boilermakers’ loss to Wisconsin in the Big Ten tournament; they said the same when Virginia lost in its conference semifinals in 2019. The Cavaliers went on to win it all.

CHARLOTTE — Tom Izzo got social media fired up over comments that appeared to give at least tacit support to SEC commissioner Greg Sankey’s push for more power-league opportunities in the NCAA Tournament.

He said those comments were misconstrued.

“I’m for the little guy,” Izzo told The Athletic after he was reached to clarify comments from an earlier Wednesday news conference. “I’m always for the little guy. I just think there are better ways we can do some things.”

Primarily, more coaching voices on the NCAA Tournament’s selection committee, he said. Izzo talked about that and his distaste for conference tournaments — a long-held belief of his — on the eve of Thursday’s game against Mississippi State to start his record 26th straight NCAA Tournament.

The Sankey-related response, though, got the most attention. Asked specifically about Sankey’s recent suggestions that schools in power leagues should have more opportunities at the expense of one-bid leagues, Izzo said: “I’m a Division II guy, you know, so I’m always looking for the little guys. I’m not very big myself, so I always have an appreciation, and maybe that would be a reason to expand. I just think what’s happening now, everybody likes the upsets in the first weekend, but I’m not sure moving on that’s what’s best for the game. I think it’s got to be looked at seriously.”

Sankey recently told ESPN of potential tournament expansion and changes: “We are giving away highly competitive opportunities for automatic qualifiers (from smaller leagues), and I think that pressure is going to rise as we have more competitive basketball leagues at the top end because of (conference) expansion.”

Sankey clarified to The Athletic on Saturday at the SEC tournament that he doesn’t envision a tournament of all schools from power leagues, but reiterated: “I understand access, I understand the special nature (of Cinderellas) and certainly respect that, but right now in college athletics, nothing is static.”

Izzo told The Athletic he hadn’t read Sankey’s specific comments. He was aware, though, of St. John’s coach Rick Pitino’s recent comments on the need for more coaching voices on the committee, which is made up of athletic directors and conference commissioners.

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The year is 1995 and the Villanova men’s basketball team is feeling pretty good about itself. The Wildcats have won 17 of 19, are coming off a rout of top-seeded Connecticut in the Big East Conference championship game, and have received a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The question entering their first-round game against 14th-seeded Old Dominion is not whether they will win, but by how much.

“We had a really good basketball team, we were the heavy favorites, and the next thing you know we find ourselves in triple overtime,” Paul Hewitt, an assistant with the team, recalls from the 89-81 loss. ”The dynamic shifted so quickly. All of a sudden there’s just so much stress on every pass and every shot.”

Fast forward to 2004. Hewitt is now at the other end of the spectrum as Georgia Tech’s head coach. After losing three of seven to end the regular season, the Yellow Jackets were bounced from the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament in the second round and trending in the wrong direction despite receiving a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament, where they will open against Northern Iowa.

“You walk in and no one expects anything out of us but we get on a run,” said Hewitt, whose squad advanced to the championship game before falling to Connecticut. “We were considered probably the last of the three seeds. But after the first game, I thought we were playing with house money. We had a talented group, but the fun of the tournament is the unpredictable nature of it and how stories can change between first half and second half.”

The capricious nature of March Madness is not only what makes it the most eagerly anticipated month on the sporting calendar, but also the reason NCAA officials should leave the tournament alone. There is talk they are considering expanding the field and possibly doing away with automatic bids, all in the name of increased revenue, presumably. But all money is not good money, particularly if it diminishes the core of what makes something special, and in the case of the NCAA men’s tournament, that remains its unpredictability.

Some argue that gambling is what drives interest, and to some degree, that’s true, as the American Gaming Association estimates that $2.7 billion will be bet this year on the men’s and women’s tournaments through legal sports books. But the stronger gravitational pull is chaos and the upheaval that comes from David slaying Goliath.

“You look at the Purdue game last year,” said Hewitt, currently the head coach of the San Diego Clippers of the G League. “Before the game, nobody even thought Fairleigh Dickinson had a chance. Next thing you know, in the middle of it, everybody is getting text messages — turn on the Purdue game.”

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If you’re in the “Oh crap, my bracket’s due in 22 minutes” camp, or the “I don’t really know much this year but still want to enter my pool” one, or any other procrastinator camp — you have found your solution.

We took eight strategies and filled out a bracket for each (by hand!), from “chalk” to “chalk with a twist of Bracket Breaker likely upsets” all the way down to “what if these were football teams?” Whatever your speed or knowledge of the game, you will find something here that can be clicked on, downloaded and even printed if that’s your style — and shouldn’t raise too much suspicion since it’s all hand-written for you. Some even have “I changed my mind” cross-outs to prove your innocence! Or you could print a blank bracket and write in the suggestions yourself.

So scan below, pick your poison and good luck in your pool!

Since Florida repeated as national champs in 2007, no defending champion has advanced past the Sweet 16. That ends this year.

Connecticut is the most complete team in college basketball, and it’s going to end that streak and repeat as national champions. That was my pre-bracket prediction and I’m sticking with it, but the selection committee really has me uneasy about that prediction. The Huskies received no favors as the top overall seed. You could argue that UConn has the toughest path to Phoenix as any of the top seeds. Iowa State has the best defense in college basketball. Illinois has one of the best offenses and was a team pre-bracket that I was pretty sure I would push through to the Final Four, and Auburn is the candidate to be this season’s UConn.

My other pre-bracket rule: Fade the Big 12. The league is the most physical in the country and its teams, outside of Iowa State, are entering the NCAA Tournament bruised and battered. And if you look through the all-conference teams in the Big 12, the talent is not comparable to past years. There aren’t a lot of pros, and the talent is down. There are still a lot of good teams, but for most of the year it felt like Houston was the only great one. And Houston is a shell of itself right now.

Sometimes it’s a curse to watch a lot of college basketball because it leads to going too chalky. Last season, that would have gotten you in real trouble. This year the top is stronger. It’s not just the eye test. Adjusted efficiency margins at KenPom.com suggest this as well. For instance, last season’s No. 1 entering the tournament (Houston) would be this season’s No. 3. Last season’s No. 2 (UCLA) would fall to No. 6 this year. The numbers a year ago were hinting at possible chaos. This year we could get a more chalky Final Four.

Now, maybe you’ve come here for help with your bracket. My advice: If you’re convinced that UConn is the best team, then pick the Huskies. But if you’re not, there’s a lot of value in picking Purdue. The Boilermakers have been one of the best two teams in the country all season, but a lot of people are going to pick an early upset because Matt Painter’s team has lost in the first round in two of the last three tournaments — including No. 16 seed Fairleigh Dickinson last year. This is not the same Purdue team. That one featured freshmen guards who were wearing down. Now Braden Smith and Fletcher Loyer are sophomores, and Smith, in particular, has made a big leap and is one of the best point guards in the country. He also has playmaking help in Southern Illinois transfer guard Lance Jones.

I’m sticking with UConn, but I’ve got Purdue in the championship game.

Let’s get to the nitty gritty now. Here is a region-by-region breakdown.

All 67 games will be televised across four national television networks — TBS, CBS, TNT and truTV — and streaming via the NCAA March Madness Live app for those with access to those channels through a TV provider. Games airing on CBS will stream live on Paramount+ while games on TBS, TNT and truTV will stream live on Max’s B/R Sports Add-On. NCAA March Madness Live will be available to download across 19 platforms.

The Final Four and title game will air on TBS. We repeat: TBS will televise the men’s semifinals on April 6 (game times of 6 and 8 p.m.), and then the national championship on April 8 (9 p.m.). This year’s Final Four is not on CBS as part of the latest media rights deal, which has CBS and TBS alternating coverage each year.

The Grambling State Tigers were down by double digits late. The Montana State Bobcats’ NCAA Tournament journey appeared to be inching toward another game in the Round of 64. Until it wasn’t.

The Tigers roared back, overcoming a 14-point deficit in the second half to defeat the Bobcats 88-81 in overtime Wednesday night in the First Four. Grambling State will now face the No. 1 seed Purdue Boilermakers in the Midwest Regional.

Jimel Cofer led Grambling State in scoring with 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the floor. Antwan Burnett and Jourdan Smith each added 18 points for the Tigers. Montana State’s Robert Ford III had a game-high 26 points on 9-of-13 shooting from the field.

With the game tied at 78 with 1:43 remaining in overtime, Burnett made two clutch free throws. Smith later dunked with 56 seconds left, sealing the victory for the Tigers.

Grambling State made program history when it won the SWAC tournament over Texas Southern, securing a birth in its first Division I NCAA Tournament. Before 2024, Grambling State appeared in two D-II NCAA Tournaments (1958 and 1976).

March Madness is upon us.

Well, technically it began during a wild conference tournament season ahead of the NCAA Tournament. But now, we get the really good stuff. The Cinderellas. The players you hadn’t heard of before this week who are now household names. The buzzer-beaters. Ultimately, though, we all want to know who will be cutting down the nets in April. And so we present: the top 16 national title contenders in our NCAA Tournament Power Rankings.

We will update this ranking after every round and until the Final Four begins. If top-seeded teams fall, others will take their place. If some lower-seeded teams look stronger than expected, they’ll move up the list.

Who’s on top to start? Of course it’s Connecticut. Here’s a look at where things stand as we enter Thursday’s first round:

1. Connecticut
2. Houston
3. Purdue
4. North Carolina
5. Tennessee

Continue reading for the rest.

Could the NCAA Tournament have its first back-to-back champions since the Florida Gators won titles in 2006 and 2007? The UConn Huskies took home the title last year, blowing out San Diego State 76-59 in the championship game. Now, UConn is again the favorite (+350) at BetMGM to win the national title and holds the No. 1 seed in the East region.

The Huskies opened as favorites to repeat at +1100 when the odds for this year opened on April 3, right after they cut down the nets.

UConn won the Big East by four games with an 18-2 record and has only lost three games entering the NCAA Tournament. Guard Tristen Newton leads the Huskies in scoring, rebounds and assists per game. Cam Spencer, Alex Karaban and Donovan Clingan also average more than 12 points per game for Dan Hurley’s squad.

The Huskies also dominated the Big East Tournament, beating Marquette 73-57 in the championship game on Saturday.

Houston (+600), Purdue (+650), Arizona (+1100) and North Carolina (+1300) round out the top five teams with the best odds. There haven’t really been any surprise teams this season, as those teams were also the top five teams when the odds were released last April. Tennessee opened at +3300 and is now +1500 to win the title.

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