With the Sweet 16 underway tonight, let’s take a look at the remainder of the Big Dance.
We’ve seen a ton of success from the favorites so far, but I have a feeling not all four No. 1 seeds will make the Final Four. In the 85 year history, the only time that’s happened was in 2008, with North Carolina, UCLA, Memphis, and Kansas making it.
Anyways, let’s go over some quick hitters from the first two rounds of the tournament.
Kentucky Done Early Amid Gholke-Mania
I was skeptical of Kentucky, but I didn’t think a first-round-elimination was in the cards. Especially to Oakland University, in Michigan.
If you read my March Madness preview, (check it out here) I pointed out all of the NBA talent that the Wildcats boast, but it didn’t end up mattering.
That’s the beauty of March Madness.
No offense to Jack Gohlke, but he’s not an NBA-caliber player. He even said so himself:
At the end of the day, Kentucky literally couldn’t stop the guy. Some of the shots he was hitting were absolutely ridiculous in terms of difficulty.
Gohlke is a pure specialist. As pure as they come actually. He won’t even look at the rim if he’s inside the arc. He’d actually be perfect for the Beyond The Arc brand.
Unfortunately, I can’t compete with some of the NIL deals he’s getting right now. I mean seriously, I’ve seen the guy in like 3 ads in the past few days.
Anyways, Gohlke has 364 3PA compared to his measly 8 2PA this season. These are the types of players March is all about.
We witnessed a new March Madness legend being born and it was awesome.
Marquette Making a Run
The Golden Eagles are the only team mentioned in my last post to make it to the Sweet 16. I had a feeling something like that would happen.
Marquette vs. Colorado was bittersweet because I couldn’t help but want both teams to move on. They’ve both been fun to watch this season, but Marquette has a legitimate chance to win the whole thing.
Tyler Kolek is averaging 19.5 PPG with 11 APG so far in the tourney. His leadership has been so important throughout the season and especially now, when he’s either going to play the whole game or come out when the lead is insurmountable.
Kameron Jones is Kolek’s backcourt-mate who’s proven to be a legitimate sniper. Shaka Smart is as passionate as coaches come, and with such a complete roster, it’s now or never for the Golden Eagles.
Creighton’s Back in the Sweet 16
Creighton, led by senior, Baylor Scheierman, is making another run in the tournament for the second year in a row. Scheierman has been so reliable for the Bluejays for the past two years. To me, he’s been a staple of watching Creighton basketball with his unconventional, but efficient, left-handed jumper and iconic headband.
I’m impartial on Creighton as a program, but if Syracuse was still in the Big East I just know that I’d be annoyed every time I see Scheierman do literally anything.
Creighton vs. Tennessee will be a battle. Honestly, I’d be surprised if the Bluejays win, but anything is possible in March. Creighton had one of the most impressive wins of the season vs UConn back in February, so they can definitely play with some of the top talent in the country.
Dalton Knecht is the engine of the Tennessee’s offense, taking on a major workload for the Volunteers. Coming from a JUCO school, Knecht has worked his way all the way up to being a potential lottery pick in the NBA Draft this summer, should he decide to go.
Knecht vs Scheierman will be a duel. The first two round of the tournament are great, but now’s the time when we get to see powerhouses and actually complete teams face each other. There’s nothing better.
UConn Looks Unbeatable
I can’t exactly pinpoint why, but it doesn’t feel right to like and root for the UConn men’s basketball team.
Looking at their complete body of work in 2024, they’ve been so much better than everyone else. Maybe it’s because literally everything goes their way. It’s so hard to say something bad about the program.
Dan Hurley is probably the best coach in the country right now. His intensity might be too much at times, but you have to respect that it’s coming from a desire to win.
The core of Cam Spencer, Donovan Clingan, Tristan Newton, Alex Karaban, Stephon Castle and more, is among the best in the country. They’re team is so deep and talented that Mike Greenburg presented a hypothetical that the team could make the NBA Playoffs.
I don’t think Greenburg actually believes this. Part of his job is to stir-up controversy to get clicks. That’s the nature of a lot of analysts with “hot-takes”.
As the overall No. 1 seed in the tournament, they haven’t had too tough of a test yet. San Diego State has flown under the radar as a program over the past few years; I wouldn’t be surprised if they give the Huskies a game.
UConn could meet either Illinois or Iowa State in the Elite Eight. Again, two teams that could give the Huskies a game.
I still think they’re unbeatable this March. The perfect storm of talent, hunger, and chemistry makes them a championship-level team.
I think I’ve seen this commercial too much and it’s making me like UConn. I can’t let Clingan and Spencer’s good comedic timing make me forget that the Huskies are the evil empire of the 2020s in college basketball.
Wrap-Up
Any teams that I didn’t mention here should consider themselves lucky. My last post seemed to have jinxed a lot of those team I thought could make a deep run.
Seven of the eight teams that meet the qualifications for 95% of NCAA Tournament winners are still alive. UConn, Purdue, Duke, Arizona, Creighton, Houston and Marquette could still fulfill the prophecy of being ranked in the top 21 in adjusted offensive efficiency and top 37 in adjusted defensive efficiency margin.
The tournament resumes tonight at 7:09 P.M. with a four-game slate.
Let’s keep dancing.
-Dom