Guys, This NCAA Tournament is Going to Be Bananas

Last year was probably the least exciting NCAA Tournament in recent history. Three 12-seeds did beat 5-seeds, and a 13 seed did win. But other than that, not much in ways of upsets. The lifeblood of the NCAA Tournament is watching some itty-bitty school take down a blue blood program. With just four REAL upsets, 2019 was a pretty ho-hum event.

I would pin the lack of interesting results would be the clear line between the elite teams and the rest of the field. Throughout the season, the outcomes were largely predictable. We knew that Zion Williamson was the best player in the country, and we knew that Virginia’s defense was good enough to win a national championship.

2019 March Snoozefest results

If you are a fan of the game of college basketball, there were some very good games. The Virginia-Purdue Elite Eight game was maybe top 10 for me for the most fun I’ve had watching a basketball game. Virginia playing well like they normally did, and Carson Edwards for Purdue singlehandedly keeping them in the game. The heroics did eventually fall short as UVA advanced 80-75 in OT. There was also UCF falling to Duke in heartbreaking fashion. As the Knights should’ve probably won that matchup, Zion Williamson and the Blue Devils ultimately escaped with a 76-75 victory in the second round.

This year will be different. There isn’t much of a line between the first tier to second, to third. Six top-ranked teams fell before the calendar flipped to 2020. There aren’t any great teams this year. The best players in the 2020 NBA Draft might not be playing in the tournament. That certainly plays a role. I know some might say that it will diminish the interest in the tournament this year. I disagree. I do enjoy watching the best dominate in their craft. See Kobe Bryant. However, there is still a lot of entertainment to be had with competitive matchups from start to finish

Some things that you should watch going forward:

• The Big Ten has a chance of getting 12 teams in the tournament. That would be a record. I do think it would be closer to 9 teams. But that is a possibility.
• The Big 12 might have two number one seeds. Baylor and Kansas.
• The other two projected number one seeds are from Mid Major conferences. Gonzaga from the WCC, and San Diego State from the Mountain West. (If you want some Mid Major love, come listen to our podcast, Alongside Spiteful. You can find it on your favorite podcast platform.)
• There is a group of Mid Major conferences that have a clump at the top. Their conference tournaments in March are going to be a lot of fun. Southern Conference, the Big West, Colonial, Horizon, and Ivy, just to name a few. Those conferences are just one-bid leagues. The winners of those conferences earn their conference bid. Keep a lookout for those.

These are just a bit of why this tournament is going to be fun come March. I, for one, took that Thursday and Friday off from work so I can eat poorly and watch wall to wall basketball.