March Madness: NCAA Tournament snubs, sleepers, and storylines
After weeks of anticipation, the brackets have been announced. The NCAA Tournament Committee released its matchups for the 2023 NCAA Tournament on Sunday night. Now it is time for the best month of the year, March Madness.
Here are some quick thoughts on some NCAA Tournament snubs, sleepers, and storylines from Selection Sunday.
The snubs
You look through the teams who did not make the tournament, and no one really pops off the page. Maybe Clemson is the main one, but losses to South Carolina, Louisville, and Loyola-Chicago are just tough to overcome, no matter how many times you beat NC State.
Oklahoma State and Rutgers are two other teams who were on the fence. You hate that Cliff Omoruyi and Cam Spencer are not in the mix, and Mike Boynton is an all-time good guy, but 10-10 and 8-10 respective conference records make it understandable.
All of that said, this is a lot of words to suggest there may not have been any snubs this year.
The sleepers
March Madness regularly has breakouts. In fact, it is known for sleeper runs and Cinderellas. It is hard looking at Duke as a sleeper, but the Blue Devils came in as a five seed. Purdue is the one seed in their bracket, and their twin-tower look might give National Player of the Year candidate as much trouble as anyone. While Memphis is entering the tournament hot and Tennessee is talented, Duke matches up well with their quadrant.
Another ACC team, Miami, was on a hot streak heading into the ACC Tournament. An injury to Norchad Omier early against Duke, and they lose a close one. If Omier returns, Miami is a tough matchup because they have talented guards who can create, they have age and experience, and Omier is a ‘dude’ on the block. This Midwest Region is talented, but Miami, as a five seed, could make that run.
I hate when the committee puts really good mid-majors against one another in the 5/12 games. They did it twice here with San Diego State and Charleston in the South and St. Mary’s and VCU in the West. I am going to look at that South bracket and the College of Charleston. While they are physically outmatched by Alabama, the Cougars can score the ball with the best of them. Pat Kelsey is an excellent coach, and they have age, experience, and a lot of shooter. Things could be interesting, and a possible shootout.
The storylines
The mid-major stars will be given center stage. Two years ago, we all got to see Oral Roberts guard Max Abmas. Well, he is back. And, after a 30-win season, the high-scoring guard now has a 7-foot-5 running mate with Connor Vanover, an Arkansas transfer, and a first-round matchup with Duke.
UNC-Asheville’s 6-foot-10 forward Drew Pember, a transfer from Tennessee, led the Big South in scoring (21.2), rebounds (9.4), and blocks (2.3) per game. He was named the Big South Player of the Year. An opening-round matchup against UCLA should be a great test for Pember.
Tucker Devries followed up his MVC Rookie of the Year season last year with an MVC Player of the Year award this season. The 6-foot-7 wing at Drake averaged 19.0 points and shot 38.7 percent from three this season. Miami is a tough first-round matchup, but Devries could be up for the task.
Along with the players, some of the mid-major coaches are quickly on the rise. Now that he has made an NCAA Tournament out of the Southern Conference, Furman’s Bob Richey should become a hot name soon. The same can be said for College of Charleston head coach Pat Kelsey. Who, after the Cougars’ 30 wins this season could have any number of opportunities arise. Matt Langel has put Colgate in four straight NCAA Tournaments from a single-bid league. Paul Mills also won 30 games this season at Oral Roberts and has a Sweet 16 on his resume.
Injuries could play a big role in this tournament. American Player of the Year and Houston guard Marcus Sasser missed the conference championship game. Miami’s anchor in the middle, Norchad Omier, missed most of their ACC Tournament loss to Duke with an ankle. UCLA lost junior Jaylen Clark to an injury last week, he will miss March Madness. but even more interesting to the Bruins in this tournament might be the health of freshman center Adem Bona who hurt his shoulder last week. Kentucky’s Sahvir Wheeler has not played since February 4 and Cason Wallace was not 100% in the SEC Tournament. The health of these two guards could be crucial for how successful this tournament is for the Wildcats.