Caitlin Clark is the most exciting college player since ...
Davidson’s Stephen Curry and BYU’s Jimmer Fredette were the kind of electrifying guards that make the NCAA tournament arguably the best annual American sporting event. Clark’s range is comparable to those two, and her college legacy has already eclipsed theirs. Her games from here on out are appointment viewing. Gabriel Baumgaertner
I never went in for the bully ball of Zion Williamson stylistically, but there’s no question the Duke star was pure box-office during his brief spell in Durham. Bryan Armen Graham
Diana Taurasi. People forget how DT first captured the nation’s heart with her bright smile, quick wit and championship mettle. The run she had from 2000 through to 2004 – which saw her claim three straight NCAA titles while winning every individual honor imaginable – still ranks among the game’s most staggering achievements. Andrew Lawrence
Jimmer Fredette, like Clark, was a threat to shoot and score from anywhere over half-court. While they are also both elite playmakers and passers, Clark has more than doubled Fredette when it comes to career assists and is the only player (men’s or women’s) to total over 3,000 points and 1,000 assists. Nicholas Levine
What are you most looking forward to, on or off the court?
The NCAA didn’t do Clark and Iowa many favors with their draw. If the Hawkeyes get Princeton in the second round, they’ll need to defeat a team that won 25 games and nearly upset No 2-seed UCLA in November. If they make it to the Elite Eight, they await a potential rematch of last year’s national title game against LSU, a game that would likely set a ratings record. Clark and the Hawkeyes should coast in their first game, but nothing will be easy after that. GB
LSU v Iowa in the women’s Elite Eight, should it come to pass, is the rematch that dreams are made of. BAG
Seeing if the UConn men can go back to back. Hasn’t been done on the men’s side since Billy Donovan’s Oh-Fours Florida Gators core sealed the deal in 2007. It would be really something for the Huskies to equal that mark in the NIL era. AL
Dan Monson, the Long Beach State men’s coach, was told last week that he would not be returning next season. This news came five days before he led his team on an unlikely run through the Big West tournament and their first NCAA tournament appearance in 12 years. Monson has had a long and successful career, having led Gonzaga on their famous Elite Elite run in 1999 before handing over the keys to the program to Mark Few. I’d love to see him make a repeat run with the Beach. NL
Dark horse team to watch
Oregon men. Don’t let the seed fool you. This is the eighth time that head coach Dana Altman has guided the Ducks to the NCAA tournament since he joined the school in 2010. In those seven tournaments, Altman’s teams have reached the second weekend all seven times. And in five of those tournaments, the Ducks were a No 7 seed or lower. They are in top form after upsetting Arizona in last week’s Pac-12 tournament. GB
Ole Miss women. The Mississippi Rebels, under the steady hand of sixth-year coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin, are a veteran-heavy group that have gone tooth and nail with the toughest in the Southeastern Conference and are playing their best ball at the right time of year. Look for them to outplay their No 7 seed with a run to the Sweet 16 … or further. BAG
Why not the 15th-seeded University of Maine women, who are shooting for their second ever NCAA win in school history and will have their work cut out for them against No 2 seed Ohio State? If anyone can show the Black Bears how it’s done, it’s coach Amy Vachon, who was on the Maine team that upset Stanford 25 years ago. AL
San Diego State men. While they shouldn’t be considered a dark horse after last season’s run to the national championship game, the Aztecs are a No 5 seed and coming off a loss to New Mexico in the MWC tournament final. The Aztecs once again rely on their elite defense (eighth in Kenpom) and they have the size, strength, and depth that helped them make their run last year. All-American forward Jaedon LeDee impacts winning as much as any player in the country and is poised to lead the Aztecs to the second weekend or better. NL
The most vulnerable of the top seeds is ...
A dead heat between the Purdue men and Iowa women. Purdue may not lose to a No 16 seed as they did last year, but a matchup against either a deep and talented Utah State team or the highly experienced TCU await in the second round. See my prior previous on why Iowa have a significant test waiting in the women’s bracket. GB
Iowa State men. The Cyclones have been one of the nation’s best defensive teams for the past three years under TJ Otzelberger and earned a No 2 seed with a résumé that included takedowns of Houston, Kansas and BYU. But their middling offensive efficiency will be a liability against big, physical backcourts that control tempo and take care of the ball. BAG
The pressure will be on Clark’s Iowa Hawkeyes. Having to face the winner of West Virginia-Princeton in the second round feels unlucky. AL
Purdue men. The Boilermakers are carrying the enormous pressure of proving last year’s stunning first-round exit was a fluke. In order to survive the weekend, they will have to beat TCU (elite guards and a battle-tested team from the Big 12) or Utah State (who were regular-season champs of maybe the strongest Mountain West Conference ever). NL
One bold prediction
Gonzaga men will make the Final Four. The Bulldogs finished unranked in the AP’s top 25 for the first time since 2015–16 and most experts considered them undeserving of a No 5 seed. But coach Mark Few is in his 24th consecutive NCAA tournament and the Midwest bracket is ripe for a number of upsets. If the Bulldogs survive a 30-game winner in McNeese State, they have a chance to outperform their seed. GB
Bucky Ball knocks out the preseason men’s No 1. Four-time champions Kansas, seeded in the top four of a region for the 24th NCAA tournament in a row, haven’t been eliminated in the opening round since 2006. But the Jayhawks have gone 9-9 in their past 18 games after a 13-1 start thanks to injuries and lack of bench depth. That will spell trouble against No 13 seed Samford, who dominated the Southern Conference with a fast-paced, up-and-down pressing style that has been dubbed Bucky Ball after head coach Bucky McMillan. BAG
The Pac-12 goes out with a bang and gets two teams into the final weekend: Arizona on the men’s side, Southern Cal on the women’s. AL
The SEC proves it was the best men’s conference in the country. Eight teams made the tournament from the Southeastern Conference and I expect to see four of them make the Elite Eight. Don’t sleep on the South Carolina men as they make their first tournament appearance since their Final Four run in 2017. NL
Men’s Final Four
Connecticut, Arizona, Kentucky, TCU GB
Auburn, Arizona, Houston, Creighton BAG
Connecticut, Arizona, Kentucky, Creighton AL
Connecticut, Arizona, Kentucky, Tennessee NL
Women’s Final Four
South Carolina, NC State, LSU, Connecticut GB
South Carolina, Texas, LSU, Connecticut BAG
South Carolina, Stanford, UCLA, Southern California AL
South Carolina, NC State, Iowa, Ohio State NL
The men’s champion will be …
Arizona. The Wildcats were a popular pick to win it all last year before they were stunned by No 15-seeded Princeton. Before this season, they added arguably one of the best players from the transfer portal in North Carolina guard Caleb Love. Balanced with center Oumar Ballo, who averages 13 points and 10 rebounds per game, the Wildcats can beat anybody at any tempo. Virginia won the national title the year after they were the first No 1 seed to ever lose to a No 16 seed. Now it’s Arizona’s turn to erase one of the most embarrassing losses in program history. GB
Auburn. Few teams in the nation can match the under-seeded Tigers’ depth and balance. Bruce Pearl relies on a 10-man rotation that grinds down the wills of elite opponents and simply overwhelms the lesser ones. They have righted themselves following a February dip in form and enter the NCAAs on a six-game win streak and fresh off the program’s first SEC tournament championship since 2019. Should they make it past defending champions UConn in a coin-flip Sweet 16 tilt, they may well be favored in every game the rest of the way. BAG
Connecticut. The Huskies go back to back, the Hurley family rules March again – CBS execs bow down and praise the heavens. They’ve already pulled off a rare double this year, winning the Big East regular-season and tournament championship for the first time in 25 years. Only Creighton, who account for two of UConn’s three losses, loom as an eminent threat – and their own chance at a rubber match is in the final game. AL
Tennessee. Rick Barnes will solidify his Hall of Fame coaching career with a national championship. The Volunteers will be led by SEC player of the year Dalton Knecht, who recently exploded for 40 points against Kentucky. UT are ranked third in the country in defensive efficiency and that toughness matched with their best player getting hot at the right time will have the Vols cutting down the nets in Glendale. NL
The women’s champion will be …
South Carolina. Dawn Staley won national coach of the year even after losing all five starters, three of whom were selected in the top 10 of the 2023 WNBA draft. Still, the Gamecocks finished 32-0 behind the dominance of center Kamilla Cardoso and a focus on improved three-point shooting. This team may have a bit less talent than last year’s team that lost to Iowa in the Final Four, but Staley’s remarkable work will produce a national title. GB
South Carolina. After losing all five starters (including No 1 overall WNBA draft pick Aliyah Boston) from a team that went unbeaten until last year’s national semi-finals, it would have been fair to expect growing pains from this year’s Gamecocks. But the backcourt tandem of Bree Hall and Raven Johnson, along with the frontcourt of Ashlyn Watkins, Chloe Kitts and the physically dominant Kamilla Cardoso, have all thrived in feature roles. Now they’re six wins from a third NCAA title in seven years and the 10th unbeaten season in Division I history. Staley had already managed the impossible feat of toppling Geno Auriemma as women’s college basketball’s Big Boss, but this latest piece of coaching work is impressive even by her standards. BAG
South Carolina. Staley’s basketball wrath machine is programmed for revenge, and it doesn’t figure to stop churning until it’s made up for last year’s heartbreaking semi-final loss to Iowa. AL
South Carolina. Staley adds another championship to her illustrious coaching career and Te-hina Paopao, one of the best shooters and point guards in the country, will be named Most Outstanding Player of the tournament. NL
