Here (in no particular order) are 64 Reasons to Watch March Madness:
1. GRIFF ALDRICH: This lawyer and former CFO of a private equity firm left the corporate world six years ago to become a low-level basketball assistant coach. This season, he led Longwood University (Farmville, Virginia) to a 26-6 record and its first NCAA tournament in school history.
2. BRYANT: These NCAA tournament first-timers feature Peter Kiss, the nation’s leading scorer (25.1 ppg). P.S. Bryant is in Smithfield, Rhode Island, in case you were wondering.
3. JAMEER NELSON, JR: Jameer Nelson won the 2004 Wooden Award after leading St. Joseph’s to an undefeated regular season and the Elite Eight. Now, his son is playing for Delaware.
4. FLORIDA WOMEN: Miami is the only Florida men’s team dancing this March, but the Sunshine State is well-represented in the women’s bracket with UM, Florida, Florida State, South Florida, Central Florida and Florida Gulf Coast.
5. VERMONT: The Catamounts have lost just one game since Dec. 7, by one point in overtime at Hartford. They won their America East tournament games by margins of 39, 32 and 39 points.
6. SISTER JEAN: The beloved 102-year-old Loyola-Chicago nun and super fan is back.
7. NICKNAMES: Horned Frogs, Spiders, Boilermakers, Gaels.
8. COACH K: In case you hadn’t heard, Duke’s legendary coach Mike Krzyzewski is retiring after 42 years.
9. COACH L: UM’s Jim Larranaga proved in 2006 that anything is possible in March. He led George Mason to the Final Four with wins over Michigan State, North Carolina, Wichita State and UConn.
10. 16 SEEDS: Sixteenth seeds are 1-143 all time in the men’s tournament. The one winner was University of Maryland-Baltimore County, which knocked off No. 1 seed Virginia in 2018. In the women’s tournament, the first No. 16 seed to topple a No. 1 was Harvard in 1998, which beat Stanford.
11. 15 SEEDS PUNCHING ABOVE WEIGHT: In 2013, first-timer Florida Gulf Coast became the first 15 seed to reach the Sweet 16.
12. FIRST TIMERS: The last men’s team to win a first-round game in its tournament debut was Northwestern in 2017.
13. OLD TIMERS: Josh Ayeni of Chattanooga, 25, was the oldest player in the nation this season.
14. KIM MULKEY: She’s only 5-4 but the longtime Baylor coach, now at LSU, is a big personality.
15. NICKNAMES II: Dons, Zips, Jackrabbits, Blue Hens.
16. KIERSTAN BELL: This FGCU player scored 25 points against Michigan in the first round of last year’s women’s tournament and 32 points this season in an upset of No. 9-ranked Louisiana State.
17. BRBB: Indiana University’s Big Red Basketball Band.
18. KEEGAN MURRAY: 6-8 sophomore averages nearly 24 points per game.
19. MID-MAJORS: Never count them out.
20. GRANT GOLDEN: Collapsed twice in a game as a freshman, underwent heart procedure, now a sixth-year senior with Richmond.
21. CHEERLEADERS: Pyramids, bows, megaphones, cartwheels.
22. SUPER SENIORS: Bravo to sixth-year seniors working on graduate degrees.
23. ALI ALI: Skinny as a rail at 6-8 and 195 lbs., but got the Akron Zips to the Big Dance.
24. NICKNAMES III: Peacocks, Islanders, Minutewomen, Great Danes.
25. FOSTER LOYER: Davidson’s leading scorer — and the nation’s top free throw shooter at over 93 percent — played for Michigan State last year. He will play against MSU in first round.
26. ED COOLEY: Not many coaches get to coach in their hometown. Providence’s Cooley does.
27. JACKRABBITS: The Jackrabbits are first in the nation in 3-point shooting, second in field goal percentage and scoring, and have Division I’s longest winning streak at 21.
28. CONFETTI: In all colors.
29. WILDCATS: Arizona, Villanova, Davidson, Kentucky.
30. OSCAR TSHIEBWE: Former 6-9 soccer player from Congo is National Player of the Year candidate at Kentucky, averaging 17 points, 15.2 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game.
31. DICK VITALE: Even while dealing with cancer and vocal cord issues, Dickie V is tweeting about his bracket and PTPers and Diaper Dandies.
32. DAYTON: First Four. Where it all begins.
33. OFFICE POOLS: Your non-sports fan colleague now cares deeply about the Texas Tech-Montana State matchup.
34. CAITLYN CLARK: Iowa’s sophomore sensation scored more than 30 points 11 times and more than 40 points four times.
35. TIGERS: Texas Southern, Memphis, LSU, Auburn.
36: PAOLO BANCHERO: Duke’s 6-10 freshman phenom scored 21 points against Gonzaga early in the season, despite leaving the game to deal with cramps.
37. RHYNE HOWARD: Kentucky guard averages 20-plus points, likely top three WNBA pick.
38. CHET HOLMGREN: Gonzaga’s 7-foot center is one of the best defenders in the nation.
39. ALIYAH BOSTON: South Carolina forward on a 24-game double-double streak, the longest in SEC history.
40. JABARI SMITH: Auburn’s 6-foot-10 forward shot 42.5 percent from the perimeter in his freshman season and scored 20-plus points 12 times this season.
41. PAIGE BUECHERS: UConn star won National Player of the Year as a freshman, returned Feb. 25 from knee surgery.
42. JADEN IVEY: Purdue point guard poised to sizzle on the big stage.
43. AYOKA LEE: Scored NCAA-record 61 points for Kansas State in 94=65 win over No. 14 Oklahoma
44. BUZZER BEATERS: Lorenzo Charles for NC State in 1983. Christian Laettner for Duke in 1990, 1992. Bryce Drew for Valparaiso in 1998. Kris Jenkins for Villanova in 2016.
45. BULLDOGS: Yale, Gonzaga, Bryant.
46. OPENING THURSDAY/FRIDAY: Hard to get any work done checking scores all day.
47. BRACKET BUSTERS (MEN): Keep an eye on No. 13 seeds South Dakota St. and Chattanooga, No. 10s Davidson, Loyola-Chicago, Miami and San Francisco, and No. 8 San Diego State.
48. BRACKET BUSTERS (WOMEN): Kentucky, Gonzaga, Princeton, Stephen F. Austin.
49. CBS CREW: Jim Nantz, Bill Raftery, Grant Hill, Tracy Wolfson, Greg Gumbel.
50. CREEPY MASCOTS: Friar Dom of Providence and the Purdue Boilermaker (they look like brothers).
51. FRIENDLY MASCOTS: Wyoming Cowboy, South Dakota St. Jackrabbit, UAB Dragon.
52. BELLYACHING: Selection Sunday snubs, unfair bracket placements, bad calls.
53. STORMY NICKNAMES: Cyclones, Hurricanes.
54. RECORD BREAKERS: Most points in a single game – Austin Carr (Notre Dame) 61 pts in 1970 vs. Ohio. Lorri Bauman (Drake) 50 pts in 1982 vs. Maryland.
55. SWEET 16: Most Sweet 16 Appearances Kentucky (44), UCLA and UNC (34).
56. CAMERON CRAZIES: More than 700 Duke students camped out (in shifts) for five weeks to get into the Mar. 5 game vs. UNC, Coach K’s final home game.
57. TRAVELING FANS: Expect strong first-round traveling fan bases for Wisconsin, Duke, Kentucky, Arizona, Gonzaga, Kansas, UConn, Baylor and Tennessee.
58. KENPOM DEBATES SETTLED: Fans and coaches spent all season obsessing over Ken Pomeroy’s analytics. None of those stats matter now. One and done.
59. ELITE EIGHT: 11 seeds who made it to the Elite Eight before losing: 2014 Dayton and 1990 Loyola Marymount.
60. No. 1 SEEDS: Gonzaga, Arizona, Baylor, Kansas for the men. South Carolina, NC State, Louisville, Stanford for the women. Who will be left standing?
61. WAGERS: An estimated $10 billion will be wagered during March Madness, thirty percent more than for the Super Bowl.
62. STANFORD PEP BAND: The hoops version of the Leland Stanford Junior University Marching Band is just as funky as the football version.
63. TJ OTZELBERGER: A year after Iowa State went winless in the Big 12 and 2-22 overall, this first-year coach has the Cyclones in the Big Dance.
64. ONE SHINING MOMENT: Luther Vandross. The montage. The ladder. The net. It never gets old.
