In an NCAA Tournament defined by the Power Five leagues (ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, SEC), what did you think was going to happen? It may have been a down year for the ACC, but the other four big boys on the block got a boatload of teams into the tournament. This may result in March Madness giving us some incredible games in the weekends to come, but the first round at least was largely a dud.
With the Round of 32 beginning in earnest on Saturday afternoon, we only saw seven lower-seeded teams advance. Even more troubling, three of them hailed from Power Five conferences in No. 9 seeds Baylor and Creighton and No. 10 seed Arkansas. And with how great of a season it has been for the Mountain West, can we say New Mexico and Colorado State are the same as McNeese or Drake?
Here is every lower seed that advanced to the Round of 32 after Thursday and Friday's action:
- No. 9 Baylor Bears
- No. 9 Creighton Bluejays
- No. 10 Arkansas Razorbacks
- No. 10 New Mexico Lobos
- No. 11 Drake Bulldogs
- No. 12 Colorado State Rams
- No. 12 McNeese Cowboys
And for good measure, here is every non-Power Five team that advanced to the Round of 32.
- No. 7 Saint Mary's Gaels
- No. 8 Gonzaga Bulldogs
- No. 10 New Mexico Lobos
- No. 11 Drake Bulldogs
- No. 12 Colorado State Rams
- No. 12 McNeese Cowboys
To be honest, we cannot claim either West Coast power or Mountain West team as true underdogs.
McNeese's magical ride is over, so we best root for the underdogs Drake
You have every reason to call this a minor problem, but again, I remain adamant that we will get the big payoff we deserve during the regionals or during the Final Four. The bracket is what makes the tournament so fun; we all end up having rooting interest in teams we never remotely cared about until this past Thursday. And in the end, only a top-four seed is ever going to win the whole thing.
In the years that we get a George Mason to the Final Four or a Saint Peter's to the Elite Eight, we have to enjoy it in real time. It may not do the ratings you think they would, but CBS and company will be doing cartwheels in the street if the can get a Duke vs. Auburn in the national championship game.
Players at the smaller schools will get to cash in on their once-in-a-lifetime NIL opportunities on the heels of one great weekend or two. Moreover, this is the time of year where coaching matters. We saw Will Wade take McNeese further than expected, but he is on the way to North Carolina State. There is a chance we could see Drake head coach Ben McCollum make himself a boatload of money as well.
We are only a few days into the tournament, but is seems the clock has struck midnight already.