Gwmayhem wrote:

One thing that often gets overlooked is that midmajors often have to overcome "suspect" officiating in order to have a chance to defeat majors.  In the latter stages of the VCU-UNC game, there was a challenged call that had been called UNC ball on the court.  It was admittedly a tough call but I told my friend that there was absolutely no way that the refs were giving the ball back to VCU which, they didn't.  Moments later, Seth Trimble presumably fouled out of the game only to hear that a different UNC player was charged with the foul.  I watched this replay five times and there was literally no other UNC player who could have been rightfully called for this foul.  Trimble stayed in the game but fortunately, VCU was nevertheless able to beat the Heels and the officials. 

Kentucky loses today if the refs don't miss Sendek's timeout.
 

Five teams from non-power 5 conferences made it through the first round of the tournament: Gonzaga, St Louis, Utah State, VCU, and High Point. Since no one considers Gonzaga a mid major any more, despite their conference, and I would consider the Big South a low major, 2 out of the 3 remaining mid majors are from the Atlantic 10.

SLU loves those mid-range jump shots. CC would have a heart attack.

Wisconsin Colonial 1974 wrote:

MI size and length a big problem, as is their 50% from 3. Also exposing Avila’s lack of speed and quickness.

Hard for anyone to beat UM if they play like they did today. Everything went right. Size was overwhelming. SLU eventually got cold and it was lights out.

Know this isn't the right board for a lot of talk on one or two other specific teams. Especially non-A-10.
   But interesting development tonight, an 11 seed beat Gonzaga, which believe was supposed to
advance much farther into the tournament. Unless VCU (in the A-10 so worthy of a lot of discussion) comes back from 7 deficit at halftime, which they are capable of but lost a key player....this Gonzaga stunning loss may be the upset of the night--or whole day.

For the 27th year in a row “America”s Greatest Coach” is not America’s Greatest Coach. This post is like death and taxes each March. You have to admire the Dude’s willingness to double down on this nonsense every year.

The 2 Time National Champion UCONN beat UCLA 73-57

Back To the Sweet 16 for Danny Hurley squad looking a third title in four years

What an upset for Iowa what a game and a great shot to beat Florida!

The Big Dance has annually become a beloved event for a number of reasons.  There is the one and done aspect.  The Cinderellas.  School pride.  The brackets and other ways to gamble.  

This year's event, and last year's event, have had arguably an unintended consequence.  Lots and lots of chalk.  This year, we have zero mid majors in the Sweet 16, and really only one notable first round upset (pains me to write that).  We have one double digit seed left and that's Texas out of the Big 12.  We have 9th seeded Iowa from the Big 10 who was the first and only to take out a #1 seed.   That's about it for anyone resembling a Cinderella.  Not willing to use that moniker on Tennessee or St. John's, lesser seeds who advanced but neither which can be considered a surprise.

Why so chalky?  It's easy to see why.  First, more and more future professional players (as if that's what they are not now) are staying at school, earning more money than they otherwise might in the G league or internationally.  This is providing many of the power conference schools with more continuity.  Next, the mid majors are serving as an unofficial minor league to the P5, who can lure talented players who may have been underrecruited out of high school with paychecks that the mid majors simply cannot afford.  Not only does this strengthen the caliber of P5 programs but it also serves to weaken the mid majors, making it that much more improbable for a true Cinderella to crash the party.

No less an authority than Mark Few spoke out after his team's loss to Texas, citing the outdated nature of these blueblood/cinderella monikers.  Perhaps it would be OK to go back to treating Gonzaga like the Cinderella they once were, despite their future taking place in the competitive Big 12.  

Most of us are more than familiar with the accomplishments of George Mason, VCU, Davidson, Butler, Loyola of Chicago, and San Diego State at the dance but some of us are old enough to remember Larry Bird leading a virtual group of unknown Indiana State teammates or St. Joe's shock the #1 team in the country when they sent Mark Aguirre's team home packing.  These were true David vs. Goliath moments, exhilarating outcomes that caused me and millions of others to fall in love with the sport.  I feel more than a little remorse that there may not be many more High Points in our future.

The counterargument to all of this is that the very best, most talented teams will be left competing for the national championship.  When Mason and VCU lost their national semifinal games, these were two of the worst rated Final 4 games to ever air on CBS.  We like our underdogs but only to a point.  We do like our champions to be among the best and not some fluke.

This may be true, but it's still not the same.  I'll be in DC Friday night watching Duke play St. John's followed by UCONN and Michigan State and will be feeling lucky that I'm getting to see such a great doubleheader.  Watching the best teams in the country knock each other out shouldn't be considered some form of consolation prize.  And yet, not seeing a VCU, St. Louis, Utah State, St Mary's, Santa Clara, or even a High Point reach the Sweet 16 leaves one with the feeling that this Dance is OK, but I've been to better ones.     

The Dude wrote:

As a sports event, year after year, the tournament delivers incredible moments, great ends to games, tremendous drama, the ratings are up a lot this year in what has alread been a thriller of a tourney.

NCAA Tournament Wins:

John Wooden 47
Lute Olson 46
Mark Few 45
Bobby Knight 45
Rick Barnes 35
Jay Wright 34
Kelvin Sampson 33
Bruce Pearl 21
 

 
Not sure where you’re getting your stats Brian, but way off….

Tournament Game Wins

Coach                    School                                                                                         Wins

Mike Krzyzewski    Duke                                                                                        101[1]
Roy Williams            Kansas, North Carolina                                                                  77
Dean Smith            North Carolina.                                                                              65
Jim Boeheim            Syracuse                                                                                          61
Tom Izzo                    Michigan State                                                                          60
John Calipari            UMass, Memphis, Kentucky, Arkansas                                          60
Bill Self                    Oral Roberts, Tulsa, Illinois, Kansas                                          58
Rick Pitino            Boston, Providence, Kentucky, Louisville, Iona, St. John's          55
Jim Calhoun            UConn                                                                                          49
John Wooden            UCLA                                                                                          47
Lute Olson            Iowa, Arizona                                                                                  46
Bob Knight            Indiana, Texas Tech                                                                  45

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NCAA_Division_I_men%27s_basketball_tournament_records

Prior to 2025, when was the last time no team from a major conference made the sweet 16?Prior to 2025, there has never been a time since the NCAA Tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985 that no team from a major conference made the Sweet 16. 
In fact, the 2025 and 2026 tournaments represent the opposite extreme: for the first time in history, the Sweet 16 was composed entirely of teams from major (power) conferences, leaving no room for "mid-major" or "Cinderella" teams in the second weekend.  Historical Context

• The 2025 Shift: The 2025 tournament was the first time since the 1985 expansion that every single Sweet 16 team came from a power conference.
• 2026 Repeat: This trend continued in 2026, marking the second consecutive year that mid-major conferences were shut out of the Sweet 16.
• Past Comparisons: Before 2025, mid-major teams (such as those from the Atlantic 10, Mountain West, or WCC) reached the Sweet 16 every year for decades. For example, in 2023, teams from 11 different conferences were represented in the Sweet 16. 

 Sweet 16 Conference Breakdown (2025 vs. 2026)Both years saw a total takeover by the "Big Five" (ACC, Big 10, Big 12, Big East, and SEC).  Conference 2025 Teams2026 TeamsSEC7 (NCAA Record)4Big Ten46Big 1243Big East02ACC11Mid-Majors00