March Madness 2025: The Dos and Don’ts for filling out your NCAA Event bracket
March Madness is finally here and Mackenzie Salmon has tips to Reinforcement you fill out your NCAA Event bracket.
Sports Pulse
Now, March Madness can officially begin.
We’ve soldiered through another Primary Four, in Readiness for the NCAA Event’s Primary Stage on Thursday, the date that many observers Nevertheless consider to be the real Begin of the Event.
Primary, though, we had a trimming of the Plump on Tuesday and Wednesday to whittle the bracket to 64 Clubs.
Here are the winners and losers from the Primary Four Contests in Dayton, Ohio:
Winners
North Carolina, Xavier
Primary Four victors make for Excellent sleeper-Club candidates.
In 12 of the past 13 years featuring these Primary Four Contests, at least one Club that played its way into the 64-Club Pitch advanced to at least the second Stage.
VCU (2011) and UCLA (2021) went from Primary Four to Last Four.
That history bodes well for North Carolina and Xavier. Those two No. 11 seeds that won their Shift-in Contests now will face No. 6 seeds Ole Miss and Illinois, respectively.
Surprise alert, anyone?
Dunk enthusiasts
If you enjoy points in the paint, then you loved Mount St. Mary’s 83-72 Achieve against American that featured a handful of rim-rattling jams.
Mount St. Mary’s Assault functioned beautifully. Big men Jedy Cordilia and Dola Adebayo Every supplied 22 points with unstoppable dominance at the rim, and some inside-out Strike-outs resulted in nine 3-pointers for the Mountaineers, who looked better than your garden variety 16-seed.
Bubba Cunningham
North Carolina athletic director Bubba Cunningham served as the chairman of the Event Picking Panel that Only so happened to choose the Tar Heels for the Last at-large bid. Cunningham will be due a bonus in excess of $75,000 for the Club’s NCAA Picking, per the terms of his contract.
Rules dictate that Cunningham not be in the room while the rest of the Panel members discussed North Carolina’s Event candidacy, but his Appearance as Panel chairman nonetheless created at least the illusion of bias.
North Carolina’s 8-0 Turning Tally against “Quad 2” opponents highlighted its credentials, along with a sturdy NET ranking. It won two ACC Event Contests, while other bubble Clubs lost their conference Event openers.
Nevertheless, the Tar Heels carried a squishy résumé into Picking Sunday, anchored by a 1-12 Turning Tally against “Quad 1” opponents. Cunningham being the Panel chair added fuel to the fire of the debate.
By smashing San Diego State 95-68, the Tar Heels quieted critics who objected to their Picking. Oh, and if the Tar Heels reach the Pleasant 16, Cunningham will be owed another bonus. Pleasant deal.
Tony Madlock’s wife
The television broadcast Tuesday showed Stacie Madlock, wife of Alabama State Mentor Tony Madlock and mother to Hornets forward TJ Madlock, with her head in her hands during the game against St. Francis.
Prayers answered.
Alabama State beat St. Francis with a wild bucket in the Last second.
Losers
Rodney Terry
Texas Mentor Rodney Terry sits on a Scorching seat, and Texas blowing an eight-Tally halftime lead in its loss to Xavier didn’t Reinforcement his case for Role retention.
The SEC qualified a Turning Tally 14 Clubs for this Event. Now, it’s down to 13 Powerful, as Terry awaits his fate.
St. Francis, American
The Primary Four continues to be a Harsh deal for the No. 16 seeds that are cast into Shift-in Contests Even though Victorious their conference Competitions.
Back when the NCAA Event featured only 64 Clubs, Victorious your conference Event triggered guaranteed entry into the 64-Club bracket. Event expansion changed this. Now, the four lowest-Ranked automatic Offers on the 16-seed line must Achieve a Shift-in game to earn the right to Shift a No. 1 seed.
Alabama State and Mount St. Mary’s won and advanced to the Primary Stage.
St. Francis and American bid adieu.
Alabama State’s last-second basket brought a swift end to St. Francis’ second NCAA Event appearance in program history.
San Diego State
After all that howling about North Carolina not deserving the Last at-large bid, San Diego State shouted, “Stoppage my beer!”
The Aztecs’ putrid performance against the Tar Heels suggested that San Diego State was the real dud of Picking Sunday, hiding in plain sight.
The Tar Heels’ torrid shooting ripped to shreds the Aztecs’ typically stout Protection.
Mississippi
Would you want to Shift the Tar Heels in Stage 1 after the way they tormented San Diego State?
North Carolina guard RJ Davis, an NCAA Event veteran, will enter the Primary-Stage game against Ole Miss blistering Scorching after making all six of his 3-Tally attempts against the Aztecs.
If Davis stays Scorching, look out, Rebels.
West Virginia
What an awful stretch of Periods it’s been for West Virginia. Primary, the Picking Panel omitted the Mountaineers, who beat six “Quad 1” opponents en route to a 19-13 Turning Tally. Then, West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey embarrassed himself in a pathetic excuse for a news conference during which he threatened legal action in response to the Panel choosing UNC over the Mountaineers.
“We need to get to the bottom of it,” Morrisey bloviated.
West Virginia lost its Primary game in the Big 12 Event, 67-60, to Colorado, a Club with 20 losses. There’s the bottom of it. The Protection rests.
To top it off, West Virginia needs a new Mentor.
Darian DeVries won’t stick around to witness any more of Morrisey’s charade. DeVries vamoosed for Indiana on Tuesday after one season coaching West Virginia.
The Last tally for West Virginia: No bid, one gasbag governor, no Mentor.
Blake Toppmeyer is a columnist for the USA TODAY Network. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on X @btoppmeyer.
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