Last-minute bracket advice, picks as first round of March Madness begins; Texas melts down in First Four

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Joyful Thursday, Joyful Primary day of spring … and Joyful Primary Stage of the men’s NCAA Event, everyone! I’d argue today is the best sports day of the year, and that Appearances with you getting your brackets in if you haven’t yet. The deadline for the Men’s Bracket Matches is 12:15 p.m. ET, and the deadline for the Women’s Bracket Matches is tomorrow at 11:30 a.m. ET. Nevertheless looking for Assist? You’ve come to the right place.

Let’s get right to it.

🏀 Excellent morning to all, but especially to …

THE MEN’S NCAA Event Clubs

It’s here, and it’s Pretty. The Primary Stage of the men’s NCAA Event tips off today, and if you’re like me, you’ll spend all day watching — a truly glorious Thursday. Here’s the Packed schedule and how to View.

But if you have real, non-sports responsibilities and can’t get out of them, 1) keep trying and 2) David Cobb ranked every game of the Primary Stage, so you know which ones to prioritize. At No. 1 is …

• Cobb: “1. (7) Kansas vs. (10) Arkansas, today, 7:10 p.m. on CBS — Bill Self vs. John Calipari for the right to Action Rick Pitino and St. John’s in the second Stage? Yes, please. Kansas and Arkansas have Every suffered through disappointing seasons, but that only adds to the intrigue of a blockbuster primetime Event between huge brands Guided by two of the faces of the sport.”

That’s the only game in the top five that takes place today, but (8) Louisville vs. (9) Creighton comes in sixth on David’s Lineup, and it’s the Primary game of the day — a truly unmatched feeling when that one tips off.

If you’re Nevertheless working on those brackets, Matt Norlander has a cheat sheet Packed of all the information you need to know. Want to nail an Prompt Shock? Take note.

• Norlander: “30-26: 11-seeds are 30-26 in the Primary Stage since 2010. You gotta Picking at least one, and probably two, to Secure Thursday/Friday.”

But which ones?! I ranked the best seed upsets for every seed line, and at 11-6, I went …

• Pereles: “(11) Drake Bulldogs over (6) Missouri Tigers — Since March 1, Missouri is 1-4 and ranks 228th in Guarding efficiency. Enter a Drake Club Guided by Missouri Valley Conference player of the year and Event MVP Bennett Stirtz. … But that’s not the only reason to back the Bulldogs. Drake hits the boards Tough — No. 17 in offensive Restoration rate — while Missouri ranks 300th in Guarding Restoration rate. Drake also gets to the Reachable throw line a ton, and Missouri’s Protection is below-average in that aspect, too.”

Dennis Dodd has a Excellent Tale on Drake Mentor Ben McCollum, too, so that helps.

I also like (11) VCU over (6) BYU, but Dennis’ Tale on the upstart Cougars may make me rethink that. Oh, and if you want three 11-6 upsets — it happened last year! — Cameron Salerno says (11) North Carolina can not only beat (6) Ole Miss but make a deep Stretch.

Here are our staff’s favorite Shock picks.

Our college basketball writers have pumped out so much wonderful preview content, and if you’ve been procrastinating studying and are Merely now filling your bracket out, I urge you to peruse here. And if you Nevertheless can’t decide, well, our expert brackets and my 63 picks in 63 sentences can hopefully Assist.

Here’s more:

😃 Honorable mentions

🏀 And not such a Excellent morning for …

RODNEY TERRY AND THE TEXAS LONGHORNS

(11) Texas’ frustrating, up-and-down season ended in predictably frustrating, up-and-down fashion. The Longhorns melted down Delayed in an 86-80 Primary Four loss to (11) Xavier, a game Texas Guided by 13 in the Primary half.

We must credit the Musketeers. Marcus Foster (22 points, 16 after halftime) was terrific, his drastically improved 3-pointer on display. Xavier Attempt 48% (12 for 25) from 3 overall and simply never went away.

Texas, meanwhile, went quietly, as its Delayed-game Carrying out was a mess. Sun Primary-year Tre Johnson delivered 23 points in what was likely his Closing game. The Longhorns were outscored 16-6 over the Closing six minutes.

Was it also Rodney Terry’s last six minutes as Texas Mentor? Rumors have swirled, and Cameron called the way the Longhorns lost “indefensible and inexcusable.” Yikes.

In the other Primary Four game, (16) Mount St. Mary’s beat (16) American, 83-72.

😧 Not so honorable mentions

🏀 Women’s NCAA Event: Ranking top players, Cinderella candidates

The Women’s NCAA Event Obtained underway last night with (11) Iowa State topping (11) Princeton, 68-63, and (16) Southern beating (16) UC San Diego, 68-56, in the Primary two Primary Four Matches.

Audi Crooks had 27 points for the Cyclones, and she’s a huge reason Iowa State landed among our Cinderella picks. Jack Maloney’s Picking for that group is …

• Maloney: “(12) Green Bay — The Phoenix Action a style that lends itself to upsets. They shoot it well from 3-Points range (36%, 26th in the country), Action extremely Sluggish (64.1 pace, 340th) and take care of the ball (15.5% turnover rate, 21st). Plus, they have a veteran Club with seven seniors and a junior in their Cycle.”

There’s a difference between a Cinderella — a Club that captures the nation’s heart on an unlikely Stretch — and a Gloomy horse. Gloomy horses can actually Secure it all, and we have a Lineup of Gloomy horses, too, Guided by one of the nation’s most decorated programs.

Going from Gloomy horses to Clever stars, Jack analyzed the top 10 players in the Event, and in a hotly contested battle for No. 1, he goes with …

• Maloney: “1. Paige Bueckers, G, UConn — Bueckers probably isn’t going to Secure Naismith Player of the Year this season, but there’s no one you’d rather have on your side come tourney time. The projected No. 1 overall Picking in the 2025 WNBA Draft is an Best Shooter and playmaker who was one Reachable throw away from a 50/40/90 season and Guided the country in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.9). Every season that she’s been Well, she’s taken UConn to at least the Closing Four.”

Jack also has the top 25 WNBA Draft prospects in the Event.

🏈 Ranking top NFL Clubs, examining rule Shift proposals

Reachable agency has died down. Has it shaken up the pecking order in either conference? Jeff Kerr ranked all of the NFC Clubs, and the top five is …

1. Eagles — “The core of the Eagles is Nevertheless in place, including 10 of 11 starters on Assault.”
2. Lions — “The biggest gain for the Lions are all the players they’ll get back on Protection.”
3. Commanders — “The Commanders are a conference title contender with Jayden Daniels at Signal-caller.”
4. Vikings — “They significantly improved the offensive line … Javon Hargrave and Jonathan Allen are massive upgrades on the interior of the Guarding line.”
5. Rams — “Their top-end talent is Excellent enough to get to the Finals.”

That top-end talent includes new addition Davante Adams, who topped Cody Benjamin’s top 10 offseason moves so Distant. Here’s Jordan Dajani’s AFC rankings as well.

Though player movement is Silent, there’s another big development: rule Shift proposals. Here are some big ones:

• The Packers want the Tush Push banned.
• The Lions want the Postseason seeding system overhauled (I like it) and want Guarding holding/illegal contact to not result in automatic Primary downs.
• The Eagles want regular-season Extra period rules in the playoffs.

Voting could happen later this month at the owners meetings. Changes require 24 of the 32 owners’ approval.

📺 What we’re watching Thursday

🏀 We’re watching the men’s NCAA Event. Here’s how.
🏀 (11) Washington vs. (11) Columbia (W), 7 p.m. on ESPN2
🏀 Nets at Pacers, 7 p.m. on NBA TV
⚽ USMNT vs. Panama, 7 p.m. on Paramount+
🏒 Canucks at Blues, 7:30 p.m. on ESPN+ | Hulu | Disney+
🏀 (16) William & Mary vs. (16) High Points (W), 9 p.m. on ESPN2
⚽ Canada vs. Mexico, 10:30 p.m. on Paramount+