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And that's a wrap. Florida defeats Houston for NCAA national championship, 65-63, erasing a 12-point deficit. Florida basically wore down the Cougars by speeding up the game. Congrats to the Gators.

All The Marbles: Florida Gators meet Houston Cougars for National Championship

April 7, 2025 - Florida's Up-tempo Style Meets Houston's Top-Ranked Defense

Tonight concludes the 2024-25 NCAA basketball season with the national championship game between the Florida Gators and Houston Cougars tipping off at 8:30 pm ET in San Antonio.

CBS will broadcast the game live for a national audience.

Both teams enter the game off hard-fought victories in their respective semifinal games. Florida topped fellow SEC foe, Auburn, 79-73, while Houston delivered a late rally, erasing a 14-point deficit for a 70-67 victory over Duke.

All four national semifinalists were #1 seeds in their respective regions, the first time that happened since 2008.

Both Florida and Houston sport 35-4 records heading into tonight's contest.

In Houston's comeback win over Duke, some of the statistics that bear witness to the Cougars' hard-nosed, defensive style were a 42-31 edge in rebounding, with an 18-10 advantage on the offensive boards.

Houston, the #1 team in the nation defensively, held the Blue Devils to 39.6% shooting, with Duke hitting just 7 of 17 (41.2%) from 3-point range. The Cougars were outshot, hitting only 37.7% overall, but made up for it by nailing 10 of 22 (45.5%) from beyond the arc and their big edge in rebounding, getting off 61 field goal attempts to Duke's 53.

Houston's LJ Cryer and Emanuel Sharp led the team with 26 and 16 points respectively, Cryer hitting 6 of 9 and Sharp 3 of 7 on 3-pointers, Both nailed key long shots as time wore down in the final minutes and seconds.

J'Wan Roberts chipped in 11 points and a game high 12 rebounds. Duke's Cooper Flagg led all scorers with 27 points.

Florida's win over Auburn was also a come-from-behind variety, though not quite as dramatic as Houston's. The Gators were down eight, 38-46, at the half, but outscored the Tigers, 41-27 in the second half by upping the pace of play, producing turnovers and unleashing Walter Clayton Jr. who scored 20 of his game-high 34 points in the second half.

Clayton Jr. was 11-for-18 overall, 5-for-8 from the 3-point line and made all seven of his free throws. He will be the key to whether Florida or Houston emerges as national champion Monday night.

Clayton Jr. and Alijah Martin were a combined 7-for-11 on 3-pointers. The rest of the team made just 1 of 10. Auburn likely lost the game on the perimeter, hitting only 7 of 25 3-point attempts.

Despite winning by just six points, the Gators dominated in key areas, outshooting the Tigers, 47.2% - 43.9%, out-rebounding them, 39-30, including 12-9 on the offensive end. However, Auburn stayed close as Florida committed 16 turnovers to Auburn's 14. They also held All-American Johni Broome to just 15 points and 7 rebounds, lows for the tournament. Broome averaged a double-double all season.

The Gators will not likely find much success inside against the tough Houston interior defense. Houston routinely out-rebounds every team and their size, experience, and toughness will be hard to match by Florida.

Houston will have to keep close to Florida's perimeter players, especially Clayton and Martin. If they get open looks, Florida may be able to establish tempo and control the pace of play. A fast-paced game would be to Florida's liking while the Cougars are perfectly happy with long possessions.

Florida is more skilled offensively and Houston will have to work inside to get consistent scoring, though their outside threats, Sharp and Cryer are dangerous, so Florida will have to tighten up their defense and they can't rely on Houston turning the ball over nor can they make mistakes on their offensive trips.

If Houston is capable of holding Clayton to less than 24 points, victory should be theirs. They have more ways to win the game than Florida. Their intensity and experience may turn out to be huge advantages.

The Vegas line has Florida a slight favorite at -1.5, with the over-under at 140.5.

Fearless Rick likes Houston for the win, 74-68.

Final Thoughts on the Final Four

April 3, 2025 - Fearless Rick makes just one prediction

For only the second time since the NCAA Tournament has had seedings and a 64 or 68-team field (First Four play-in games), circa 1985, all four #1 seeds have reached the Final Four. The only other time it happened was in 2008, when Kansas, Memphis, North Carolina, and UCLA all reached.

That year, Kansas, out of the Midwest Region defeated Memphis, from the South region, 75-68, in overtime.

If history is to repeat, that would pit Auburn, from the South region, against Houston, representing the Midwest and Houston would be the national champion.

It could happen, despite the oddsmakers thinking otherwise. Florida is a 2.5-point favorite over Auburn in Saturday's first semifinal (6:09 pm ET CBS), while Duke is a 5.5-point favorite over the Cougars in the late game (8:49 pm ET CBS).

Florida Gators vs. Auburn Tigers

The Florida-Auburn line (Florida - 2.5; O/U 159.5) is particularly interesting since the Gators topped the Tigers the only time they played this season, 90-81, and that game was at Auburn, so the Gators may have their number.

The two finished 1-2 in the jam-packed SEC, with Auburn finishing a game better than Florida with a record of 15-3. Florida went 14-4 with some questionable losses to Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee, and Georgia.

Incidentally, Auburn beat Houston way back on November 9, 74-69, on a neutral court, and lost to Duke, 84-78, so, regardless of which team wins the other semi, Auburn will likely make a game of it.

The Tigers are led by Johni Broome, who was tops for the Tigers in both scoring (18.7) and rebounding (10.9), but he's got a solid supporting cast, including freshman Tahaad Pettiford, along with guards, Miles Kelly and Denver Jones, who shoot the 3-ball at 38.1% and 41.8%, respectively. Pettiford hits 3s at 37.4% and Chad Baker-Mazara, 37.2%. In essence, the Tigers' offense consists of four guards and 6'10" Broome inside.

Florida is not shy about lighting up the scoreboard. They average 85.4 points per game, which is 4th nationally, and hit the boards at a rate of 41.9 rebounds per game, 5th-best in the country.

Walter Clayton Jr. averages 18.1 points and 4.2 assists per game, the team leader in both categories. Alijah Martin (14.5 ppg) and Will Richard (13.3) complete the three-man backcourt. Forwards Alex Condon, Thomas Haugh, Sam Alexis, and center Rueben Chinyelu will alternate guarding Broome. They have plenty of height and fouls to give, so the Gators are likely to use muscle to keep Broome out of the paint.

The degree of success in the lane and which teams' guards show up will impact the way the game is played and which advances to the championship game Sunday. Florida appears to have more options. Handling Broome inside and checking Auburn's guards at the 3-point line will be their key to victory.

Auburn needs to get a strong effort from Broome and their guards need to be on target from distance for the tigers to advance.

Duke Blue Devils vs. Houston Cougars

The line on this game seems a bit frothy in terms of point spread. Duke is favored by 5.5 and the Over/Under is 135.5. Bear in mind, Houston hasn't lost a game since February 1st, and that was in overtime to Texas Tech, a main rival in the Big 12, 82-81, and that was their only conference loss. Since then, they've won 17 in a row.

Since their 4-3 start, the Cougars are 34-1. of their four losses on the season, none have been by more than five points, suggesting that the Duke line of -5.5 is a function of Cooper Flagg mania.

Hands down, Flagg is one of the top two or three players in the country, maybe even #1, but the Blue Devils will need to get scoring from more than just him if they hope to defeat the Cougars, who were the #1 team in the nation defensively.

Coach Kelvin Sampson has gotten the players to believe in themselves and in each other and they are riding high on emotion heading into this match-up with Duke.

Houston's tournament victories have been a mixed bag, blowing out SIU Edwardsville in the first round, 78-40, then surviving two close calls against Gonzaga, 81-76, and Purdue, 62-60, before embarrassing th eTennessee Volunteers, 69-50. Teams that play smart and play to Houston's half-court tempo seem to do better against them. Duke, a team which is more offense-minded than defensively oriented, might find trouble against the interior defense of the Cougars, though, honestly, Duke can adapt to just about any playing style.

Duke has the largest winning margin of any of the Final Four teams. 93 points total over four games translates to a winning edge of 23.25 points, a huge number. They're also capable of just plain outscoring anybody. In their four tournament wins, they've scored 93, 89, 100, and 85, the last, an 85-65 demolition of Alabama, was the result of hard defense on the perimeter and taking advantage of their size advantage in the paint. Duke outscored Alabama, 40-28 in the lane while holding the Crimson Tide to 25% outside the arc (8-32).

The Blue Devils are tireless on both sides of the ball, but they won't find many easy buckets against Houston. It might surprise Duke loyalists, but there's probably not going to be many leads of more than five or six points throughout this contest, that's how evenly matched the two are.

Not to put too fine a point on winning streaks, but while the Cougars have the nation's current longest at 17, Duke is next, having won 15 straight. This game could, and should come down to the final minute, final seconds even.

Either team can win this game, but, from a betting perspective, giving Houston 5.5 points could be a grievous error. There's a line of thought that believes this match-up is happening because of the preponderance of SEC teams in the tournament and the selection committee's jerrymandering of the brackets to ensure there were few all-SEC confrontations. There's one on the other side, but this game might as well be the national championship.

The winner of this game will almost certainly take home the crown.

Second Round Recap and a Look Forward to Sweet 16

NCAA Tournament Comment, March 24, 2025 - Fearless Rick

NCAA Tournament Comment, March 24 - Fearless Rick

Other than St. John's (2, West) 75-66 loss to #10 Arkansas, all of the 1 and 2 seeds survived into the third round, or Sweet 16, set for Thursday and Friday, March 27, 28.

Of all 16 games played over the weekend, the most exciting and possibly impactful was also in the West region, #4 Maryland's buzzer-beating, 72-71, win over #12 Colorado State. The Terrapins will meet up with #1 Florida, which struggled to dispatch the reigning champs, UConn, in a 77-75 victory which wasn't as close as it appears. The Huskies hit a three right at the buzzer to close the gap. Florida was actually in control the final few minutes, though the Gators trailed much of the second half.

Unlike UConn, which had a load of experience in the tournament, Maryland is a very youthful squad, led by freshman Derik Queen, who hit the winning shot Sunday. Florida should have its hands full with the Terps, winners of 10 of their last 12, the two losses to Michigan State and Michigan, both on last-second buckets and both by teams still alive in the tournament.

The other West match-up has #10 Arkansas angling for #3 Texas Tech. The Razorbacks have jelled with the return of point guard Boogie Fland and are coached by Hall of Famer, John Calipari. Texas Tech is a 5.5-point favorite, but Arkansas is a dangerous proposition and the lowest seed remaining in the tournament.

On the other side of the bracket is the South, where #1 Auburn meets up with #5 Michigan and #2 Michigan State faces #6 Ole Miss. Both games are Friday. Auburn handled a solid Creighton team relatively easily, 82-70, while Michigan turned the tables on Texas A&M in the second half, during to a 91-79 win.

The Wolverines have been up and down in the rankings all season, but they won the Big Ten tourney and are big up front with Vladislav Goldin, Danny Wolf, and Will Tschetter coming off the bench. That's 15 fouls to give against consensus All-American Johni Broome, Auburn's nexus. The Tigers have been installed as 8.5 favorites and they're very good at maintaining a lead late.

Down below in the same region, #6 Ole Miss meets #2 Michigan State and Tom Izzo, who has a knack for these pressure situations. The Rebels, however, cruised past Iowa State, 91-78, and like to run. The Spartans rely on defense and fundamentals but may find themselves in trouble if Ole Miss gets a lead. Michigan State is a slim, 2.5-point favorite.

The teams that survive the second weekend will meet in a Final Four semi-final. South plays West; East plays Midwest.

Speaking of the Midwest, it is the only region that has the top four seeds still alive. #1 Houston seems impervious to all challenges and has been on top of their game pretty much all season, leading the nation in points allowed (58.4). The Cougars breezed through the first two rounds, crushing #16 SIUE, 78-40, and holding off a late challenge from Gonzaga, 81-76, in a game they led start to finish.

The Cougars will face #4 Purdue, which probably had the easiest path of any team, topping High Point (13), 75-63, and then McNeese (12), 76-62. While the Boilermakers are a high quality team, they lack size inside. Houston, an 8-point favorite, should prevail there.

The bottom of the Midwest bracket features the first all-SEC meeting of the tourney, with #2 Tennessee up against #3 Kentucky. The Wildcats have beaten the Vols twice already this season but are 3.5-point underdogs. Injuries kept Kentucky in the lower tiers of the Top 25 most of the season, but they're extremely talented and back at full strength. They won at Tennessee, 78-73, and at Rupp Arena late in the season, 75-64. It's hard to see the Volunteers winning this contest.

Finally, top seed Duke appears to be the class of the East region, after dispatching Baylorso easily, 89-66 Sunday. Their 93-49 victory over Mount St. Mary's in the opening round is the largest margin of victory in the tournament, 44 points. Along with the 23-point spread over Baylor, the Blue Devils have all the elements of a national champion, which is often the team that wins games by the largest margins. Duke is miles ahead of the rest in that department.

#4 Arizona is Duke's opponent Thursday night on CBS. The Wildcats knocked off #13 Akron and #5 Oregon, but Duke is a whole different animal. The Blue Devils are favored by as many as 9 points and could easily be seen to win this by 15 or more.

The match between #2 Alabama and #6 BYU features two of the most physical and athletic teams in the tournament. The Cougars took out #11 VCU in the opening round, 80-71, and almost let Wisconsin erase a healthy lead late in the second round, but held on for the 91-89 victory.

Alabama sleep-walked though a 90-81 win over #15 Robert Morris, but had their full game on display routing #7 Saint Mary's 80-66. The fact that these two teams have scored 170 (Bama) and 171 (BYU) points in their first two games indicates the kind of fluid action expected in this Thursday night meeting.

Alabama is a 5.5-point favorite. The Crimson Tide has scored 100 or more points 10 times this season. Averaging 90.8 points per game, they are easily the top-scoring team in the country but BYU appears focused and well-suited for a big test. This should be a good one.

Looking at the tournament conference scoreboard, it's the Big 12 with the best record thus far, at 12-3, with four of their seven seeds remaining. The Big Ten, which got eight teams invited, is 12-4. The teams that finished the regular season 1-4 all remain - Michigan, Michigan State, Purdue, and Maryland.

With 14 teams entered, the SEC still has half remaining. Six of the seven that have been removed lost in the opening round. Their number is certain to fall with Kentucky playing Tennessee. One of them has to lose, but, other than that, they could send as many as six teams to the Elite Eight. That would be unlikely, though four or even five survivors remains a possibility.

This year's tournament was concentrated on the big conferences. After the Mountain West, ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, and SEC, only the West Coast conference had more than their automatic bid with St.Mary's tagging along with Gonzaga. They're both gone, as are every one of the 22 teams from smaller conferences, ending 4-24.

The Mountain West has also been eliminated and the ACC has only one team, Duke, remaining from the four that started.

This week will see 16 teams whittled down to eight, then to four, with two games each on Saturday and Sunday. It's possible that all four #1 seeds could reach the Final Four. Since the tourney expanded to 64 teams in 1985, only one Final Four featured all four #1 seeds. It was in 2008, when Kansas, Memphis, North Carolina and UCLA all reached.

Will the cream stay on top or will some milk be spilt? We'll begin to find out Thursday.

-FR

No Surprises, No Buzzer-Beaters in Friday's Games

NCAA Tournament Comment, March 22, 2025 - Fearless Rick

Day two of the tournament is complete with 16 games from Friday in the books. Each of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th seeded teams won their openers, mostly by wide margins. East region #1 Duke produced a 44-point romp over Mount St. Mary's (93-49). The #2 seed in the East, Alabama, struggled against Robert Morris, eventually prevailing, 90-81.

The closest contest was #7 St. Mary's 59-56 win over #10 Vanderbilt, also in the East region, while the only upsets - if they can be called that - were by the top two teams from the Mountain West conference. #12 Colorado State was actually a 2/5-point favorite over #5 Memphis, eliminating the American Athletic champions, 78-70.

#10 New Mexico had a relatively easy time defeating #7 Marquette in the South region.

Defending champion, UConn (8) ousted another of the lower-tier SEC teams, cruising past Oklahoma (9) in the West.

Friday's results set up some intriguing second-round games, among them #3 Kentucky versus #6 Illinois, a 4-12 match-up in the East between Maryland and Colorado State, and 2nd-seeded Michigan State taking on #10 New Mexico.

Of the teams which were the sole representatives of their conferences, only two remain: #12 McNeese and #11 Drake, who meet #4 Purdue and #3 Texas Tech on Saturday.

Other notable contests in Saturday's lineup include the all-Italian coaching match-up between Rick Pitino's #2 St. John's and John Calipari's #1 Arkansas in the West, #9 Creighton hooking up with #1 Auburn in the South, and #8 Gonzaga taking on #1 Houston in the Midwest.

The 3-6 match-up between Wisconsin and BYU in the East region promises to be hotly-contested, along with #4 Texas A&M meeting up with #5 Michigan in the South, and #7 UCLA matching up with #2 Tennessee in the Midwest.

As far as conferences are concerned, the Big Ten showed up the best through first round games, going 8-0. The Big 12 won six of seven, the only loss by Kansas, ousted by Arkansas. The 14 teams from the SEC ended the first round 8-6. Losses by Texas, Georgia, Vanderbilt, and Oklahoma were about as unsurprising as the wins by Alabama, Auburn, Florida, and Tennessee.

From the ACC, only top-seeded Duke remains. Both teams from the West Coast conference, Gonzaga and St. Mary's are still alive and the Mountain West went 2-2 with the top two teams in the region, Colorado State and New Mexico, surviving.

The paucity of upsets and close calls may be due to seeding regimen of the selection committee, which thus far has produced no intra-conference contests, despite the large numbers from the SEC and Big Ten. The other factor is likely the result of the transfer portal, which has shifted the bulk of the talent to the bigger schools, resulting in the small conferences going 2-20 in the first round (4-22 overall, including First Four games). That would account for the lack of competitiveness from the lesser conference teams and, sadly, the few close games produced over the first 32 games.

The second round ought to be more exciting, as the level of competition evens out. The weekend games should produce a fair share of highlights as 16 teams will head to the third round.

Big 12, Big Ten, Big East Solid; Kansas Never Belonged

NCAA Tournament Comment, March 21, 2025 - Fearless Rick

After day one of the Men's Championship Tournament, some observations:

Big East (3-0) and Big Ten (4-0) appear solid. The Big 12 (4-1) would have gone unbeaten had Kansas been rightfully excluded as mentioned previously. Arkansas had their number early and late. The Jayhawks probably wouldn't have even made the NIT semis.

Giving bids to 14 SEC teams will go down as one of the largest selection committee blunders ever. Already, three are gone (Texas, Missouri, Georgia) and Arkansas, had they met any opponent other than Kansas, might have been the fourth to go down.

Auburn and Tennessee advanced as expected, though, especially in the case of the Tigers, the results were not overwhelmingly positive.

The Mountain West, which received four bids, is 0-for-2 (San Diego State, Utah State), with Colorado State playing Memphis and New Mexico matched up against Marquette on Friday should reveal the true strength of the conference, as the Rams and Lobos were the best teams.

Only North Carolina was a winner (in a play-in First Four game) from the ACC. Clemson and Louisville were bounced, though Louisville probably got a raw deal being seeded as an 8, and having to play Creighton, a mis-seeded #9. Both teams should have been no more than a 3 or 4 seed. It raises the question of just how good Duke is. They'll likely breeze through their opener vs. Mount St. Mary's and even the ACC at 2-2.

Other games of interest on Friday, day two of the round of 64, are the 7-10 match-up of St. Mary's and Vanderbilt in the East region, #4 Maryland and #13 Grand Canyon in the West, #4 Arizona vs. #13 Akron in the East (Arizona should have been no better than a 6 or 7 or even lower).

Illinois, a mis-seed at #6 in the Midwest, may get victimized by #11 Xavier out of the Big East, which already logged a First Four win over Texas. Illinois is a 3.5-point favorite, an iffy proposition.

The 5-12 game between Oregon and Liberty might cause some bleary eyes, slated for a 10:10 pm ET start. Oregon is giving 6.5. The Ducks won eight straight until Michigan State ended their run in the Big Ten tourney. The game could go either way.

16 more games are teed up for Friday. Let's go!

Last Minute Bracket Busting Bonanza

Thursday, March 20, 2025 - Fearless Rick

For those still looking to fill out their brackets, here are some last minute tips for each region.

South:

#1 seed Auburn is vulnerable. That was proven at the end of the regular season and in the SEC tournament. The winner of the Louisville-creighton game - 8 vs. 9 - directly below Auburn, could easily score an early upset. #1 seeds are consistently eliminated prior to the Final Four. Normally, only one or two make it to that level and this year should be no different. You could take the top 10-15 teams in the national polls and any one of them could find its way to the Final Four and the championship.

Louisville should have been a 3 or 4, not an 8. This mis-seeding may lead to Auburn's dismissal. If not, Michigan or Texas A&M could send the Tigers packing in the Sweet 16.

In the 6-11 match-up, North Carolina may handle Ole Miss. Michigan State, #2, should win in the first round, but Marquette or New Mexico might upset in the second. On the other hand, coach Tom Izzo is legendary for having his teams ready. A not-so-long shot is Michigan State taking the region.

West:

Top-seeded Florida has a relatively easy path to the Elite Eight, unless UConn shows up big in the second round. There's no guarantee that the Huskies will get past Oklahoma in the 8-9 bracket, but Florida should get through their first two rounds unscathed.

#4 Maryland is very dangerous and a likely Sweet 16 player where they're almost certain to meet up with St. John's. #3 Texas Tech and #6 Missouri are also dangerous teams that could get hot. Both are very capable.

#2 St. John's should come out of this region and get to the Final Four. Neither Kansas nor Arkansas pose real threats, so they should get through the first two rounds without issues.

East:

#1 Duke looks like a lock to get at least to the Elite Eight where they will face either BYU, Wisconsin, or Alabama. The lower part of this bracket could surprisingly blow up, however. There are any number of viable squads like VCU, Vanderbilt, or St. Mary's that could make their way to the third or fourth round, and then, who knows?

Judging by the mistakes the committee made in its selections and seedings, this tournament could produce as many as 15 upsets, with seeds 9-16 blowing up 1s through 8s. It's a real head-scratcher.

Midwest:

Looking like the most probabilistic of the regions, the Midwest has Houston as the #1 seed and Tennessee #2. The top part of the bracket should all fall Houston's way unless they get upended by a hot-shooting team that could be Gonzaga, Georgia (the 8-9 match-up), Clemson, or even Purdue, which is a solid Big Ten squad with high marks against top opponents.

The bottom of the bracket could be more puzzling. #11 Xavier looks like a sure winner over #6 Illinois if only because the seedings should have been reversed. Xavier is a 3.5-point dog, which appears to be a gift on Friday.

#3 Kentucky will be the next opponent for the Musketeers and there's no guaranteed the Wildcats can push past them, though when they are at full strength, the Cats can claw opponents into submission. They've handled #2 Tennessee twice this season, so a meeting of those two, if it happens, should go their way.

UCLA could upend the Vols. They are the favorites in a 7-10 matchup with Utah State in the opening round.

Final Four, worth a shot, might be Houston, Alabama, St. John's and just about anybody from the South, leaning towards Louisville.

Houston beats Alabama, St. John's tops Louisville. The Red Storm takes down the Cougars in the final. If that dream comes true, I'll be shocked.

--FR

Leaning Into the First Four

South Region
6:40 pm ET 16 St. Francis vs. 16 Alabama State (-3.5, 139.5) - Honestly, most people don't even know that the squads from St. Francis and Alabama State are known respectively as the Red Flash and the Hornets, both earning automatic bids for winning their conference tournaments.

St. Francis comes into this game with a losing record of 16-17. They finished 8-8 in their conference, but turned it up a couple of notches to win the post-season Northeast conference tourney and here they are. They've won six straight

The Hornets might have some sting in them, finishing fourth in the Southwestern Athletic conference with a 12-6 mark in a very competitive set-up where the top seven teams were separated by five games regular season. Alabama State was 19-15 overall.

Also riding a six-game winning streak and 10 of their last 11, the Hornets won three games in the conference tournament and appear to be jelling at the right time.

Riley Parker of St. Francis is a career 40% shooter from 3-point land. He could be the difference in what looks to be a very competitive game.

The winner gets to play #1 Auburn on Thursday. Good luck

Coin Flip: Alabama State

Fearless Rick's Pick: Red Flash 81 Hornets 77

9:10 pm ET 11 North Carolina (-4.5, 142.5) vs. 11 San Diego State - More than just a few people consider North Carolina's inclusion in the tournament a mistake, but still, they're favored by a couple of hoops over perennial upsetter, San Diego State.

The Aztecs finished tied with Boise State for fourth in the Mountain West conference at 14-6. They went 21-9 overall. One of the reasons San Diego State got a bid was their non-conference performance of 7-3, including a 73-70 win over Houston. The Aztecs were 6-2 down the stretch before losing to Boise State, 62-52, in the conference tourney .

Coach Brian Dutcher has his kids in the tournament for the fifth straight year. A no-nonsense leader, Dutcher demands 100% effort from his players. The Aztecs reached the Sweet 16 last season and were the runner up in 2023.

SDSU has plenty of size, including 7-foot freshman Magoon Gwath and 6'10 senior Jared Coleman-Jones. Senior guard Nick Boyd is the team's leading scorer, at 13.4 points per game. The Aztecs rely heavily on their defense. Points will be hard to come in in the paint, but they are susceptible to long-range outbursts. If North Carolina can free up for 3-pointers, they could cause damage.

RJ Davis led the Tar Heels in scoring (17.0). They finished tied for fourth in the ACC with SMU and Wake Forest, neither of which received a dance ticket, which is why North Carolina is suspect. They are very lax on defense, plus, losses to Kansas, Auburn, Alabama, Florida, Louisville, Duke and Clemson mar their resume.

The Tar Heels look to be one and done.

Coin Flip: San Diego State

Fearless Rick's Pick: Aztecs 72 Tar Heels 68

Next: A Skeptical Bracket Bonanza

Good, Bad, and Ugly: NCAA Tournament Brackets Breakdown

The Good: It's mid-March and time for some serious hoops. The tournament field is set, albeit a little cockeyed this season, favoring the Big Six conferences while leaving out some quality mid-majors and teams from lesser-known conferences.

There are plenty of good and great teams.

It all starts Tuesday.

Bracket madness is a nice break from work, politics, and the daily drudgery.

The Bad: Auburn as a #1 seed, St. John's a #2. Apparently, the selection committee didn't watch much of the post-season conference tourneys, because, if they did, these seedings would have been reversed. Auburn lost the final two regular season games and were bounced by Tennessee after just one win. The Tigers got a double-bye to the semi-finals and lost after beating Ole Miss, 62-57.

Meanwhile, St. John's tore through the Big East, taking the regular season by three games, then slaughtered the opposition in the conference tournament, topping Butler, 78-57, Marquette, 79-63, and Creighton, 82-66. Yeah, #2. Anybody wanting to make some money will do this: Bet spreads against Auburn and for St. John's every game they play. The Red Storm could be national champions. Auburn will almost certainly not make the Final Four.

14 teams from the SEC is really just stupid. Six of those teams didn't even finish .500 in the conference. Oklahoma and Texas, the two newcomers to the conference, were gifted at-large bids from this committee. Both of these former Big 12 contestants were 6-12 in conference play.

Other than the West Coast Conference (St. Mary's), no other conference got any at-large invites. All the rest went to the the Big Five and Mountain West. Totals for those, including the automatic bid are: ACC (4), Big 12 (7), Big East (5), Big Ten (8), SEC (14), Mountain West (4).

Joe Lunardi and the Selection Committee. ESPN's "bracketologist" starts making his predictions for the tournament field in January. As of Selection Sunday, he's done. What he does the rest of the year, who knows? The problem is that originally, Lunardi was supposed to predict what teams and in what order the selection committee would choose. Now, it seems to be the other way around. The committee, made up mostly of lazy ADs, conference officials and other administrative types, somewhat like the kind of people Elon Musk is firing from the federal government, is supposed to have some knowledge about the 200+ teams in Division I. Sports writers, team managers and coaches probably would know better.

Here's Lunardi lamenting over including both Texas and North Carolina, without even a whisper about other conferences.

In case anybody's interested, here's a five-minute video of the CBS hosts stroking the egos of the Committee Chair and Vice Chair.

The Committee Chair, Bubba Cunningham, is the AD at North Carolina. Vice Chair, Keith Gill, is Commissioner of the Sun Belt Conference.

Other than making up lists, there should be some rules applied to at-large bids other than Quad 1 or Quad 2 wins and losses, strength of schedule and conference affiliation. Teams evolve over the course of the season, but, overall, this committee seemed to lean heavily toward the big conferences without even a second look at solid teams from smaller conferences.

Lunardi laments West Virginia, Indiana, Ohio State, and Boise State being left out, but says nothing about the likes of North Alabama (24-10, 14-4), North Texas (24-8, 14-4), UAB (22-12, 13-5), George Mason (26-8, 15-3), Northern Colorado (25-9, 15-3), UC Irvine (28-6, 17-3), Towson (22-11, 16-2), Charleston (24-9, 13-5), Miami (OH) (25-9, 14-4), Bradley (26-8, 15-5), Central Connecticut (25-7, 14-2), Southeast Missouri (21-12, 15-5), Chattanooga (24-9, 15-3), Southern (20-12, 15-3), Arkansas State (24-10, 13-5), San Francisco (24-9, 13-5), Utah Valley (25-8, 15-1)

The smaller conferences, especially the Atlantic 10 and Mid-American, got shafted and left out, along with Wake Forest, SMU, and Stanford from the ACC.

There should be some consideration afforded to teams which won their conference regular season title and lost in the conference tournament. There are always six or eight of those, many, this year, mentioned above.

The question is whether it's better to have significantly-flawed teams from major conferences, like Illinois, Kansas, Oklahoma, Baylor, North Carolina, Texas, Arkansas, or Xavier in the field rather than some of the better teams from smaller conferences with something to prove and maybe some chips on their shoulders.

From the looks of this field, the committee apparently felt bigger was better - for TV ratings and advertising, fees to the conferences, and, uh, the NBA. Who's looking out for the little guy? Certainly not the NCAA.

The Ugly: Kansas (21-12, 11-9) making the tournament as a #7 seed. Maybe even worse was Baylor making the field with a 19-14 record to justify including the Jayhawks. On a national basis, Baylor is 111th in scoring, 167th in rebounds, and tied for 124th in assists. Those kind of figures should merit an instant DQ from the tourney field.

As for Kansas, after a 7-0 start, they went 14-12 and were just 11-9 in the Big 12. The Jayhawks finished the regular season 3-4, and won just one game in the conference tourney, a 98-94 win over UCF. They got bounced by Arizona, 88-77. Other than their enormous center, Hunter Dickinson, they don't have much. They'll play 10th-seed Arkansas, another team that maybe shouldn't have made the field. The Razorbacks went 8-10 in the SEC. Nationally, Arkansas ranks 108th in scoring, 136th in assists and is tied for 205th in rebounding.

The 8-9 matchup between (8) Louisville (27-7, 18-2) and (9) Creighton (24-10, 15-5) is a travesty. Both teams finished second in their respective conferences and lost in their conference tournament final. Whichever team wins that game could easily defeat Auburn in the second round. There are too many issues around this match-up and the South bracket to mention. It's just a massive mistake and oversight by the committee, probably stemming from having too many SEC teams in the field. Both of these teams should have been no higher than a 6-seed, probably closer to a 4 or 3. Very ugly.

Teams that aren't .500 in their conference and worse than 100th in three national categories should be double-instant eliminations. Go play in the NIT or the College Basketball Crown, a made-for-TV tournament which will consist of two automatic qualifiers from each of the Big East, Big Ten and Big 12 conferences as well as ten at-large teams from the pool of teams that did not qualify for the NCAA tournament.

Games in the "Crown" will be played March 31 through April 6, filling the NCAA gap between the Elite Eight round and the Final Four, with games on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday. The winner of this faux tournament can chant, "we're #69." Please. Kids from the schools competing in this tournament should be hitting the books instead of the hardwoods because none of them will be going to the NBA.

As far as filling out brackets is concerned, that's a fool's errand unless you've done nothing from November through March but watch college hoops and study boxscores (government bureaucrats come to mind). Every tournament produces a minimum of six to eight upsets (lower seeds beating higher seeds), often more. All four #1 seeds seldom reach the Final Four. Some don't make it to the Sweet 16 (looking at you, Auburn).

Speaking generally for the gambler in all of us, the best approach is to take underdogs of 4 or more points in any of the 3-14, 4-13, 5-12, 6-11, 7-10, and 8-9 match-ups.

For the 1-16 and 2-15 contests in the first round, you need to get at least 18 points, preferably 20 or more.

After the first round, you're on your own, but underdogs are the way to go if betting against the line. Straight up, hope for upsets at long odds like +300 or better.

14 SEC teams means just one thing: They'll be dropping like flies. It would be shocking to see two of them reach the Final Four.

Just for kicks, here's my Final Four: East: Alabama; South: Louisville; Midwest: Houston; West: St. John's.

In the semis, South plays West, East plays Midwest. St. John's defeats Louisville, 81-78; Alabama tops Houston, 88-76.

The champion is St. John's, over Alabama, 86-81.

Idleguy.com will have daily updates, including Downtown Magazine's exclusive conference scoreboard, calculating the wins and losses by conference (It's over there on your right, dude) and, of course, Players of the Day, through the conclusion of the tournament and one shining moment on April 7.

If you manage somehow to get bored, also in the sidebar on the right are a series of NCAA Tournament Quizzes starting with the 1990 tourney. A new quiz is added every weekday.

-- FR

Tomorrow (3/18): Leaning Into the First Four

April 5, 2025 Player of the Day - Walter Clayton Jr., Florida Gators

Defeating SEC rival Auburn, 79-73 Saturday, the Florida Gators return to the NCAA championship game for the first time since 2007, when they won their second straight NCAA title.

Walter Clayton Jr. continued his dominant backcourt play, scoring a game-high 34 points. Added to the 30 he scored in the Elite 8 win over Texas Tech, Clayton Jr. became the first player since Larry Bird in 1979 to score 30 or more points in an Elite 8 and Final Four game.

Clayton went 11-for-18 from the field, including 5 of 8 from 3-point territory. He was a perfect 7-for-7 from the foul line, adding four rebounds and two assists.

Besides breaking the hearts of Auburn fans, Clayton's effort broke a number of Florida records, including the most in a Final Four game, breaking Udonis Haslem's 27 points in the 2000 national championship game against Michigan State. He also broke Joakim Noah's mark of 97 points in a single NCAA tournament. tallying 123 with one more game to go, Monday's title game against the Houston Cougars.

Clayton also broke Florida's 55-year-old single-season scoring record of 676 by Andy Owens in 1969-70 with 702 points.

The Gators face Houston, 70-67 winners over Duke in Saturday's other semifinal game, Monday night for the championship. Both Florida and Houston have records of 35-4. The game will be broadcast nationally by CBS. Tip time is 8:50 pm ET.

March 30, 2025 Player of the Day - Johni Broome, Auburn Tigers

The Auburn Tigers punched their ticket to the Final Four Sunday behind game high 25 points and 14 rebounds from All-American Johni Broome, outpacing the #2 seed in the South Region, Michigan State, 70-64.

Broome, who is averaging a double-double on the season, was 10-for-13 from the field, making both of his 3-point shots and knocking down 3 of 5 free throws.

Irrepressible as always, Broome left the game midway through the second half after an awkward fall, but returned after a brief trip to the locker room. Nursing what appeared to be an injured right elbow, Broome calmly stroked a 3-pointer at the 4:40 mark that pushed Auburn's lead back to 12.

The final score doesn't capture the reality of how dominant Auburn was. Michigan led early in the game at 8-6, but the Tigers erased that lead 22 seconds later as they embarked on a 17-0 run to take control with a 23-8 lead. Auburn led 33-24 at the break and continued determined play in the second half.

Michigan rallied to cut the lead down to five points early in the second half at 35-30, but Auburn quickly responded with a 3-pointer and a layup on successive possessions to push their advantage back to 10.

Auburn' victory completed a sweep by #1 seeds into the Final Four after Duke, Houston, and Florida won their regional finals. The Tigers face the Gators on Saturday in an all-SEC national semifinal. Duke meets Houston in the other semifinal match-up.

Since seeding began in 1979, all #1 seeds reached the Final Four only once before, in 2008, when Kansas, Memphis, North Carolina, and UCLA reached the Final Four. Kansas defeated Memphis, 75-68, in overtime, capturing its third NCAA championship.

March 29, 2025 Player of the Day - Walter Clayton Jr., Florida Gators

Half of the Final Four picture came together on Saturday, with #1 Duke looking powerful defeating #2 Alabama in the East Region, 85-65, and #1 Florida coming back from a 10-point second half deficit to take down #3 Texas Tech, 84-79.

Walter Clayton Jr. starred for the Gators, scoring a game-high 30 points with three 3-pointers, two of which came on back-to-back Florida possessions late in the second half, tying the game and taking the lead. Thomas Haugh hit back-to-back 3s to cut the Red Raider lead down to three, then, when Tech's JT Toppin missed the front end of a 1-and-1, Clayton tied the game with a 3-pointer and followed that with one that put Florida in front for good.

The Gators, prior to the four straight 3-pointers had been just 5-for-20 from beyond the arc, but Haugh and Clayton found the range just in time to steal the game away from Texas Tech, whose largest lead of 10 came with less than eight minutes remaining. The Red Raiders led by seven points at the 3:52 mark, which is when Florida went on its shooting spree.

The game turned on the free throw line, where Clayton, in addition to going 7-for-14 from the field and 3-for-8 on 3-pointers, made 13 of 14 charity drops.

Texas Tech went to the line just 13 times, but made only seven free throws. Florida, on the other hand, was 25-for-27, sizzling at 92.6%.

Clayton, a 6'3" senior from Lake Wales, Florida, added two rebounds and four assists. He is averaging 18.1 points per game on the season and scored, 23, 23, and 13 in the tourney, prior to Saturday's effort.

The Gators, now 34-4, move onto the Final Four in San Antonio next Saturday where they will meet the winner of Sunday's Elite 8 game between #1 Auburn and #2 Michigan State in the South region.

Duke faces Sunday's winner of #1 Houston vs. #2 Tennessee in the Midwest.

March 28, 2025 Player of the Day - Zakai Zeigler, Tennessee Volunteers

Tennessee turned the tables on Kentucky Friday night, as the #2 Volunteers swamped the #3 Wildcats with a 78-65 victory in the third round of the NCAA Tournament.

Kentucky had the measure of Tennessee twice during the regular season, but the Vols got the win when it counted the most. Three minutes into the game, the teams were tied at 4-4. Over the next 14 minutes, Tennessee outscored the Wildcats, 35-16, establishing their largest lead of the game (19 points), cruising into halftime with a commanding, 43-28 lead.

Point guard Zakai Zeigler was the driving force for Tennessee with 18 points and 10 assists, his fifth scoring-assist double-double of the season and second of the tournament.

Zeigler is averaging 13.9 points and 7.5 assists per game in his senior year, all four as a Tennessee Volunteer. The 5'9" Long Island native is tied for fourth nationally in assists with Moe Odum of Pepperdine. Zeigler has led the SEC in assists three seasons running.

The win puts Tennessee in the same position as a year ago, into the Elite 8. Last season, they were ousted at that level by Purdue, 72-66. On Sunday, the Vols will meet #1 Houston, 62-60 winners over Purdue in Friday night's finale.

Two of the top defensive teams in the country will square off in Indianapolis for a trip to the Final Four. Houston leads the nation in points allowed, at 58.5 per game, while the Vols are 10th, allowing 62.9.

Game time for the Midwest Regional championship is 2:20 pm ET. That game will be followed Sunday by #2 Michigan State at #1 Auburn in the South Regional final in Atlanta Georgia.

On Saturday, the West Region has #3 Texas Tech against #1 Florida at 6:09 pm ET in San Francisco. The East Region will be decided in Newark, NJ, when #1 Duke meets #2 Alabama at 8:49 pm ET.

Regional winners head to the Final Four semifinals, next Saturday in San Antonio, Texas, with the championship game Monday night, April 7 at 8:30 pm ET.

March 27, 2025 Player of the Day - Mark Sears, Alabama Crimson Tide

With the round of Sweet 16 underway Thursday night, a number of players had big nights in big wins for their respective teams. Duke's probable Player of the Year, Cooper Flagg dominated in all aspects, with 30 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists as the Blue Devils outscored Arizona, 100-93.

JT Toppin and Darrion Williams both had 20 points and 9 boards, while teammate Christian Anderson led the Red Raiders' scoring with 22 in #3 Texas Tech's 85-83 overtime win against #10 Arkansas. Johnell Davis had 30 points for the Razorbacks.

Aden Holloway came off the bench to can six 3-pointers and 23 points in #1 Alabama's 113-88 win over #6 BYU.

But, it was Holloway's back-court mate, Mark Sears, who proved impossible to defend, canning 10 of 16 from beyond the arc with a game-high 30 points that earned not just the Player of the Day honor, but tied a school record for 3-pointers made and was the driving force behind Alabama breaking the 35-year-old tournament record of 21 3-pointers in a game, set by Loyola Marymount in a 149-115 win over Michigan in 1990.

The Crimson Tide knocked down 25 of 51 from 3-point range, both the number of 3s attempted and made are new NCAA Tournament records.

Sears, a consensus All-American, wasn't being selfish, however. In addition to three rebounds and three steals, he dished out 8 assists to teammates, setting up Holloway, Chris Youngblood (who made five) and others for 3-pointers of their own.

Sears led the Crimson Tide in scoring, averaging 19.0 points per game and was second in the SEC behind Texas' Tre Johnson (19.9). The 6'1" fifth-year senior from Muscle Shoals, Alabama began his collegiate career with two seasons at Ohio before joining the Crimson Tide for the 2022-23 campaign.

Alabama advanced to the Elite 8, where they will face the #1 seed in the East region, Duke, on Saturday.

March 23, 2025 Player of the Day - Tyrese Proctor, Duke Blue Devils

Tyrese Proctor lit up the scoreboard with seven 3-pointers on eight attempts and a game-high 25 points, sending the top-seeded Duke Blue Devils into the Sweet 16 as they rolled past Baylor, 89-66, in the second round of the East region.

Cooper Flagg had his standard 18 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists, helping the Blue Devils build a 47-30 halftime lead from which they never looked back. Baylor never got any closer than 13 down in the second half.

Proctor has been on a recent tear with at least six 3-pointers in each of his last three games. The 6'6" junior guard from Sydney, Australia, recorded career-highs for scoring and 3-pointers in the runaway win, making 9 of 10 from the field. Duke shot 64.4% for the game, a record for the program in an NCAA tournament game.

Unlike many star players that have used the transfer portal to join teams that are more competitive, Proctor has spent all three years at Duke. He's flourished with the addition of freshman sensation Flagg, with career bests in scoring (12.5 ppg) and shooting percentage (45.1%).

Duke moves on to the third round to face #4 Arizona, 87-83 winners over Oregon Sunday night. The Sweet 16 match-up is slated for Thursday in Newark, New Jersey.

March 22, 2025 Player of the Day - L J Cryer, Houston Cougars

Houston's L.J. Cryer matched his career high of 30 points, leading top-seeded Houston to an 81-76 win over 8th-seeded Gonzaga in the Midwest second round Saturday.

Cryer, the Cougars' leading scorer (15.6 ppg), made 6 of 11 from 3-point range and as 8-for-15 overall, adding a perfect 8-for-8 effort from the foul line, including two key free throws as time wound down, securing the victory. The 6'1 5th-year senior added a pair of rebounds, three assists and a steal in 37 minutes of floor time.

Transferring from Baylor after the 2022-23 season, Cryer has given the Cougars consistent scoring from his backcourt position. Primarily a defensive team, Cryer adds the offensive punch, scoring 20 or more points ten times this season.

The native of Katy, Texas scored 15 points in Houston's, 78-40, first round win over SIU Edwardsville in limited action.

With the victory, Houston, now on a 15-game winning streak, heads to the Sweet 16 round where they will meet #4 Purdue in the regional semifinal on Friday, March 28 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana.

March 21, 2025 Player of the Day - Kyan Evans, Colorado State Rams

Kyan Evans scored 23 points and rained down a career-high six 3-pointers as #12 Colorado State took out 5th-seeded Memphis in the first round of the West region Friday, 78-70.

Evans, a 6'2" sophomore from Kansas City, Missouri, was 6-for-9 from beyond the arc and 7-for-11 overall, adding three free throws, two rebounds, two steals and four assists.

Down 36-31 at the break, the Rams turned the game around in the opening minutes of the second half. Evans tied the game at 48 with a 3-pointer five minutes into the half. The Rams then went on a 6-0 run over the next few minutes and were never challenged after that.

Outscoring the Tigers 47-34 in the second half, Colorado State extended their winning streak to 11 games.

The Rams finished second in the Mountain West Conference (MWC) with a 16-4 record behind New Mexico but received the automatic bid by winning the conference tournament. Colorado State improved to 26-9 with the first round victory.

Colorado State advances to face #4 Maryland Sunday. The Terrapins were 81-49 winners over Grand Canyon Friday.

March 20, 2025 Player of the Day - Jamiya Neal, Creighton Bluejays

9th-seeded Creighton upended #8 Louisville Thursday afternoon in the opening game of the first round, 89-75, behind 29 points, 12 rebounds, and 6 assists from 6'5" senior Jamiya Neal, advancing in the South region to face top-seeded Auburn Saturday.

Neal, who hails from Toledo, Ohio, scored a career-high and posted his third double-double of the season at just the right time for Creighton, making their debut in the tournament a winning one. He was 11-for-16 from the field, including 2 of 5 from beyond the arc and 5-for-9 at the foul line. Neal played three seasons at Arizona State before transferring to Creighton for the current campaign.

The Bluejays ended the first half with a 21-9 run to lead at the break, 49-34, and never looked back. Any time the Cardinals seemed to gain momentum, it was Neal making a bucket with time running down on the shot clock or dishing to Steven Ashworth for a 3-pointer or Ryan Kalkbrenner for an easy deuce.

Ashworth canned 4 3-pointers, tallying 22 points. Kalkbrenner chipped in with 14. Creighton led by as many as 20 points during the second half, sizzling at 57% from the field and 46% from the 3-point line.

The meeting between Creighton and Louisville was the result of one of the worst seeding errors by the selection committee. It was ludicrous to make Louisville an 8 and Creighton a 9. Both teams had finished second in their respective conferences and lost in the conference tournament final.

Creighton was 15-5 in the Big East and 25-10 overall. Louisville went 18-2 in the ACC and was 22-8 on the season. These teams should have been seeded no worse than 3 or 4. By favoring the SEC so heavily with bids to 14 teams, the committee set itself up for ludicrous seedings and match-ups that should have happened in subsequent rounds, rather than in openers. While Creighton was clearly on point Thursday, Louisville deserved better. Both teams should have been facing teams seeded 13 or 14, like Akron, Grand Canyon, or Lipscomb for instance, rather than each other in their tourney debut.

Be that as it may, the Bluejays move on to face Auburn. The interior play between Creighton's Ryan Kalkbrenner and Auburn's Johni Broome ought to be worth the price of admission. Game time Saturday is 7:10 pm ET.

March 19, 2025 Player of the Day - Marcus Foster, Xavier Musketeers

In a First Four battle of #11 seeds, Xavier rallied from a 13-point first half deficit to overtake Texas and move into the field of 64.

The Musketeers trailed by 10 with 12 minutes left to play, but by the 8:10 mark had tied the game at 65-all. Texas regained the lead, but over the final six minutes, Xavier outscored the Longhorns 16-6.

Marcus Foster led the Musketeers with a season-high 22 points on 8 of 9 shooting and a 4-for-5 effort from beyond the arc. The 6'5" fifth-year senior added eight boards and a pair of assists.

Zach Freemantle overcame foul trouble to pitch in 15 points and Xavier's bench added 22, including six 3-pointers.

A native of Atlanta, Foster spent his first four collegiate seasons at Furman prior to transferring to Xavier following the 2023-24 campaign. He averages 8.0 points and 4.9 rebounds. Last season at Furman, he averaged 17 points and 7.5 rebounds.

For the critics who believe the selection committee overdid it with Texas and a few of the other 14 teams from the SEC, one - the Longhorns - is already gone with more sure to follow. Texas was 19-16 overall but just 6-12 in conference play. Xavier, out of the Big East - which only landed five bids - was 22-11 and 13-7 in the conference.

The first round begins Thursday, with 16 games slated and another 16 Friday. Xavier will face the #6 seed in the Midwest region, Illinois. The Illini are 3.5-point favorites.

March 18, 2025 Player of the Day - R. J. Davis, North Carolina Tar Heels

Decried by critics of the NCAA selection committee as being unfit for inclusion in the championship tournament, the North Carolina Tar Heels silenced a few voices with a runaway, 95-68, victory over San Diego State in one of Tuesday's First Four match-ups in Dayton, Ohio.

R.J. Davis, North Carolina's top scorer, led the Tar Heel assault with a game-high 26 points, nailing all six of his 3-point attempts in the process. Davis was 8-for-12 overall, made 4 of 5 free throws and had two assists.

It was the 11th time this season Davis, a 6-foot senior guard from White Plains, New York, scored 20 or more points. He's averaging 17.3 per game on the season.

North Carolina went on a 24-5 run midway through the first half to bury the Aztecs early, leading at the break, 47-23, expanding the advantage to as many as 40 points in the second half.

Perhaps the committee and their critics should have looked a little closer at San Diego State and some others when calling the process unfair to teams like West Virginia, who's governor, Patrick Morrisey, called for an investigation, and Boise State, which tied SDSU in the Mountain West at 14-6, had a better overall record. Despite losing to the Aztecs twice during the regular season, Boise State ousted San Diego State from the conference tourney in the first round, 62-52.

Complaints about selections are nothing new. They happen every year, though this season, they seem to be louder and more acute. Outside the Big 6 conferences, only one other conference, the West Coast, had more than one entrant while the SEC sent a record 14 teams into the tourney.

No matter how it shakes out, North Carolina advances into the field of 64, to meet 6th-seeded Ole Miss Friday. The Tar Heels are 0-3 against SEC foes this season, with losses to Auburn, Florida, and Alabama. Those teams were seeded 1st, 1st, and 2nd, respectively.

March 16, 2025 Player of the Day - John Poulakidas, Yale Bulldogs

Taking the Ivy League championship with a 90-84 victory over Cornell in the tournament final, the Yale Bulldogs completed a near-perfect conference campaign (14-1).

John Poulakidas pumped in a game-high 25 points on 8 of 14 shooting, with five 3-pointers. The 6'6" senior was a perfect 4-for-4 from the foul line and contributed three rebounds and three assists.

Hailing from Naperville, Illinois, Poulakidas, who has played for Yale all four years, led the Ivy League in scoring, averaging 19 points per game for the Bulldogs and scored in double figures in 25 of 26 games. He also led the conference in free throw percentage at 88.5% and was second in 3-pointers, averaging 3.1 per game behind Brown's Kino Lilly Jr.'s 3.3.

The Bulldogs had been undefeated in conference play until their final regular season game, when they were upended at arch-rival Harvard, 74-69. Yale is 22-7 overall and are the #13 seed in the South Region of the NCAA Tournament. They will face 4th-seeded Texas A&M in the first round of the NCAA tournament, Thursday (3/20) at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado. The Ivy title is their second straight.

March 15, 2025 Player of the Day - R.J. Luis Jr., St. John's Red Storm

St. John's captured its first Big East championship in 25 years, as Rick Pitino, in his second year as head coach of the Red Storm, guided his team to both the regular season title and the tournament crown with a resounding 82-66 win the in Big East tournament final over the Creighton Bluejays.

Big East Player of the Year, R.J. Luis Jr., led all scorers with 29 points on 11-for-18 shooting, including 3 of 3 from 3-point range. Luis also collected 10 rebounds in his ninth double-double of the season. He scored just two points in the first half, but put up 27 in the second as St. John's outscored Creighton, 57-38.

Luis averages 18.4 points and 7.2 boards per game, hitting field goals at a 44.4 percentage. A 6'7" junior from Miami, Florida, Luis played his freshman season at UMass before transferring to St. John's last season.

The Red Storm finished the season undefeated on its home court at Madison Square Garden, posted an 18-2 record to win the Big East by three games over Creighton and is 30-4 overall.

With this victory, St. John's may be rewarded with a #1 seeding in the NCAA tournament. We will find out just after 6:00 pm ET Sunday.

NOTE: Players of the Day for March 13 and 14 were not posted due to an internet outage. Apologies to all - FR

March 12, 2025 Player of the Day - Joshua Jefferson, Iowa State Cyclones

All of the big conference tournaments were underway Wednesday, as the SEC, Big Ten, Big 12, Big East and ACC sent high-seeded teams to the hardwoods.

In the second round of the Big 12 tourney, #12 Iowa State outscored Cincinnati, 25-9 over the final 10:40, routing the Bearcats, 76-56.

Joshua Jefferson led the Cyclones' assault with 19 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists and trio of steals.

Jefferson and Dishon Jackson (10 points, 15 rebounds) dominated inside. Missing twice on 3-pointers, the 6'9" junior out of Las Vegas was a model of efficiency and muscle inside the arc, hitting 8 of 10 attempts.

Jefferson, who transferred from St. Mary's after the 2023-24 campaign, has been a stalwart scorer and rebounder all season for Iowa State, averaging 12.9 points and 7.5 rebounds per outing.

Iowa State dominated the interior, outscoring the Bearcats, 36-16, in the paint and out-rebounding them, 41-23. The Cyclones shot 54% for the game.

The Cyclones advance to the quarterfinals where they will meet #17 BYU Thursday. In their last meeting, March 4, the Cougars triumphed in double overtime at Iowa State 88-85. Iowa State is 24-8 overall, finishing the regular season at 13-7 in conference play. BYU went 23-8 and 14-6 in the Big 12.

All Big 12 tourney games are being played at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri.

Elsewhere, the Montana Grizzlies will represent the Big Sky conference in the NCAA tournament after downing North Colorado, 91-83 in the tourney final. McNeese took home the Southland tournament trophy with a 63-54 victory over Lamar. The Cowboys won the regular season by five games, going 19-1 and 27-6 overall.

American University (22-12, 13-5) sunk Navy, 74-62, taking the Patriot League championship.

There won't be another conference champion crowned until Saturday. Sunday will see finals in the AAC, Atlantic 10, Big Ten, Ivy League, and the SEC, leading into the Selection Show at 6:00 pm ET on CBS.

March 11, 2025 Player of the Day - Josh Omojafo, Robert Morris Colonials

Four more automatic bids were awarded to conference champions on Tuesday, including the first Horizon League title for the Robert Morris Colonials, who defeated Youngstown State in the tournament final, 89-78.

Leading the charge for Robert Morris was 6'5" junior Josh Omajafo, who pumped in a game-high 24 points on 6-for-15 shooting, canning 11 of 14 from the foul line. Omojafo also collected 13 rebounds for his first double-double of the season, coming at a most opportune time.

Omojafo is one of four Colonials who averaged in double figures this season. Hailing from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, Omojafo averaged 11.4 points per game. His 24 points in the final are three short of his season high of 27, which he scored in the regular season clincher, Feb. 27. The Colonials are led by Kam Woods' 15.1 points per outing.

Robert Morris has been in the Horizon League five years and will represent the conference in the upcoming NCAA Tourney.

The Colonials (15-5, 26-8) also captured the regular season title, out-pacing Cleveland State and Milwaukee by one game.

Elsewhere, Gonzaga held off #19 St. Mary's for the West Coast Conference auto bid, 58-51. In the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA), UNC Wilmington outlasted Delaware, 76-72 in the championship game. The Northeast Conference crown went to St. Francis of Pennsylvania, who upended regular season champion Central Connecticut, 46-43.

Three more conferences will be decided Wednesday: Southland, Big Sky, and Patriot League.

March 10, 2025 Player of the Day - Graham Ike, Gonzaga Bulldogs

Two more automatic bids to the NCAA Tournament were awarded on Monday. Wofford topped Furman, 92-85, to take the Southern conference tournament title, and in the Sun Belt, Troy downed Arkansas State, 94-81.

The best performance on Monday was in the West Coast Conference Tournament Semifinal, where Gonzaga prevailed over San Francisco, 85-76, led by Graham Ike's game-high 27 points and 10 rebounds.

Ike was 9 of 13 from the floor and 9-for-11 from the charity stripe. His 10 boards gave the 6'9" senior from Aurora, California, his eighth double-double of the season and the 27 points were one off his season high.

Ike and his Bulldog teammates will meet #21 St. Mary's in the tournament final Tuesday night. The Gaels have beaten Gonzaga (24-8, 14-4) twice this season and boast the regular season title at 17-1, and a 28-4 record overall.

By some accounts, Gonzaga may need to win the tournament final to gain entry to the NCAAs.

Next championships up: CAA (3/11), Horizon League (3/11), Northeast (3/11), West Coast (3/11), Southland (3/12), Big Sky (3/12), Patriot League (3/12).

March 9, 2025 Player of the Day - Bennett Stirtz, Drake Bulldogs

Saturday saw the first of 31 automatic bids awarded to conference champions as the SIU Edwardsville Cougars (22-11, 13-7) won the Ohio Valley tournament, defeating SouthEast Missouri, 69-48.

On Sunday, four more bids were earned.

Lipscomb (25-9, 14-4) defeated North Alabama, 76-65, to take the ASUN title. In the Big South, the High Point Panthers (29-5, 14-2) took the championship game, 81-69, over Winthrop.

The Summit League was won by default by the Omaha Mavericks (21-12, 13-3), as their opponent in the final, St. Thomas is ineligible due to being in their final year of transitioning to Division I. Omaha defeated South Dakota, 100-75, to reach the final.

Top-seeded Drake captured its third straight Missouri Valley championship with a 63-48 victory over 2nd-seeded Bradley behind 24 points from junior guard and MVC Player of the Year, Bennett Stirtz, who was also named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player (MOP).

Stirtz was 7-for-13 from the field, including 5 of 7 3-pointers, going 5-for-6 from the foul line. The 6'4" native of Liberty, Missouri added four rebounds, four assists, two blocked shots and a steal for an MOP-worthy performance. Sitrtz averaged 19.0 points per game though the 2024-25 season.

The Bulldogs (30-3, 17-3) will enter the NCAA Tournament on a seven-game winning streak. Drake is ranked second nationally in team defense, allowing 58.8 points per game. The Houston Cougars are #1 in that category, allowing opponents 58.1 per game.

Next championships up: Southern (3/10), Sun Belt (3/10), CAA (3/11), Horizon League (3/11), Northeast (3/11), West Coast (3/11), Southland (3/12), Big Sky (3/12), Patriot League (3/12).

March 8, 2025 Player of the Day - Hunter Dickinson, Kansas Jayhawks

Saturday was full of Top 25 action, including buzzer-beaters in #7 Alabama's 93-91 OT win over #1 Auburn and #6 St.John's 86-84 overtime win at #20 Marquette.

Amid the day's heroics was Kansas center Hunter Dickinson matching his career-high with 33 points in a much needed 83-76 Kansas win over #24 Arizona.

Dickinson was 15-for-23 from the field, hit a 3-pointer and went 2-for-4 from the foul line. His 10 rebounds completed his 14th double-double of the season. The 7'2" senior from Alexandria, Virginia averages 17.4 points and 9.9 boards per game.

The win was a big one for the Jayhawks. At 19-11 and 10-9 entering the contest, another loss would have dropped them into a three-way tie for sixth place in the conference and possibly out of the NCAA field.

The Jayhawks' recent resume has been unimpressive, with four losses in its last six prior to the Arizona win. Especially troubling beyond the losses to #10 Texas Tech and #3 Houston were back-to-back losses at Utah and BYU.

With so many teams headed to the Big Dance from the SEC, Big Ten, Big East, and ACC, the Jayhawks needed a win over a ranked opponent to assure consideration and it's still not a done deal. Ahead is the Big 12 Tournament which begins March 11. Kansas will get a first round bye thanks to the victory over Arizona, but they must win at least one game - and maybe two - in the conference tourney to safely bounce off the bubble.

March 7, 2025 Player of the Day - Tre White, Illinois Fighting Illini

Conference tournaments are already underway.

ASUN, Big South, CAA, Horizon League, Missouri Valley, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Patriot, Southern, Summit, Sunbelt, and West Coast conferences began as early as March 4. The earliest automatic bid will go to the champions of the Ohio Valley on Saturday, March 8.

Major conference tourneys begin Tuesday and Wednesday, March 11 and 12, and will proceed through next week until Selection Sunday, March 16.

Friday night, Illinois made their case for the post-season, rallying late to upend #18 Purdue, 88-80, in the conference finale for both teams.

Down five points with 2:52 remaining, the Fighting Illini staged a 12-2 run, capped off by Kasparas Jakucionis' 3-pointer at the 40-second mark to put Illinois up 82-79. Purdue failed to respond and Illinois players knocked down six straight free throws to put the game out of reach.

Trey Kaufman-Renn led all scorers with 29 points, but it wasn't enough as the Illini put five players into double figures, including Trey White's 20 points on 7-for-9 shooting, going 3-for-5 from beyond the arc, adding three free throws and nine rebounds.

White, a 6'7" junior guard from Dallas, Texas, played his freshman year at USC, spent the next season at Louisville and joined the Fighting Illini for the 2024-25 campaign.A high-percentage shooter, White is averaging 10.4 points per game, connecting at a 50.5% rate.

Illinois' win puts them at 20-11 and 12-8 in conference play. Purdue, losing for the fifth time in their last seven games, missed out on a double bye in the upcoming Big Ten tournament which begins Wednesday, March 12. They, along with Illinois, UCLA, and Oregon, will get a pass in just the first round.

Michigan State has already secured the regular season crown. They qualify for the double bye along with Michigan and Wisconsin. Maryland needs to defeat Northwestern on Saturday to secure their position in the top four.

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March 6, 2025 Player of the Day - Jase Richardson, Michigan State Spartans

#8 Michigan State wrapped up their Big Ten regular season title quest Thursday night with a dramatic come-from-behind, 91-84, road win over the Iowa Hawkeyes. (15-15, 6-13).

Leading, 37-30, at the break, Iowa increased its lead to 10 points early in the second half, but the Spartans responded with a 19-2 run and led the rest of the way to victory.

Jase Richardson, led all scorers with 22 points on 7-for-13 shooting, going 2-for-6 from 3-point range making 6 of 9 from the foul line. Richardson is second on the team in scoring at 11.3 points per game. Jaden Atkins leads the Spartans at 13.0.

Richardson, a 6'3" freshman from Denver, Colorado, has scored in double figures eight straight games and is shooting 52.1% from the field.

With their sixth straight win, the Spartans improved to 25-5 overall and 16-3 in the Big Ten.

The win secured an 11th conference title for Michigan State coach Tom Izzo, who now shares the Big Ten record with Indiana's Bobby Knight and Purdue's Ward Lambert. This is Michigan State's first regular season crown since 2020.
Michigan State hosts Michigan and Iowa is at Nebraska on Sunday. The Big Ten conference tournament begins on Wednesday, March 12.

March 5, 2025 Player of the Day - Terrence Edwards Jr., Louisville Cardinals

As March commences, upsets become more frequent.

On Wednesday, there were three. In the SEC, #4 Tennessee was downed by host Ole Miss, 78-74, and Oklahoma downed visiting $15 Missouri, 96-84. Defending champion UConn, unranked, took care of business at home, defeating #20 Marquette, 72-66.

One team that wasn't upset and is looking strong heading into its conference tournament was #14 Louisville, which dominated visiting California, 85-68, behind a career-high 35 points from Terrence Edwards Jr., who hit 11 of 19 shots from the field, including 7 of 11 3-pointers. Edwards was 6-for-8 from the line and added four rebounds and an assist.

Edwards opened the scoring for the Cardinals with a 3-pointer. He made six of his first eight shots, including five 3-pointers to give Louisville a 22-19 lead, 7:22 into the contest. After Cal tied the score at 22, the Cardinals broke the game open after that with a 19-4 run for a 41-26 edge at the break.

Edwards poured in 18 second half points as the Cardinals pushed their lead to as high as 24 points.

A 6'6" Senior from Atlanta, Georgia, Edwards transferred to Louisville after being named Sun Belt Player of the Year at James Madison last season. He's averaging 15.8 points per game for the Cardinals, right behind team leader Chucky Hepburn (16.3).

Louisville (24-6, 17-2) has won eight straight and trails Duke in the ACC by one game. Duke plays North Carolina and Louisville hosts Stanford to close out the regular season on Saturday (3/8).

March 4, 2025 Player of the Day - Zhuric Phelps, Texas A&M Aggies

It's March, so upsets will happen, as they did Tuesday night.

In the Big 12, surging BYU, ranked 23rd, upended #10 Iowa State in oduble overtime, 88-85. Unranked Texas downed #25 Mississippi State in overtime, 87-82.

It was senior night at #22 Texas A&M, and the Aggies used the occasion to end a four-game winning streak and upset #1 Auburn, 83-72, as Zhuric Phelps came off the bench to score a game-high 19 points.

Auburn's Tahaad Pettiford scored 19 for Auburn, but player of the year candidate John Broome was ineffective, scoring just eight points.

Phelps was 6-for-16 from the field and 2-for-7 on 3-pointers, adding five points from the foul line. He had plenty of help, especially from his front line. The Aggies out-rebounded Auburn, 41-25, including 24 on the offensive end, helping their edge of 36-28 points in the paint and getting 15 more field goal attempts than the Tigers.

Phelps, a 6'4" guard from Midland, Texas, whose forte is to provide a spark for the Aggies, did just that, making his presence felt in just 23 minutes of floor time. He averages 14.6 points per game and 5.1 rebounds.

Auburn out-shot the Aggies, 50% to 43% and were better at 3-pointers and at the foul line (86.7% to 72.0%), but getting extra possessions was key to A&M's victory.

The Aggies led the entire game, their biggest lead of 13 points coming early in the second half, opening up on a 40-34 halftime lead to blow the game open. After that, Auburn never got closer than six points. They were absolutely smoked.

The loss left Auburn at 27-3 overall and 15-2 in the SEC, where they have already wrapped up the regular season. The letdown by Auburn may not be anything more than a lack of preparation. More will become known when the SEC tournament begins next week, Wednesday, March 12.

The Aggies (21-9, 10-7) close out the regular season Saturday at LSU while the Tigers look to close out on a high note when they host #7 Alabama, also on Saturday.

March 3, 2025 Player of the Day - Cooper Flagg, Duke Blue Devils

As might be expected from a leading candidate for Player of the Year, Cooper Flagg did all the right things Monday night at Cameron Indoor Arena, closing out a perfect season for the Blue Devils on their home floor with a 93-60 blowout win over Wake Forest.

Flagg scored a game-high 28 points, with 8 rebounds, 7 assists, two steals, and three blocks. He was 10-for-16 from the field, including 3 of 6 from beyond the 3-point arc. He made good on 5 of 6 free throws.

Flagg, a 6'9" freshman from Newport, Maine is averaging 19.6 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game this season. He is expected to jump to the NBA, probably as the #1 pick in the draft, at the conclusion of the college season.

Duke clinched at least a tie for the regular season title with the win and haven't lost a home game this season. Their three losses have been to Kentucky, 77-72, Kansas, 75-72, on neutral courts, and at Clemson, their only conference defeat, 77-71. Since that Clemson loss, they've won seven straight, all by 18 points or more.

The #2 Blue Devils are 27-3 overall and 18-1 in the ACC and close out the regular at North Carolina, Saturday (3/8). Clemson, 16-2, can tie Duke for the regular season title. Louisville is also 16-2, but Duke defeated them earlier in the season, 76-75.

Th ACC Tournament gets underway on Tuesday, March 11. Duke is favored to win and be one of the four #1 seeds in the National Championship Tournament which follows.

March 2, 2025 Player of the Day - Dain Dainja, Memphis Tigers

P.J. Haggerty scored a game high 25 points, Colby Rogers dropped in 21 with five 3-pointers, but Dain Dainja was an immovable force in the paint, scoring 16 points with 17 rebounds, as #18 Memphis all but locked up the AAC regular season title with an 88-81 road win at UAB.

Dainja, a 6'9", 271-pound senior from Brooklyn Park, Minnesota was 8-for-15 from the floor and tallied a career-high in boards. The big man transferred from Illinois following the 2023-24 season and has provided Memphis with a reliable inside game to complement their dangerous outside shooters.

Dainja added two assists, two blocked shots and a steal in Sunday's performance, registering his third straight double-double and sixth of the season. His averages of 13. and 7.0 rebounds are the best of his four-year college career as he has upped his playing time from 10.7 minutes last season at Illinois to 25.4 in 2024-25. He's also one of the most efficient post players in the country, shooting at a 60.3% clip (14th) from the field and leads the American conference in that department.

UAB lead by as many as 11 points in the first half, taking a 42-36 edge into the break. The Tigers rallied from a 9-point deficit eight minutes into the second half, taking the lead for good at 75-73 with 4:40 to go. The Tigers outscored the Blazers 15-8 over the final 5:06, punctuated by Dainja's dunk at the 40-second mark. Memphis outscored UAB in the paint, 48-40, and had a rebounding edge of 44-32.

The win was the third straight for Memphis, 11th of their last twelve, and their 10th road win against two losses. Memphis has a conference mark of 14-2 and is 24-5 overall. Only North Texas (12-3, 21-6) has any chance to deny the Tigers taking the AAC regular season crown, but Memphis already owns a 68-64 win over the Mean Green from earlier in the season.

The Tigers can wrap things up with a win either Tuesday at Texas-San Antonio (5-11) or at home on Friday against South Florida (6-11).

The AAC tournament begins March 12 at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas.

March 1, 2025 Player of the Day - Chucky Hepburn, Louisville Cardinals

There was no shortage of candidates worthy of consideration for Player of the Day honors on the first of March as 20 of the nation's Top 25 teams hit the hardwoods Saturday.

#1 Auburn got 30 points from Miles Kelly in its 94-78 win over #17 Kentucky. Will Richard poured in 25 points as #3 Florida blew past #12 Texas A&M, 89-70. Jahmai Mashack buried a 40-footer at the buzzer to send #5 Tennessee to a 79-76 victory over #6 Alabama, and Josh Hubbard threw down 30 points to lead #24 Mississippi State past LSU, 81-69.

But, it was Chucky Hepburn's career-high 37 points in #19 Louisville's 79-68 win over the visiting Pitt Panthers that earned top billing on the first day of college basketball's maddest month.

Hepburn was perfect from beyond the arc, banging home all six of his 3-point attempts, finishing 9-for-11 from the field and 13 of 17 from the foul line. Adding to his repertoire, Hepburn snatched four rebounds, dished four assists and made two steals.

Incidentally, Hepburn, a 6'2" guard from Omaha, Nebraska, was the first in idleguy.com's Player of the Day series. He scored 26 points on New Year's Day in the Cardinals' 83-70 win over North Carolina to earn the honor.

With that tally, as conference play was just getting underway, Hepburn's averages were 15.9 points and 5.4 assists per game. After Saturday's performance, through the rigorous ACC schedule, those numbers are even better, at 16.3 points and 6.0 assists. He's tied for 11th in ACC scoring and is second to Georgia Tech's Nathan George (6.4) in the assist department.

Louisville improved to 16-2 in conference play and 23-6 overall. The Cardinals are tied with #13 Clemson in the conference race, both a game behind 17-1 Duke.

The victory was Louisville's seventh straight. The Cardinals now have the opportunity to extend their winning streak and close out the regular season on a high note, as their last two games are at home, against Cal (6-12, 13-16) March 5th, and Stanford (11-7, 19-10) March 8th.

Pitt, at 7-11 in the ACC and 16-13 overall, may not make the NCAA tourney field unless they finish well. They are at NC State on Wednesday (3/5) and home for Boston College on Saturday, March 8.

The ACC Tournament, with the automatic bid to the winner, begins Tuesday, March 11.

February 28, 2025 Player of the Day - Trey Kaufman-Renn, Purdue Boilermakers

Behind Trey Kaufman-Renn's game-high 29 points, the #20 Purdue Boilermakers snapped a four-game losing streak, taking down UCLA in a Big Ten contest Friday, 76-66.

Playing on their home court at Mackey Arena, the Boilermakers put together a 12-0 run late in the second half, blowing open a close game. Kaufman-Renn scored six points during the burst. When Braden Smith rocked down back-to-back 3-pointers at 2:54 and 2:08, the outcome was essentially decided, with Purdue ahead, 73-60. Smith made six 3-pointers as part of his 23-point production.

Kaufman-Renn, who leads the team in scoring at 19.6 points per game, was a force in the paint, hitting 11 of 15 shots from close range. He added 7 of 10 from the foul line and had three rebounds and three steals. He's scored in double figures in 28 of Purdue's 29 games this season and also leads the Boilermakers in rebounds (6.0).

A 6'9" junior from Sellersburg, Indiana, Kaufman-Renn was part of the Purdue team that was upset in the opening round of the 2023 NCAA tournament by Fairleigh-Dickinson and also last year's Purdue squad that lost in the championship game to UConn.

Friday's result left both teams with 20-9 records. Purdue is fourth in the Big Ten, at 12-6. UCLA is 11-7, in sixth place.

Purdue hosts Rutgers Tuesday (3/4) and closes out the regular season at Illinois on Friday, March 7.

UCLA plays at Northwestern Monday night (3/3) and finishes up at home against USC on Saturday, March 8.

The Big Ten tournament begins Wednesday, March 12.