Storylines heading into the 2023 NCAA tournaments

In this day and age of college basketball, it is so difficult to repeat as national champions. It hasn't happened since Florida won it all in 2006 and 2007 and it has only happened twice since John Wooden's UCLA run in the 1960s and early 1970s. For one, the tournament itself is a real grind and winning one is extremely tough, let alone two. Add in that players on championship-winning teams tend to cash in while the iron is hot and leave early and there's typically a lot of turnover after hanging a title banner.

That is exactly what Kansas has gone through all season. The Jayhawks lost Ochai Agbaji, David McCormack, Remy Martin and Christian Braun from last year's national championship team, but thankfully had Jalen Wilson return for his redshirt senior season. They added popular freshman Grady Dıck and Texas Tech transfer Kevin McCullar while seeing holdovers like K.J. Adams and Dajuan Harris step up into larger roles.

It hasn't been smooth sailing for Kansas as they had a mid-season swoon that saw them lose three straight games and four out of six games, including getting blown out of Allen Fieldhouse by TCU. Also, Bill Self missed the Big 12 tournament due to a medical procedure, so that is a story worth paying attention to. Texas wiped out the Jayhawks in the Big 12 championship game, but this is a program that knows how to win. Can it do it again? 

One fascinating tournament stat is that the defending tournament champion has failed to get out of the first weekend the following tournament five straight seasons and has failed to get past the Sweet 16 in 14 straight tournaments. Will Kansas break that trend?

2022: Baylor lost to North Carolina in the second round
2021: Virginia lost to Ohio in the first round
2019: Villanova lost to Purdue in the second round
2018: North Carolina lost to Texas A&M in the second round
2017: Villanova lost to Wisconsin in the second round
2016: Duke lost to Oregon in Sweet 16
2015: UConn didn't qualify for the tournament
2014: Louisville lost to Kentucky in the Sweet 16
2013: Kentucky didn't qualify for the tournament
2012: UConn lost to Iowa State in the first round
2011: Duke lost to Arizona in the Sweet 16
2010: North Carolina didn't qualify for the tournament
2009: Kansas lost to Michigan State in the Sweet 16
2008: Florida didn't qualify for the tournament
2007: Florida won the national championship

The Big 12 are the kings of college basketball at the moment. They house the last two national champions (Kansas, Baylor) and the previous tournament's national runner-up was the Big 12's Texas Tech. What can we expect this season?

Kansas is a No. 1 seed, while Big 12 tournament champion and 2-seed Texas may be the hottest team in the league right now. Kansas State and Baylor are sitting as threes with Iowa State and TCU set to face winners of First Four games. Of course, as successful as the Big 12 has been of late, they've also been known to flub a game in the first round. The last four times a No. 3 seed was upset in the first round of the NCAA tournament, those were Big 12 teams (including Texas two years ago). No. 3 seeds Baylor and Kansas State have both swooned a big heading into this tournament and could be on upset alert.

It has been 30 years since one conference won three consecutive NCAA tournaments. That was the ACC in 1991, 1992 (both Duke), and 1993 (North Carolina).

This is a fantastic time to be involved in the Houston Cougars program. Kelvin Sampson has resurrected the Cougars into becoming a legit title contender. They reached the 2021 Final Four, they spent a sizable portion of the season as the No. 1 ranked team in the nation, and they are set to join the powerful Big 12 conference this summer. As for now, Houston is one of the favorites to get to the Final Four and win the national championship ... which happens to be held in Houston.

Houston is looking to be the first school to win the national championship at the Final Four held in their home state since UCLA won it in San Diego, California in 1975, and the first to win a national championship in their hometown since UCLA won it in Los Angeles in 1972 (Kansas did win the 1988 national championship in nearby Kansas City, Missouri).

The key will be Marcus Sasser's health. He missed the AAC championship game against Memphis with a groin injury, and his recovery will be a major storyline for the Cougars and pivotal to their hopes to celebrate a national title in H-town. 

On the floor, this has had to look like possibly the greatest season in Alabama basketball history. The Crimson Tide has soared to the top of the rankings, has one of the most dynamic freshmen in the country, and have the look of a team who should be one of the favorites to win an NCAA championship. They are the overall No. 1 seed despite never reaching a Final Four in program history.

Off the floor is another story. There was the January 15th fatal shooting of 23-year-old Jamea Jonae Harris by now-former player Darius Miles. Freshman phenom Brandon Miller is reported to have brought the gun used in the shooting to Miles, though he is currently not facing any charges and has been cooperating with police. Still, it has become a major story and debate over the university's and program's handling of the information about Miller as well as controversy over several of head coach Nate Oates comments. As of now, it is unlikely Miller will not play for Alabama during the NCAA tournament, but this is a story that will follow Miller and the Tide for as long as they are still playing. And this team is good enough to win the whole thing. 

Last year's Final Four was filled with blue bloods like Kansas, North Carolina, Duke and Villanova, but this year's Final Four could look a lot different. Remember that Virginia and Baylor won their first championships in the previous two tournaments, and they beat teams who were also looking for their first title in those championship games.

As we've mentioned, Houston and Alabama are among the favorites to bring home their first NCAA championship. So is Purdue, with Player of the Year Zach Edey. Texas has had one of the most trying seasons with the Chris Beard dismissal midseason but have zipped along as a realistic contender to make another Final Four run and finally cutting down the nets. Their blowout of Kansas in the Big 12 title game was really impressive. Marquette is looking to reach the Final Four for the first time since Dwyane Wade led them there in 2003, and searching for their first title since 1977.

And who knows about teams like Tennessee, Gonzaga, Xavier or Miami. Gonzaga, who was a preseason top-five team, enters this tournament laying pretty low yet sitting quietly as a 3-seed. In what could be a topsy-turvy Big Dance, we could see some new blood at the Final Four in Houston and winning the title. 

Since the NCAA tournament began the pod system in 2002, the plan was to give the higher seeds some geographical advantages and fans of these programs a somewhat easier trip to make to support their schools. However, there are some peculiar decisions made by the selection committee and possibly some disadvantages for some higher-seeded teams.

One is making Houston the second No. 1 seed and pushing Kansas to third. This puts the Jayhawks in the West Regional, which not only keeps them away from playing in the Kansas City regional (where Houston now is) but they could reach the second weekend in Las Vegas, playing UCLA or Gonzaga in the regional final.

Back to Houston. If they beat Northern Kentucky in the first round, they could possibly play Auburn next ... in Birmingham.  There is no way that the tournament's No. 2 seed should play what is pretty much a road game in the second round. That is wrong.

Not as egregious, but No. 2 seed Marquette could face No. 7 Michigan State in Columbus, OH. Sparty will be well represented.  

Other venue chatter:

*UConn-Iona in Albany, NY should make for a great atmosphere. Iona is about a two-hour drive to New York's capital while UConn is about the same distance away.  

*UCLA may not have gotten a No. 1 seed, but they still start the first weekend in Sacramento before moving on to Las Vegas if they advance. That is a huge advantage if they have to face Kansas in the Elite 8.

*Greensboro, NC hosts a pod, but they get no Duke, North Carolina or Virginia. The only school playing at that site that is even remotely close is Kennesaw State.

*One thing I am not a fan of is the committee not taking in consideration having the small conference automatic qualifiers play closer to home. I know they try to seed the bracket 1 through 68, but let those No. 15 and 16 seeds play somewhat near their campus. UNC Asheville in Sacramento? Princeton will also be in SacTown. Vermont in Columbus? Colgate in Des Moines?  I mean, I guess due to how the pods laid out that it was going to be this way, but it is a bit disappointing. 

Nantz has been CBS/Turner's lead announcer for the NCAA tournament since 1991, and this year's tournament ... his 32nd Final Four ... will be his last. Nantz's voice has been synonymous with the tournament, working alongside Clark Kellogg, Greg Anthony, Bill Raftery, Grant Hill and, most notably, the late Billy Packer.

His first Final Four was memorable -- Duke upset undefeated UNLV in one semifinal while Roy Williams beat his mentor Dean Smith in the other. Mike Krzyzewski would go on to beat Roy and Kansas for his first national title. Since then he's called Chris Webber's timeout, Butler's magical runs, Kris Jenkins' shot, Krzyzewski's final game last April, and hundreds of moments along the way.

It is rather fitting that his final Final Four will be held in Houston, where Nantz went to college and got his start in sports broadcasting. It is also happening just three months after his longtime partner for those Final Fours, Billy Packer, passed away. Ian Eagle will take over as the tournament's lead analyst beginning in 2024.

When the brackets come out, we all look for that one region that looks to be the toughest. I'd have to say the West Region seems to be the best-looking of the bunch.

You start with Kansas, the defending champion and a team many feel is the best team in the field. Add in UCLA, who was on pace to possibly nab a No. 1 seed if not for a loss to Arizona in the Pac-12 title game. Gonzaga is actually flying under the radar despite being one of the best teams over the last month or so. UConn had the look of a national championship contender (they have a win over Alabama) but had a rocky patch in the middle of the season. Saint Mary's (by the way, I'm not a fan of the committee putting WCC's Gonzaga and Saint Mary's in the same bracket) plays a grinding style of play that frustrates opponents. TCU is the opposite, as Jamie Dixon's bunch loves to run and score. Add in an Arkansas team that has two possible lottery picks on its roster.

On the back end, there's Rick Pitino's Iona squad. UNC Asheville has a mid-major star in Drew Pember (a former Tennessee transfer) who is worth watching. There's also Bryce Drew's Grand Canyon team and also VCU's defensive pressure. This is a great region that could form for a fantastic Sweet 16 in Sin City. Imagine having Kansas-UConn and UCLA-Gonzaga playing in Vegas. 

St. Peter's took the nation by storm last year when they upset Kentucky in the first round of the NCAA tournament and then became the first 15-seed to reach the Elite 8. While that won't be an every-year occurrence, what St. Peter's did ... along with what UMBC did to Virginia in 2018 ... means that we've entered an era of the tournament where anything is possible.

With St. Peter's not qualifying for this year's tournament, who could be the next to make an unexpected run through the dance?

Could it be Colgate, who is making their fourth straight NCAA tournament appearance and is one of the top three-point shooting teams in the country? Could it be Charleston, who began the season 22-1 behind one of the most efficient offenses in the nation? Maybe it could be Furman, with one of the highest-scoring offenses in the country. Or it could be a physical defensive team like Northern Kentucky, who are making their third NCAA appearance in seven years. Maybe it is Rick Pitino's Iona Gaels who are back in the dance and looking to unleash their press.

The best bet could be Oral Roberts, who upset Ohio State in 2021 and still has the star of that team, Max Abmas, as well as 7'3 center Connor Vanover.

Since the First Four became a thing 11 tournaments ago, there have been 10 times where a First Four team advanced to at least the second round. Two of them -- VCU in 2011 and UCLA in 2021 -- would reach the Final Four.  So who could it be this year?

While you can't dismiss the possibility of Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Southeast Missouri State, Texas Southern or Farleigh Dickenson topping a No. 1 seed in the first round, it isn't likely to happen. So that leaves us with Mississippi State, Pittsburgh, Arizona State or Nevada.

Arizona State beat Arizona in Tuscon a few weeks ago, so we know they have the ability to beat TCU if they get a chance to meet up in the first round. Pittsburgh was a win over Miami on the final day of the regular season from being the ACC co-regular season champs. Mississippi State has wins over Marquette, TCU, Texas A&M, Arkansas and Missouri this season. Nevada takes care of the ball and has a player in Kenan Blackshear who is a problem to deal with.

The Mississippi State-Pittsburgh winner will get an Iowa State team that lost 11 of their last 17 games and 6 of their last 8 games away from campus. That's where the next First Four success resides. 

Bryce Hopkins began his college career at Kentucky last year, playing in just 181 minutes all season and averaging just 2.1 points per game. He entered the transfer portal and landed at Providence, where he blossomed into a first-team All-Big East performer, averaging 16.1 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists for the Friars. As luck would have it, Hopkins will face his old team in Greensboro in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

The last time Hopkins and Kentucky were in the NCAA tournament, Hopkins didn't play as he watched an embarrassing 85-79 loss to St. Peter's in Indianapolis from the bench, while Big Blue Nation grew angry at the direction this program has taken. Friday night is an opportunity for both Kentucky and Hopkins to move on from that day by facing off in Greensboro. It will be interesting to see the kind of intensity Hopkins will perform with and if he can harness his emotions. 

Look, there are basketball fans that may be more about the NBA than about the college game. I get it. But some of those fans do tune in the NCAA tournament to check out who the next big thing(s) will be for the future of the League. True, Victor Wembanyama and Scoot Henderson won't be on any of the NCAA's floors this March, but there are still some stars to check out. Alabama's Brandon Miller is likely the third overall pick. Arkansas has a pair of future NBAers in combo guards Nick Smith and Anthony Black. Could a guy like Indiana's Trayce Jackson-Davis make a run that vaults him up the draft boards? Look for Kansas' Gradey Dıck, Baylor's Keonte George and Houston's Jarace Walker -- three freshmen wings who could make statements to be lottery picks. Maybe Duke's Kyle Filipowski can keep his hot streak going and impress scouts looking for a stretch four. 

The NCAA men's basketball tournament will play games in Las Vegas, Nevada for the first time. This is a seismic shift for college athletics which has long tried to stay away from Vegas and its legalized betting, especially in men's hoops which has had several gambling scandals throughout its history. With the change in attitudes towards sports gambling (and safeguards surrounding it), sports, in general, has began to use one of the top tourist destinations in America for events and to place franchise and the NCAA tournament has joined the party. The West Regional semifinals and finals will be held at Las Vegas' T-Mobile Arena this season and the 2028 Final Four will be held at Allegiant Stadium, home of the NFL's Raiders.

While Las Vegas may be new to hosting the NCAA tournament, the city has long been one of the top spots for college basketball to hold in-season events as well as several conference's tournaments. The Pac-12, West Coast Conference, Mountain West, Big West and WAC all held their conference tournaments in the greater Las Vegas area this year. 

Some people erroneously believe that Mike Krzyzewski built the Duke program from nothing and into a national power. While it is true that Coach K did take the Blue Devils to the mountaintop of college basketball like it had never known, Duke was a good program before he got there. For the first time since Duke lost in the 1980 Elite 8, we will see the Blue Devils in the NCAA tournament without Krzyzewski.

It is Jon Scheyer's time.

Scheyer, of course, was a starter for Duke's 2010 national championship team and was an assistant on Duke's last title team in 2015. He was also the head coach-in-waiting for last year's Final Four run. This team has almost no ties to last year's squad but after a rough start has come on strong over the last couple of months. They enter the tournament one of the hottest teams in the country and coming off yet another ACC tournament championship. Weirdly enough, this Blue Devils team lacks the pressure to advance deep in the tournament as past (read: Coach K) teams have had to endure. Scheyer has hit the ground running and the program looks to be in great hands.

Having said that, the last two times Duke wasn't a top-four seed, they were upset in the first round.

Northwestern made their first-ever NCAA tournament appearance back in 2017, winning their first-round game against Vanderbilt before losing to No. 1 seed Gonzaga in the second round. They had a losing season the following five seasons and no postseason appearances. Chris Collins has regrouped and the Wildcats are having one of their best seasons in program history (they've won more Big Ten games than ever before). They popped No. 1 Purdue last month and then beat Indiana three days later and were briefly ranked in late February. They've struggled heading into the NCAA tournament but have the confidence to make it to the second weekend of the tournament. Northwestern is led by senior guards (and all-tournament name) Boo Buie and Chase Audige. The Wildcats' 21 wins are the second most in program history. 

Mick Cronin has a very experienced team and some were on the 2021 Final Four squad, but one that won't be on the court is Jaylen Clark ... one of the best defensive players in the country. Cronin hangs his hat on defense and Clark allowed for the Bruins to shine on that end of the court, but an Achilles injury has ended his season (UCLA is also dealing with a shoulder injury to rim protector Adem Bona) and could compromise their efforts to get back to the Final Four and win their first national championship since 1995. UCLA is still one of the best defensive teams in the nation, but Clark made them special.

The path lays out well for the Bruins, but Clark's absence could really be felt in possible matchups with Gonzaga in the Sweet 16 or Kansas in the regional final.

For the first time since 1977, there will be no Philadelphia area schools in the NCAA tournament. No Villanova. No Temple. Penn, LaSalle, Drexel and St. Joseph's also couldn't find their way into the tournament.

The biggest surprise is Villanova. No one expected the transition from Jay Wright to Kyle Neptune to be completely seamless, but no one expected the Wildcats to end the season 17-16 and not find a way to sneak into the dance.

Penn (17-13), Drexel (17-15), Temple (16-16), St. Joe's (16-17) and LaSalle (15-19) all had down seasons. Villanova will play Liberty in the first round of the N.I.T. 

One of the most interesting comebacks in the NCAA tournament will be Sean Miller at Xavier. Miller took the Musketeers to the tournament four times and reached the 2008 Elite 8 before moving on to Arizona. Over 12 years with the Wildcats, he took the team to seven NCAA tournaments and advanced to the Elite 8 three times before scandal rocked Miller and the program. The scandal, which was unveiled in 2017, forced Miller to vacate 50 wins, put a cloud over Arizona's program and ultimately cost him his job in 2021.

After a season off, Miller signed on to helm Xavier once again, attempting to rebuild the Musketeers program and his own reputation. This iteration of Xavier basketball is on much more stable ground than when he first took over in 2004. Now a member of the Big East, the Musketeers have had a fantastic season, going 25-9 and reaching the Big East championship game. The Muskies could do some damage in this tournament. 

Iona will draw some eyes in this tournament mainly because of who their coach is. Rick Pitino has done a fantastic job building up the Gaels program and making them a formidable competitor this week. This is Pitino's second trip to the Big Dance in three years at the helm (the program has reached the NCAAs six times in the last eight years) and it could be his last. Pitino's name has been tied to several power conference jobs that have opened recently and there's no telling what the 70-year-old Pitino might do. What we do know is that Iona plays Pitino's patented press defense that forces turnovers and leads to easy baskets. Despite all of the controversies that clouded his time at Louisville, no one doubts Pitino's ability to coach and gameplan. 

At least until the game's tip-off, there is a weird feel to this tournament as some of the top names in the sport will not be there. Most notable is North Carolina, who lost to Kansas in last year's national championship game and began this season as the No. 1 team in the land. As we've already mentioned, Villanova wasn't invited to play, meaning three of the last six national championship won't suit up for this tournament. Michigan is also absent meaning the school that finished as runner-up in 5 of the last 7 national championship games (that includes Wisconsin) didn't make the Big Dance.

After a blue blood kinda Final Four in 2022, we should get some new blood this time around. And that's a great thing. 

Defending champion South Carolina has only gotten stronger in 2022-2023, entering the NCAA women's tournament undefeated. Not just undefeated but rarely tested. With UConn's last national championship coming seven years ago, is South Carolina poised to become the next great women's hoops dynasty?

The Gamecocks have been to two straight Final Fours and four in the last seven seasons -- winning it all in 2017 and 2022. They have the best player in the nation, Aliyah Boston, and are attempting to become the first undefeated champion since the aforementioned UConn team in 2016. In a battle in Hartford, this year's Gamecocks beat UConn, 81-77. Dawn Staley has built something special in Columbia and another title could force the basketball world to acknowledge that South Carolina is the next big thing. 

Look, just because UConn hasn't won a title since 2016 doesn't mean it has fallen off the face of the earth. I mean, the Huskies lost last year's championship game to South Carolina which was UConn's ridiculous record 14th straight Final Four appearance. Seriously. Fourteen straight Final Fours. The Huskies are 29-5 entering this year's tournament, which is rather impressive considering they lost Paige Bueckers to a torn ACL before the season started.

UConn is still a power and will be a force to reckon with once again. They still have Aaliyah Edwards, who is averaging 16.6 points and 9.2 boards a game, as well as Azzi Fudd and grad transfers Lou Lopez Senechal and Dorka Juhász. It would be shocking if the Huskies missed their first Final Four since George W. Bush was President (2007). 

The women's tournament isn't just about South Carolina and UConn. Enter Caitlin Clark, one of the most exciting players in college basketball. The national player of the year is second in the nation in scoring and tops in assists (she led the nation in scoring and assists in 2021-2022). She has that can't-miss headliner status that reminds me of Steph Curry's runs with Davidson in the late 2000s. Iowa will go as far as Clark can take them, but she is more than capable of carrying the Hawkeyes to a championship. Even if she doesn't, all eyes are on the best players in this tournament.