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Your A-Z 2017 NCAA Tournament primer
The 2017 NCAA Tournament brackets are out, the excitement is set to begin and there's a lot to take in. Who's the next Cinderella? Where are some of these schools from? What's going to happen? Who will win?
To get a bit of extra knowledge heading into the madness, let's take a trip around the tournament, A to Z.
Arizona
Glendale, Arizona, will host the first Final Four in the state and the first Final Four held in a western state since 1995 (Seattle). University of Phoenix Stadium did hold the West Regionals in 2009, while Phoenix, Tempe and Tuscon have each held NCAA Tournament games over the years.
Brackets
About 70 million brackets will be filled out, whether online or good ol' pen to paper, and over $10 billion will be spent on those picks. Mixed with St. Patrick's Day on a Friday, TV veriwership goes up and consuming adult beverages skyrockets.
Catamounts
The Vermont Catamounts enter the NCAA Tournament on a 21-game winning streak — the longest in the nation. This is Vermont's sixth tournament appearance in 15 seasons, and the Catamounts have won two games in that span, including upsetting Syracuse in 2005.
Dakotas
Yes, North Dakota and South Dakota State have made the tournament. North Dakota is making its first NCAA Tournament while South Dakota State gave Maryland all it could handle in last year's tournament. Look out for SDSU's Mike Daum, who is averaging over 25 points and grabbing eight boards a game.
Eric Musselman
Remember him? The former head coach of the Sacramento Kings and Golden State Warriors is now the head man in charge at Nevada. Other names of note: Mike Davis (Texas Southern), who took over Indiana after Bob Knight was fired, and NBA All-Star Three-Point Shootout runner-up Jim Les (UC Davis).
First Four
Since the First Four came about in 2011, one team from each tournament has won at least one game after that opening round: VCU (2011), South Florida (2012), LaSalle (2013), Tennessee (2014), Dayton (2015) and Wichita State (2016). LaSalle and Tennessee ended up in the Sweet 16 while VCU got all the way to the Final Four.
Greenville
South Carolina's sixth largest city will host a first-round pod this year. This is due both to the NCAA's lift of its ban of placing postseason events in the state where the Confederate flag was flown at the state capital (it isn't anymore) and North Carolina's controversial HB2 bill that forced the NCAA to abandon Greensboro as a tournament site.
Hall of Fame
Hall of Fame coaches John Calipari, Mike Krzyzewski, Tom Izzo, Rick Pitino and Roy Williams are all chasing their next ring. Calipari and Izzo want to enter that exclusive club of coaches with multiple titles, Williams and Pitino want their third rings, while Coach K wants to get his sixth.
Ivy League
Regular-season champ Princeton won the first Ivy League Conference Tournament, albeit an abbreviated one that featured only the top four teams, and will make a conference-record 25th NCAA Tournament appearance.The Ivy League representative has won an NCAA Tournament game in three of the last four years.
Jacksonville State
Believe it or not, this university is not in Jacksonville, Florida. No, the school is located in Jacksonville, Alabama, which is snuggled in the Appalachian Mountains. Oddly, Jacksonville State is one of two schools with the nickname Gamecocks in this field.
Kansas Is Back
Kansas is appearing in its 27th consecutive NCAA Tournament, breaking a tie with North Carolina (1975-2001) for the longest of all time. The last time Kansas missed the tournament was in 1989 when the school was under a postseason ban due to recruiting violations.
Losses
There are a lot of losses in this tournament. In fact, Vanderbilt's 15 losses are the most for a team that received an at-large bid in tournament history, and the Commodores received a No. 9 seed. Michigan State also received a No. 9 seed despite losing 14 games this season.
Michigan
Is there any school that has America's more attention right now? After their plane skidded off the runway when the team was trying to get to Washington, D.C., the Wolverines had to play a game in warm-ups and then win the Big Ten Conference Tournament championship. Oh, and the Wolverine movie "Logan" is the No. 1 movie at the box office.
Northwestern
Northwestern is making its first NCAA Tournament appearance in the school's history. The Wildcats were the only school from a major conference to have never made the big dance. Northern Kentucky, UC Davis, Jacksonville State and North Dakota are also making their first tournament appearances.
'One Shining Moment'
The song was originally supposed to be used after Super Bowl XXI, but CBS's coverage went long and it was scrapped. However, it was used after Indiana beat Syracuse in the 1987 National Championship and has been a staple of the tournament ever since.
Privateers
The University of New Orleans suffered financially after Hurricane Katrina and planned to drop its athletic programs to the Division III level. However, after years of planning, the school decided to stay Division I and now qualified for its first NCAA Tournament since 1996.
Quality
There were 21 conference tournament champions that won at least a share of the regular-season championship. That means those leagues are sending their truly best teams into the tournament.
Roy Williams
The former Kansas and current North Carolina head coach is a perfect 26-0 in first-round games in the NCAA Tournament.
South Region
This region has North Carolina, Kentucky, UCLA and Cincinnati in it. Those four schools are among the 15 that have won multiple NCAA Tournaments. In fact, those four have combined for 26 National Championships and 59 Final Fours.
Tar Heels
North Carolina is trying to become the first school to lose in the National Championship game one year and return to the game the next since Butler in 2011. The Heels are a No. 1 seed for the 16th time, extending their NCAA Tournament record.
Upsets
There have been four No. 15 seeds to upset No. 2 seeds in the last five years. In each of the past four seasons, a No. 14 seed has upset a No. 3 seed. In the last 32 years, 23 times we saw a No. 13 seed upset a No. 4 seed, and in 28 years, a No. 12 has beaten a No. 5.
Villanova
The Wildcats are the defending National Champions and vying to be the first repeat champion since Florida did so in 2007. Only Oklahoma State (formerly Oklahoma A&M), Kentucky, San Francisco, Cincinnati, UCLA, Duke and Florida have won consecutive NCAA Tournaments.
Wildcats
Arizona, Kentucky, Northwestern, Villanova and Kansas State are all wildcats. Arizona, Kentucky and Villanova are serious contenders for the National Championship; Northwestern is the media darling by reaching its first tournament; and Kansas State plays in the First Four.
Xavier
No school in this field has been to more NCAA Tournaments without reaching the Final Four than Xavier. The Musketeers are making their 27th tournament and still haven't played on the final weekend. BYU, who isn't in this year, has been to 29 tournaments without a Final Four.
Yawn
Virginia's "pack-line defense" can turn games ugly quickly. Remember that the Cavaliers held high-octane North Carolina to just 43 points in a UVA win just two weeks ago. Plus if you think free throws are boring, you'll love Princeton, who shot less free throws than anyone in the country (Virginia is near the bottom in that category as well).
Zero
That's how many wins No. 16 seeds have had against No. 1 seeds in 128 games since the tournament expanded in 1985. In last year's tournament, the No. 1 seed beat the No. 16 seed by an average of 29.25 points.
More must-reads:
- 13 March Madness flops with a history of busting brackets
- Why March Madness is the best sporting event of the year
- The 'Multiple Final Four appearances' quiz
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Vikings joint practice recap, Day 1: How'd J.J. McCarthy fare vs. Patriots?
The Vikings and Patriots just held their first of two joint training camp practices on a beautiful afternoon at TCO Performance Center. Fans packed the stands to watch as the Vikings got an opportunity to test themselves against a different opponent in a practice setting after weeks of battling each other. Let's dive into what took place on Wednesday, starting with the obvious question. How'd J.J. look? J.J. McCarthy, coming off of one 12-snap drive in Minnesota's preseason opener on Saturday (and a normal, lighter practice on Monday), got a ton of reps against the Patriots' defense in this joint practice. That'll be the case again on Thursday. These two days are designed to provide some highly-valuable work for the Vikings' starters, who aren't going to play at all in this weekend's preseason game. McCarthy came out of the gates strong in 7-on-7 action. He completed his first three passes, all to Jordan Addison, including a great throw with touch on an out-breaking route towards the sideline. He also fired a ball into a tight window to Jeshaun Jones. McCarthy started 6 for 6, by my count. It wasn't all perfect, though. He threw a decent ball to Addison that wasn't quite hauled in through good coverage by the Patriots corner. And McCarthy's final throw of the period was one he'd like to have back. He tried to hit Jalen Nailor on an in-breaking route but sailed it way over his head for an interception by Marcus Jones. One thing we've seen from McCarthy is that when he misses, he tends to miss high — and that's dangerous in the NFL. He's continuing to work on his accuracy on certain throws, especially ones that require layering and touch. That was the only interception McCarthy threw on the day. For the most part, he threw the ball well, and his connection with his top two healthy targets was on full display. He and Addison connected numerous times, often on in-breaking intermediate routes. They nearly connected on a deep ball later in the practice, but Patriots safety Jabrill Peppers was able to break it up at the last moment. McCarthy also found tight end T.J. Hockenson frequently on short and intermediate routes. Those two have developed a strong rapport. As has been the case throughout training camp, McCarthy was up and down. There was one move-the-ball period that didn't go particularly well. His first throw was a bit high for Hockenson, although his TE was able to catch it. He then was "sacked" on consecutive plays — and it's always hard to tell from watching live if the blame falls on McCarthy, someone on the O-line, or his targets not creating separation. On 3rd and very long, he was pressured again and could only check it down to Jordan Mason for a short juggling catch. Later, McCarthy lost the ball on a snap exchange with Ryan Kelly. Back to the good stuff: McCarthy never lost confidence and continued to laser the ball into tight windows. He made a great throw to Nailor, who secured a contested catch against Jones. After the deep ball fell incomplete, McCarthy came right back to Addison for a chunk gain on the next play. And to wrap up his day, McCarthy led the Vikings' offense on a successful 1-minute drill. He moved the chains with completions to Hockenson and Aaron Jones, then couldn't quite connect with Nailor on the next play and had to throw the ball away on second down. On third and long, he scrambled to make it a manageable fourth and 5, and he kept the drive alive with yet another completion to Addison on an in-breaking route. The Vikings only had time to settle for a field goal, which Will Reichard drilled from 48 yards out to tie the hypothetical game as time expired. The overall takeaway from McCarthy's day is that it looked a lot like what we've seen from him over the past three-plus weeks. There's a lot of good, but there are plenty of teaching moments as well. I imagine things will continue to be up and down for McCarthy early in the regular season, with the Vikings looking to lean on the run game, short passes, and play-action passing to try to get him in rhythm. Despite the expected inconsistency, there's a ton to like about his potential both this season and in the long term. Thursday, which will feature a good bit of red zone work, will be another big day for McCarthy. Vikings' defense vs. Maye My vantage point for Wednesday's practice was close to the Vikings' offense going against the Patriots' defense, so that was what I watched more intently. But from what I saw — and heard from others who were closer to the far field — the Vikings' defense had a decent day. They were getting lots of pressure on Drake Maye, with Jonathan Greenard feasting on rookie left tackle Will Campbell and the interior guys making life tough on former Vikings center Garrett Bradbury. When the pressure didn't get home, though, Maye looked good. New England's second-year QB has a heck of an arm, which he showed throughout 1-on-1s and into the team periods. Another former Viking, Stefon Diggs, made his presence felt during practice. There were a couple coverage busts from the Vikings' first-team defense that led to long touchdowns for the Patriots. On one, Mack Hollins got wide open and proceeded to punt the ball into the stands after scoring. On another, rookie running back TreVeyon Henderson leaked up the left sideline past Ivan Pace Jr. and caught a Maye pass for a 70-yard TD. Other notes Not participating for the Vikings were Justin Jefferson, Andrew Van Ginkel, Harrison Smith, C.J. Ham, and Levi Drake Rodriguez. Christian Darrisaw did some live work with the first-team offense before giving way to Justin Skule. The biggest highlight of the entire day for the Vikings came from rookie guard Donovan Jackson. The Vikings dialed up a screen pass to Aaron Jones at the perfect time, taking advantage of a Patriots blitz. With tons of green grass in front of him, Jones moved upfield but didn't go into a full sprint, in order to let Jackson and Will Fries get out in front of him. Jackson, after hitting Milton Williams at the line of scrimmage, sent Patriots safety Jaylinn Hawkins flying to the ground and then knocked over Peppers for good measure. The Vikings' first-round pick pushed three separate defenders to the ground on a play that resulted in a gain of around 60 yards. Jackson's teammates and the fans in the stands went wild. The Vikings' second-team defense had a pair of pick-sixes off of former Minnesota QB Josh Dobbs, who is now the Patriots' backup. Dwight McGlothern got the first one, adding to his array of interceptions over the course of camp. The second-year corner is simply a ball magnet. Later on, safety Jay Ward jumped a route and got another one off of Dobbs, then proceeded to punt the ball in celebration (perhaps in response to Hollins' earlier punt). We didn't see a ton of reps from the Vikings' backup QBs, which is by design since they're going to play a lot in Saturday's preseason game. But all three looked solid in small samples. Sam Howell was accurate underneath, connecting with guys like Tai Felton and Thayer Thomas. The second-team offense was unsuccessful in their crack at the 1-minute drill, though. Brett Rypien also had a few completions, and for the second straight practice, rookie Max Brosmer connected with Tim Jones on a beautiful deep ball that drew plenty of cheers. Fighting can sometimes be a problem in joint practices around the NFL, but Kevin O'Connell and Mike Vrabel made it very clear that they didn't want the competitiveness to cross a line and impede the productivity of their work. There were no real skirmishes on Wednesday. The closest we got was when Patriots WR Javon Baker and Vikings DB Kahlef Hailassie got very chippy during a 1-on-1 special teams drill. This was the most we've gotten to see from the Vikings' punter competition throughout training camp. Ryan Wright had a couple bad punts during his opportunities, and I thought undrafted rookie Oscar Chapman clearly had the better day of the two. He might have a legit chance to win that job. Holding will also matter, but at least in this practice, neither punter had an issue. They split the holds as Reichard went 4 for 4 from 33, 44, 48, and 53 yards to end the day. More Vikings coverage
Jets QB Justin Fields had 'alarming' practice against Giants
New York Jets quarterback Justin Fields found out he has a long way to go following his performance at Tuesday's joint practice with the New York Giants. Per Connor Hughes of SNY TV, Fields started hot at the practice before struggling during the move-the-ball period. "Very interesting practice for #Jets QB Justin Fields," Hughes posted on X. "He finished 7 of 12 with a TD. 5 of 5 to start practice. Then 0 for 4. Finished 2 of 3 with the really impressive TD to Jeremy Ruckert in red zone (starter 18 yard line). "The offensive performance was a bit alarming in move-the-ball period of practice. Fields Co. had three attempts to get down field. They didn’t gain a first down. Only gained yards twice (two short Breece Hall runs). Three sacks. That needs to be fixed. #Giants defense toyed with NYJ during that period." Some Jets fans online thought Hughes was using hyperbole to characterize the practice, but he doubled down on his judgment of the offense. Fields looked strong on his first and only drive in the Jets' 30-10 win over the Green Bay Packers on Saturday night. He went 3-of-4 passing for 42 yards and rushed two times for 14 yards and a touchdown. However, the Giants defense at the joint practice is a much better unit than the short-handed one the Packers trotted out for the first preseason game. Fields' issues seen with the Chicago Bears and Pittsburgh Steelers, with holding the ball too long and not being able to pass consistently downfield, were a factor against the Giants. Following Saturday's game, Jets head coach Aaron Glenn said Fields was getting better but had a lot to improve on. Tuesday's practice was a humbling reminder that Fields needs to become a consistent passer if the Jets are going to move the ball on good defenses in the regular season.
Brewers officially have a legit MVP candidate
On Tuesday night, the Milwaukee Brewers extended their winning streak to 11 games, and a key part of the team's momentum is a player who is in the National League MVP race. The red-hot Brewers entered Tuesday night facing one of the biggest threats to their winning streak, Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes. Milwaukee torched Skenes for two home runs and four earned runs in 4.0 innings pitched. Brewers first baseman Andrew Vaughn added extra damage in the sixth inning with a three-run home run that increased Milwaukee's lead to 12-0. Per Bob Nightengale of USA Today, Vaughn is in the NL MVP race after his home run on Tuesday night. "Andrew Vaughn suddenly in top 10 NL MVP discussion with another 3-run HR, giving him 32 RBI since joining the Brewers," Nightengale posted on X. "He is the gift that keeps on giving from the White Sox. They are about to go 24-4 since his arrival." Vaughn has helped the Brewers overrun and then take a commanding lead on the Chicago Cubs in the NL Central. Following their 14-0 win Tuesday night, the Brewers extended their lead to 7.5 games over the Cubs for first place. Vaughn is turning out to be a steal for the Brewers, as Milwaukee only gave up veteran pitcher Aaron Civale and cash considerations for the first baseman on June 13. While Vaughn might have a case to be in the top 10, he has much work before he becomes a legitimate contender for the NL MVP. Per FanDuel, Los Angeles Dodgers star slugger Shohei Ohtani leads the race with -20000 odds. Philadelphia Phillies left fielder Kyle Schwarber is second with +1800 odds. Those two players have been more consistent this season, whereas Vaughn has come on strong since leaving Chicago.
Titans snatch Brian Asamoah off waivers as Vikings sign 2 linebackers
Brian Asamoah II only waited 24 hours to be claimed off waivers by the Tennessee Titans. The 2022 third-round pick never developed into a regular rotation player for the Minnesota Vikings, but he'll get a fresh start playing in a different scheme under Tennessee defensive coordinator Dennard Willis. Asamoah's release was followed by the Vikings signing a pair of linebackers on Wednesday: outside linebacker Cam Gill and insider linebacker Max Tooley. Gill has been in the NFL since 2020, playing primarily a special teams role with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for three seasons. In 2024, Gill played for the Carolina Panthers and logged 221 defensive snaps and 172 special teams snaps. He finished the season with 22 tackles and four quarterback hits. Notably, Gill recorded two tackles and half a sack for Tampa Bay in Super Bowl LV. Tooely was on Minnesota's practice squad all of last season, though he never appeared in a game as a rookie. He went undrafted after starring at BYU in college. Neither Gill nor Tooley are expected to land a big role on defense. The inside linebacker jobs currently belong to starters Blake Cashman and Ivan Pace Jr., followed by veteran Eric Wilson and rookie Kobe King waiting in the wings as the primary backups. The outside linebacker depth is also evident with Jonathan Greenard, Andrew Van Ginkel, Dallas Turner, Gabriel Murphy, Bo Richter, Tyler Batty and Chaz Chambliss. Van Ginkel is dealing with an unspecified health issue so our guess is that the Vikings brought in Gill to take some of the available reps this week against the New England Patriots. More from Vikings On SI
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