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Happy Wednesday, everyone! After the men’s NCAA Tournament began last night, the women’s gets underway tonight. Make sure you’re submitting your brackets for the Bracket Games (men’s and women’s) ahead of their respective Thursday and Friday deadlines! And if you need help picking, well …
Let’s get right to it.
🏀 Good morning to all, but especially to …
THE (11) NORTH CAROLINA TAR HEELS AND THE (16) ALABAMA STATE HORNETS
The North Carolina Tar Heels heard your complaints about them making the NCAA Tournament. Then they went out and proved they’re not just happy to be here; they’re dangerous. The Tar Heels walloped San Diego State, 95-68, the second-largest largest First Four win ever.
As I wrote in First Four teams that can make a run, the Tar Heels have been a completely different team since a February lineup change, powered by 3-point shooting. Well, North Carolina shot 58% from 3 (14 for 24), with RJ Davis making all six of his 3s en route to 26 points, and smothered San Diego State’s offense. Next up is Ole Miss, and you’d better believe North Carolina will be a popular pick.
While that game was never in doubt, if the first game was any hint of what’s to come, prepare for madness of the highest order. Amarr Knox scored a layup off a last-second full-court pass to lift Alabama State to its first NCAA Tournament win, 70-68, over Saint Francis. The Hornets get (1) Auburn next.
Tonight brings two more First Four games. Here are our expert picks.
😃 Honorable mentions
🏀 And not such a good morning for …
WEST VIRGINIA MEN’S BASKETBALL
Yes, for the third straight day, West Virginia is not having a good morning. (Is that a record?) While many, including Jerry Palm, Matt Norlander and the state’s own governor, believe the Mountaineers should be preparing for March Madness, instead they are sitting at home, now without a coach.
Indiana hired Darian DeVries, who succeeds Mike Woodson at one of the country’s iconic programs.
- In his lone season with West Virginia after arriving from Drake, DeVries led the Mountaineers to a 19-13 record despite losing star guard (and his son) Tucker DeVries to injury early in the year.
- West Virginia was then controversially left out of the NCAA Tournament.
- DeVries’ departure means the rotating door at West Virginia continues. In 2023, Bob Huggins resigned following a DUI arrest. Josh Eilert went 9-23 last season before the Mountaineers hired DeVries.
But one program’s loss is another program’s gain, and what a gain it is for the Hoosiers. DeVries runs a modern offense — the opposite of Wooden’s antiquated system — and he went 150-55 with three NCAA Tournament appearances in six seasons with Drake prior to his year at West Virginia. The Hoosiers, who coincidentally also just missed the NCAA Tournament, offer tremendous resources, and Tucker is expected to join his father in the Big Ten. That’s a strong built-in start.
😬 Not so honorable mentions
🏀 Men’s NCAA Tournament expert picks, sleepers and first-round matchup guide
The pencils have been put down, and our experts’ brackets are in. I won’t give up all of the details, but I will tell you David Cobb made his case for Florida, and Cameron Salerno did the same for Duke.
You’ll notice both of those are 1 seeds. And they’re both awesome, with only one loss apiece in 2025. But they’re not perfect. I noted potential fatal flaws for each No. 1 seed and opponents who can capitalize.
To win your bracket pool, you have to nail the champion, yes, but you also have to nail some upsets. So Cameron has sleepers to consider and to avoid. For the former, he has …
- Salerno: “Sleeper team for Final Four: Gonzaga — Gonzaga’s overall resume explains why the Bulldogs landed on the No. 8 line, but advanced metrics suggest they deserve a higher spot. Gonzaga ranks No. 9 in KenPom’s rankings … The path for Gonzaga … starts with a tough Georgia team in the first round. If the Bulldogs win that game, a matchup against No. 1 seed Houston would (more than likely) be on deck. I am confident that the winner of that game — if it happens — will be the team that makes it to the Final Four out of the Midwest Region.”
Speaking of paths, David Cobb broke down easiest and toughest ones for top contenders.
Finally, if today is “the day” you make those 63 fateful decisions filling out a bracket, you won’t find a better breakdown of every first-round game than Isaac Trotter’s gold mine of picks, scouting reports and stats to know. (8) Louisville vs. (9) Creighton is the classic first game of the round of 64 that will have you either loving or hating your bracket immediately, and Isaac says …
- Trotter: “Creighton’s deep drop coverage with Ryan Kalkbrenner coaxes one of the highest rates of midrange jumpers. That’s a shot analytically-minded Louisville tries not to take. Chucky Hepburn has had a brilliant season, but he is shooting just 30% on off-the-dribble jumpers this year. … Hepburn’s defense on Steven Ashworth will be another massive X-Factor in this game. Louisville just can’t win without a good Hepburn game.”
Here’s more:
🏀 Women’s NCAA Tournament expert picks
The women’s NCAA Tournament gets underway tonight with the First Four, and you’re not going to want to miss it. Last March, Audi Crooks was a breakout star, producing a 40-point masterpiece in a first-round win over Maryland. She’ll hope to repeat those exploits tonight when the Cyclones face Princeton.
Our experts have filled out their brackets, and while two teams dominate the title picks, there are plenty of interesting upsets across the six brackets, including …
- (10) Harvard over (7) Michigan State — in four of six brackets!
- (11) Murray State over (6) Iowa
- (13) Montana State over (4) Ohio State
As for top first-round games to watch, it’s no surprise the Crimson get some love from Isabel Gonzalez.
- Gonzalez: “Harvard was a bubble team that took control of its own destiny by winning the Ivy League tournament. … Ivy League Player of the Year Harmoni Turner … has been a powerful scoring weapon with 22.5 points per game, which ranks top 10 nationally. She is also in the top 20 in steals with 2.79 per game. Turner scored a career-high 44 points against Princeton in the conference tournament semifinals.”
⚾ Top 100 MLB players for 2025
Two down, 2,438 to go! The first series of the MLB season is over, with the Dodgers earning the sweep of the Cubs in a 6-3 win on Wednesday in the Tokyo Series. Shohei Ohtani slugged his first home run of the season, as did NLCS MVP Tommy Edman.
As for the rest of the league, 26 teams will have their Opening Day on Thursday, March 27, and we’ve got Dayn Perry’s Top 100 MLB players ready to go for you. Here’s the top five:
- Shohei Ohtani — “The reigning NL MVP is coming off the first 50-50 season in MLB history, and he remains at the top of his offensive game.”
- Bobby Witt Jr. — “The most complete position player in baseball today?”
- Aaron Judge — “Judge is coming off a 2024 season in which he posted the highest OPS+ (223) and WAR (10.8) of his career.”
- Gunnar Henderson — “Across parts of three MLB seasons, the young Henderson owns an OPS+ of 141, and he’s already amassed 16.2 WAR.”
- Juan Soto — “He’s on a Hall of Fame trajectory (and then some), and Soto is still just 26 years old.”
The first full-time pitcher on this list? That’s Tarik Skubal, who comes in at No. 6, and what a rise it’s been: He was 74th on last year’s edition of this list.
Are there more breakouts from a similar range coming? I’m intrigued by two players ranked in the mid-80s.
- Perry: “83. James Wood — Wood has big-time power and patience, an excellent minor-league track record of putting up big numbers against much older peer groups, and a 122 OPS+ as a rookie last season. He’ll take the next step toward stardom in 2025. … 85. Masyn Winn — Winn is already in the discussion for best defensive shortstop in the game, and last season at the plate he had an OPS+ of 102 as a 22-year-old rookie.”
📺 What we’re watching Wednesday
🏀 (16) Mount St. Mary’s vs. (16) American (M), 6:40 p.m. on truTV
🏀 (11) Princeton vs. (11) Iowa State (W), 7 p.m. on ESPNU
🏒 Avalanche at Maple Leafs, 7 p.m. on TNT
🏀 Pistons at Heat, 7:30 p.m. on ESPN
🏀 (16) Southern vs. (16) UC San Diego (W), 9 p.m. on ESPNU
🏀 (11) Xavier vs. (11) Texas (M), 9:10 p.m. on truTV
🏒 Kraken at Wild, 9:30 p.m. on TNT
🏀 Nuggets at Lakers, 10 p.m. on ESPN
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