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If you remember the name of the young Marine on TV who uttered that phrase, you’re likely approaching or past the age of 60. Private Gomer Pyle awkwardly found himself in Sergeant Vince Carter’s wrath every week on television back in the late 1960’s.
Private Gomer Pyle (hometown: Mayberry, USA) was a likable but very quirky and naïve country bumpkin. Known for iconic phrases such as “Gol-ly” and “Sha-zam!” my personal favorite “Gomerism” was “Surprise, surprise, surprise!”
Every season, the NCAA March Madness men’s and women’s basketball tournaments feature several surprise teams which have defied the late-season odds to earn a spot in the field of 64.
This year’s men’s field will feature one team (Grambling State University) which had never even played in the NCAA tournament before this week.
The Tigers had to win their “First Four” qualifier on Wednesday night as they beat Montana State 88-81 in overtime. The #16 seed G-men will now take a bus to Indianapolis and face #1Midwest seed Purdue on Friday night.
Another team (Long Beach State) actually fired their long-time head coach prior to the start of the Big West Conference basketball tournament. The school’s athletic director allowed Coach Dan Monson to finish the season, though. The Sharks of Long Beach State won the Big West title last weekend and will face #2 West seed Arizona on Thursday afternoon in the NCAA March Madness tournament.
Then there’s an ACC team (#10 seed North Carolina State) which had to win five games in five days in their conference tournament just to earn a March Madness spot. The Wolfpack beat Louisville, Syracuse, Duke, Virginia, and North Carolina on consecutive days. They may be tired, but 22-14 NC State is happy to be dancing!
The women’s field is filled with several pre-tournament favorites, but it also has the best collection of team nicknames I’ve seen in years.
There are Dragons (Drexel), Jackrabbits (South Dakota State), Anteaters (UC-Irvine), Black Bears (Maine), Skyhawks (UT-Martin), and Spiders (Richmond), Outside of the animal kingdom, there are the Lancers (California Baptist), Pilots (Portland), Pioneers (Sacred Heart), and the stocking-wearing Blue Hose of Presbyterian College.
Nuts and Bolts…!!!
For all of the lucky teams which made the men’s and women’s March Madness field, there were several disappointed teams which failed to receive an invitation.
The NCAA utilizes its own sophisticated “NET” computerized ratings to determine the relative strength of each team during the season. You might think that the March Madness tournament selection committee will utilize that list to make some of those tough choices for the final teams to make the field. However, it always seems like the smaller market teams such as 27-6 Indiana State (with a NET ranking of 28) keep getting left out of the field.
Wouldn’t it be nice if someone with the NCAA actually admitted the truth?
Just once, I would like to hear, “We chose a mediocre 23-10 Virginia team with a NET ranking of 54 over Indiana State because the Cavaliers will bring more fans watching on television than the Sycamores will.”
Why even bother with a ranking system if the selection committee is driven by television ratings when making some of its final determinations (see also – the College Football Playoffs).
Can you beat the Swami this year?
Let’s start with the Women’s bracket
Last season, Coach Kim Mulkey’s LSU Tigers were handed a #3 seed and navigated their way to a national championship in the coach’s second season in Baton Rouge. Team chemistry was a big reason why LSU claimed the title in 2023.
This season, LSU earned another #3 seed with an impressive 28-5 record. However, the 2024 Tigers are struggling with a lack of depth this season. They also have one very big obstacle standing in their way to repeat as national champions.
South Carolina is the overall #1 seed for good reason.
The Gamecocks have a perfect 32-0 record. They have beaten LSU twice this year. Carolina’s unbeaten season came close to ending twice in recent weeks. The Gamecocks will need six more wins over the next three weeks to grab their third national title in seven years.
Don’t forget high-scoring Caitlyn Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes!
Iowa finished as the national runner-up to LSU last year. The 29-4 Hawkeyes want another chance at a championship ring. Their ability to score from anywhere on the court will make them a tough out in this year’s tournament.
Just like LSU in 2023, another sneaky-good #3 seed in the women’s tournament might be the University of Connecticut. The 29-5 UConn Huskies are coached by their 11-time national champion Gino Auriemma. All-American forward Paige Bueckers scores 21 points per game and leads a talented and deep team this year.
Women’s prediction:
The NCAA women’s tournament winner has never come from lower than a #3 seed. That means to be careful with picking any upsets in the early rounds. Though most fans are picking South Carolina to steamroll to the title, I’m not sold yet. The Gamecocks should waltz into the final eight, but things will tighten up after that. Teams like Notre Dame, Texas, Iowa, LSU, and UConn await.
I believe that UConn will sneak into the Championship game and take down South Carolina to claim the 2024 women’s title.
And now…for the Men’s championship!
The four #1 seeds in the men’s division are UConn (the defending champions), the University of Houston, Purdue, and North Carolina. Last week, Houston drubbed #25 Texas Tech in the Big 12 semifinal game. Then the wheels came off in the tournament finals on Saturday night as Iowa State throttled H-town 69-41 to send Cougar Nation into shock.
Houston Coach Kelvin Sampson saw his team’s point guard smothered defensively by a very good Iowa State team. The team was thrown out of rhythm and other players’ shooting suffered as a result. Coach Sampson will make corrections to get Houston’s offense rolling again.
Purdue was last year’s biggest upset victim at the hands of #16 seed Fairleigh Dickenson. The 29-4 Boilermakers have a top coach in Matt Painter, the likely national player of the year in 7’4” center Zach Edey, and a hungry veteran team. Can they prove worthy of a #1 seed this year?
I was really surprised to see North Carolina receive a #1 seed. The Tar Heels lost in the ACC tournament finals to rival North Carolina State and dropped to 27-7. Carolina senior guard R.J. Davis scores nearly 22 points per game and rarely disappoints. It’s the other blue-chip players for the Tar Heels who must step-up their games in the national tournament.
That leaves last year’s champ, UConn.
The 31-3 Huskies have, by far, the hardest March Madness bracket to navigate in order to reach the Final Four. The East Region’s #2 seed Iowa State is 27-7 and features one of the country’s toughest defenses. Big Ten tournament champion Illinois is the East #3 seed while the SEC tournament champion Auburn will be the #4 seed in this bracket. If that wasn’t enough, last year’s national runner-up, San Diego State, returns as a #5 seed. If UConn can survive that gauntlet, they may be vulnerable to a letdown in the Final Four.
Need a few upset specials?
My early round upsets include taking #12 Midwest seed McNeese (30-3) over #5 seed Gonzaga and, in the second round, to beat #4 seed Kansas. I’m picking #12 South seed James Madison to upset #5 seed Wisconsin in Round 1. Let’s go with #11 South seed North Carolina State to prevail over #6 Texas Tech and then upset #3 seed Kentucky in Round #2. I’ll take #8 West seed Mississippi State to beat #9 Michigan State and then shock West #1 seed North Carolina in Round #2.
Men’s prediction:
I have a Final Four with #2 seed Arizona winning the West to face East #1 seed UConn in one semifinal game. The other semifinal will feature #1 South seed Houston playing #2 Midwest seed Tennessee.
I’m taking Houston to beat UConn in the national championship game to win the school’s first NCAA men’s basketball title.
Good luck on your picks and to all of the teams!