March is here and March Madness is almost upon us.
This year’s NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament tips off Thursday, March 21.
Here are five important questions ahead of The Big Dance.
Who is on the bubble? Most likely to get in?
Several schools hope to secure at-large bids.
Some of the front runners include:
Colorado, Colorado State, Pittsburgh, St. Johns, Villanova and Wake Forest.
Of course, that is subject to change.
Can UConn hold off the competition to defend their crown?
UConn head coach Dan Hurley has the Huskies back on top after a near-decade long dry spell.
But it would be no easy feat for them to repeat.
Houston and Purdue are now No. 1 and 2 in the NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) rankings with matching 26-3 records.
NET rankings serve as a definitive guide when it comes time for the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee to decide.
UConn is currently No. 3 with Arizona at No. 4, rounding out the tournament’s prospective top seeds.
Those are the favorites, and a number of others could knock off the champs.
What is a key subplot of this tournament?
Changing of the (coaching) guard. In the past three years, Coach K called time on his tenure with Duke,
North Carolina saw top man Roy Williams retire and Villanova said goodbye to longtime leader Jay Wright, just to name a few.
They won four of the last eight NCAA titles, with 10 in total.
It is a new era, with Baylor’s Scott Drew and Hurley at UConn leading the pack.
Which of the perennial powers will make a run?
Kansas and Duke were first and second in the AP preseason Top 25 poll. Neither has met expectations so far.
They are both on track to be seeded No. 3 in the tourney.
At the same time, North Carolina is much better than advertised.
UNC barely made the preseason Top 25, and they have climbed the charts up to No. 9.
North Carolina advanced to the final two years ago. Coach Hubert Davis knows what it takes.
Who will be the next Cinderella?
Our own Oakland University is projected to be a No. 15 seed.
Oakland (20-11, 15-5) has clinched at least a share of the Horizon League title.
Golden Grizzlies head coach Greg Kampe has done a dynamite job this year.
Why not?