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Big CatBig Cat

The 2018 first weekend was the craziest in NCAA tournament history

I actually I'm gonna say it: it was the craziest first weekend in tournament history. We had the first ever 16 beat a one... you had two seeds that both could have won the tournament, UNC and Cincy, and then you had two three seeds, Michigan State and Tennessee, who lost.

The 2018 tournament is historically cited as one of the most chaotic ever due to the UMBC upset.

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Push
Mar 19, 2018
#28838
PFT CommenterPFT Commenter

The UMBC upset was a calculated move by the school to develop a national profile and drive admissions

I'm staying a little bit woke on that... this was a very good opportunity for UMBC to develop a national profile with a Twitter account. And then they used it to start like promoting their president. And they tweeted out like links to apply to UMBC.

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UMBC did indeed see a massive surge in applications and profile following the win, though it wasn't a 'calculated move' to win a basketball game for that purpose.
Loss
Mar 19, 2018
#15384
Big CatBig Cat

Kentucky has the easiest path to the Final Four in 2018

Kentucky could not have had a better bracket. Now with everyone imploding in their bracket, they have to get to the Final Four. Because they have no choice now. They have the easiest path to the Final Four.

Kentucky lost to 9-seed Kansas State in the Sweet 16, failing to reach the Final Four despite the easy path.
Win
Mar 19, 2018
#15387
PFT CommenterPFT Commenter

The Syracuse zone is the college basketball equivalent of Navy's triple-option offense

I compare the Syracuse zone to Georgia Tech's offense or Navy's offense in football. It's not fun to watch. It's not especially exciting. But it's so much different from everything else that you see all year that a team that plays that zone can beat any team in the country a couple times out of ten.

Syracuse's zone is famously difficult to prepare for in a tournament setting, leading to numerous deep runs as a double-digit seed.

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Big CatBig Cat

College basketball has five absolutely dominant teams this year

We have five, you could even maybe go to six, just absolutely dominant teams. Michigan, UConn, Duke, Arizona, and Florida that are playing at such an insane level.

The dominance of these teams will be tested in the upcoming NCAA tournament in March 2026.
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Big CatBig Cat

Florida can win the national championship because they can shoot threes now

Florida though, I've been talking about Florida for three weeks. They could shoot threes now. They absolutely kicked [Arkansas's]... They just throttle teams. All four of [Duke, Michigan, Arizona, Florida] would be the best team in the previous five years.

Whether Florida wins the title or performs as an elite team will be decided by the end of March Madness.
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Big CatBig Cat

Miami of Ohio will make the tournament even if they lose in the conference tournament

I'm saying right now, winning every... If they go undefeated in the conference, that is so hard to do. I think if they go undefeated in the conference and then lose in the conference tournament, I think they will be in.

This will be resolved on Selection Sunday, March 15th, 2026.

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