Ever since the NCAA tournament field was announced on Sunday, college basketball fans have been filling out their brackets for office pools and online, all the while debating which team will win the championship this year.
However, this space isn’t for breaking down any of that. Instead, we are eyeing five unique things of the tournament itself aside from just wins, losses and who’ll cut down the nets in Arizona.
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Here are five unique storylines for the NCAA tournament.
1. Fired coach leads his team to tournament appearance
Well, isn’t this awkward? On March 11, Long Beach State announced it was firing head coach Dan Monson after 17 seasons, but had him remain as head coach through the Big West tournament that was held last week.
Long Beach State was mired in a five-game losing streak to end the regular season and entered the conference as the No. 4 seed when it decided to give Monson the axe.
Lo and behold, Long Beach State caught fire and ended up winning the Big West tournament on Saturday, cutting down the nets just five days after giving Monson a pink slip.
Now, Long Beach State will be making its first tournament appearance since 2012 when it faces Arizona in a West Region game on Thursday.
Monson won’t be getting his job back no matter what happens in the tournament, according to a report.
2. Matchup of schools with same arriving, departing athletic director
On Thursday, it was announced that Nebraska athletic director Trev Alberts was leaving the school to become the new athletic director at Texas A&M.
Wouldn’t you know it, but what happens to be the 8-9 matchup in the first round of the South region? Yep, it’s Nebraska vs. Texas A&M in what is essentially the “Trev Alberts Bowl.”
Want something even more ironic? Nebraska and Texas A&M are meeting in the first round of the NCAA women’s tournament as well. You can’t make this stuff up.
3. Dukes vs. Duke?
If James Madison — which is one of the more dangerous No. 12 seeds with a 31-3 record — and Duke win their first-round games in the South region, they will meet in the second round for the right to go to the Sweet 16.
Yep, it will be Dukes vs. Duke. In addition to that, a first-round game between Michigan State and Mississippi State will ensure an MSU is in the second round.
4. Two teams qualify for first time
A tip of the hat to the Stetson Hatters, who will be making their first trip ever to the NCAA tournament when they face No. 1 overall seed and defending national champion UConn. Ditto for the Grambling State Tigers, which will make their tournament debut Tuesday night in a First Four game against Montana State.
5. The nickname champion goes to....
So, which is the most common nickname among tournament teams this year? That would be Bulldogs, since five teams (Mississippi State, Gonzaga, Yale, Drake, Samford) have that nickname.
A close second is the Cougars, with four schools (Washington State, Houston, BYU, Charleston) having that nickname.