As crazy as it sounds, the regular season of college basketball has reached its end. After hundreds of upsets, buzzer beaters, and storylines, we have reached the most exciting part of the year, March Madness. If you want to reminisce about this past season, read below for some of the best memories and storylines.
1) The One Seed Fiasco
In most years, being the one seed is exactly what you want, but earlier in the season it was the exact opposite. FIVE teams would lose the one seed after two weeks or less, an absurd number. Two of those teams, Kentucky and Duke, would even lose to mid-majors in Evansville (who went 9-23 this season), and SF Austin. Michigan State, Lousiville, and Kansas all also lost the one seed right after earning the spot.
2) James Wiseman
As the #1 recruit in the country, James Wiseman was tearing up teams and his team was one of the top in the country. This all changed after a report came out that he was suspended indefinitely after he and his family received money from the school. He did agree with the NCAA to take a smaller suspension instead but ultimately decided to drop out of Memphis to pursue the NBA draft. After that, Memphis wasn’t the same team, and will most likely not make the tournament anymore.
3) Surprising Mid Majors
If people were to pick the last team to be undefeated before the season, most would pick Michigan State, Kansas, Duke, maybe even Louisville. No one would have picked the real answer, San Diego State. The Aztecs went an incredible 26-0 to start the season, beating big-time names in BYU, Iowa, and Creighton on their way there. Along with SDSU, the Dayton Flyers surprised many with their incredible season. Led by player of the year front runner Obi Toppin, Dayton finished the regular season 29-2, with their only two losses being against Kansas and Colorado in overtime. Barring an upset in the conference tournament, they will be a 1 seed in March.
4) The Demise of UNC and Florida
In the Preseason Top 25, UNC was ranked #9 and Florida #6. That was the only time they would be successful the whole season, as UNC would go on to have one of their worst seasons ever, finishing with a 13-18 record and an ACC worst 6-14 in conference play. Florida wasn’t as bad, finishing 19-12 overall and 11-7 in conference play. Unless they do well in the conference tournament, they will be a 9 seed or worse in March Madness, not an ideal seed for a team that was projected to be a top 6 team in the country at the beginning of the season.
5) The Big Ten
The Big Ten Conference was as crazy as it could get from the start to the end of the season. At one point, it seemed like Michigan State would be the favorite. Then Michigan, then Ohio State, then Maryland, then Iowa, then Penn State, then Maryland again, and at times Illinois, Purdue, and even Rutgers. Oh, and Wisconsin somehow shared the regular-season title. The Big Ten is living up to its name, with TEN teams projected to make the tournament, the most in any conference.
If there are other great memories/ storylines from this season, feel free to comment them below, or message us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @cbbreview