What to watch the first week of the NCAA Tournament
The 2020 NCAA Tournament was wiped out by the coronavirus, robbing the sports world of one of its greatest spectacles.
After a chaotic season through a pandemic, March Madness is back.
You know the players are ready. So are the coaches.
THE FAVORITES
• Gonzaga. Wire-to-wire No. 1pursuing the perfect 1976Indiana Hoosiers.
• Illinois. Tough, talented, loaded. Ayo and Kofi may be the bracket’s best 1-2punch.
• Baylor. Shooters everywhere, tenacious on D, lost once all year.
• Michigan. Wolverines have done great things in a short period under Juwan Howard. Hopefully Isaiah Livers’ foot injury won’t cause them problems.
• Iowa. Hawkeyes can light it up when they’re on and have one of the nation’s best players in Luka Garza.
NEW FACES
• Hartford. The Hawks are in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 27years as a Division I program after winning the America East Tournament.
• Grand Canyon. Bryce Drew worked some quick magic in the desert, needing one season to lead the Antelopes to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in eight years in DI.
• Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights had their dreams crushed last season when the NCAA Tournament was canceled. They got a second chance and made the most of it, playing their way into the bracket for the first time since 1991.
• Drexel. The Dragons won 12games all season, but three were in the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament, putting them in the bracket for the first time in 25years.
STAR PLAYERS
The fans, too.
This year’s bracket will be like no other, played entirely in Indiana over a span of three weeks.
There’s no Duke, no Kentucky, but plenty of new favorites and upstarts who have waited a long time for their chance.
To get you ready, we’ve got a rundown of the teams, players and games to watch for when the bracket fires up with the First Four Thursday in Bloomington:
• Luka Garza, Iowa. Big Ten beast ready to bull through the bracket.
• Ayo Dosunmu, Illinois. Athletic, clutch, poised to become the latest one-name NCAA Tournament star.
• Corey Kispert, Gonzaga. The sharpshooter makes the Zags go.
• Jared Butler, Baylor. Shoots, leads and plays D, too.
• Cade Cunningham, Oklahoma State. Potential No. 1pick in the NBA draft is a scorer, distributor, dominator.
UPSET POTENTIAL
• No. 12 UC Santa Barbara over No. 5Creighton. If they Bluejays are off, watch out for UCSB, which has lost once in the new year.
• No. 12Winthrop over No. 5 Villanova. The Wildcats are without guard Collin Gillespie for the rest of the season.
The Eagles have lost once all season.
• No. 10Rutgers over No. 7 Clemson. The Scarlet Knights may not have been here for a long time, but oddsmakers made them a favorite over the Tigers.
• No. 12Georgetown over
No. 5Colorado. Workers at Madison Square Garden finally figured out who Patrick Ewing is after Hoyas won the Big East title. The Buffaloes may find out, too.
• No. 13Ohio over No. 4 Virginia The Cavaliers had to bow out of the ACC Tournament due to a positive COVID-19test and have been bo
TOP GAMES
• Colgate vs. Arkansas. Leave the couch for a minute and you might miss a basket — or 10. And take the over, whatever it is.
• Michigan State vs. UCLA. Two of college basketball’s storied programs will help kick off the tournament right.
• Texas Tech vs. Utah State. Baskets will be hard to come by between these two.
• Loyola Chicago vs. Georgia Tech. Ramblers are back for the first time since their 2018Final Four run. Georgia Tech was the surprise ACC Tournament champ.
• Oregon vs. Virginia Commonwealth. VCU plays stifling defense. Oregon can light up the scoreboard. Strength v strength.