Running 2022-23 NCAA Basketball Thread

Also why you don’t give the interim guy the job right away. Then you become Wichita State in two years.

 

Sounds like my dating history.

 

Is Jim Larranaga a rare example of a coach who parlayed success at a mid-major into what could be considered an entry-level Power 5 gig, and then didn't either flame out in the second stop or jump to another big-time program?

 

Which is why all these "My bracket is busted!!!" cries after the Round of 32/16/etc. never made sense to me.

In a typical office pool, if your predicted champion is still alive, your bracket has a decent chance of winning regardless of the carnage it may have undergone before.

 

This is the first time ever there has not been a No. 1, 2 or 3 seed in the Final Four.

 

Ever?

 

Rick Pitino and Jim Calhoon both got their starts at low-level Northeastern and did pretty well. Calhoon built UConn, Pitino re-vitalized Providence in their second jobs.

 

It's only the fourth time there hasn't been at least one No. 1 seed. In 1980, 2-seed Louisville was there; in 2006, there was No. 2 UCLA and No. 3 Florida; and in 2011 you had No. 3 UConn.

 

In the ESPN bracket I picked 20 minutes before the first-day games started, I had Miami getting to the Final Four. Hooray!
Unfortunately, I also had San Diego State losing in the first round, Florida Atlantic in the second, and UConn in the Sweet 16.
But still, that Miami pick, man!

 

My favorite pick in my March Madness pool history was taking Oklahoma State for the 1995 Final Four during the time Bryant "Big Country" Reeves was on the team. That was in the Union-Tribune office pool when I was working there, and they were able to get a whole lot of people to join up, so it was pretty lucrative. OSU clinched the berth while I was on a shift in the newsroom and I kept saying "Who woulda thought that Oklahoma State would make the Final Four? Oh, that's right -- I did!" I could be a little insufferable at times. Epilogue: I also picked UCLA to win it all that year, but so did a whole lot of other people, so I finished out of the money.

 

Probably rare, yes. But I can think of a few examples.
Scott Drew took over Baylor in the aftermath of disaster and when Baylor looked like it had no business being in a major conference. (It only got in the Big 12 because of Ann Richards.) Stuck around and won an NCAA title.
Tony Bennett parlayed Washington State into Virginia and hasn't bolted. Has won an NCAA title.
Mike Young is likely to join the list. Will do better than expected. Won't use it as a stepping stone.
Another candidate: Leonard Hamilton.

 

Andy Enfield has been at USC for a while now, too.
Guess there's more than I thought. It just seemed like a lot of the guys who become the hot item for minute tend not to stay at the next job for too long for one reason or another (like Shaka Smart at Texas or Will Wade at LSU).