The Men’s and Women’s NCAA Tournaments tipped off over the weekend, with the men set to finish the second round on Monday and the women’s second round scheduled through Wednesday.
The women’s tournament began Sunday with 32 first-round games that ended mostly in comfortable triumphs for the higher seeds. However, a 5-12 game needed an extra period to separate the teams, with No. 5 seed Georgia Tech ending regulation on a 6-0 run to tie the contest at 48-48, then continued to assert itself in overtime for a 54-52 victory.
The men’s event has had a lot more games played at this point, and it has been as reasonably ridiculous as you can expect from March Madness. A No. 15 seed is in the Sweet 16 for the second time ever, Loyola Chicago appears poised to do it all over again, double-digit seeded Syracuse is giving everyone flashbacks, and only nine of the top-16 seeds are still alive with another day of second-round action to go.
March is dumb, and we love it for that.
There has been plenty of news surrounding these tournaments that hasn’t happened on the court, though. A group of men’s players started an online movement with #NotNCAAProperty to declare a demand a piece of the pie through their names and likeness. On the women’s side, there has been a national reaction to the NCAA woefully failing to provide the female athletes with the equipment and amenities needed and expected for such an event.
And this is not to mention the firings and some hires that has happened in college basketball lately. It’s been quite the eventful week in college hoops.
Now for some other news from across the sport this week:
Nothing But News: March 16-22, 2021
Oklahoma women’s basketball head coach Sherri Coale retired on Wednesday after 25 seasons. She took the Sooners to three Final Fours, won six Big 12 regular-season championships and claimed four conference tournament crowns.
Iowa State men’s basketball fired head coach Steve Prohm after six seasons, then hired T.J. Otzelberger away from UNLV to replace him shortly afterward.
Marquette men’s basketball fired head coach Steve Wojciechowski after seven seasons.
Wisconsin women’s basketball fired head coach Jonathan Tsipis after five seasons and a 50-99 overall record (16-74 in the Big Ten).
Washington women’s basketball fired head coach Jody Wynn after four seasons and a 38-75 overall record (11-58 in the Pac-12).
The WNBA announced the date for its 2021 draft: it will be held Thursday, April 15 at 7 p.m. and air live on ESPN.
Damian Lillard had another 50-point game, so NBA.com looked at the three main stats to know from his latest great performance.
The NBA trade deadline is fast approaching. It’s on March 25 this year, and with the unique playoff format, the buyers and sellers aren’t quite as clear as usual.
Get Caught Up on NBN Content
Here’s a recap of some of our content from the last week:
March Madness Predictions – Cinderella, What to Watch & More
I made some predictions for the Men’s March Madness. Some of them have gone okay. Some of them have not gone well at all.
Bracketology 2021 in Review: How Did I Do?
I completed my sixth season in the Bracket Matrix and gave myself an honest review of how I did with my final predictions for Bracketology 2021.
Not NCAA Property: College Athletes Unify Around Rallying Cry
Several college basketball players spoke out in the days leading up to March Madness about the NCAA not allowing them to profit off of their own names and likenesses, launching it with #NotNCAAProperty.
How Important Is Defense in a March Madness Run?
A couple years ago, we looked at how important defense really is to making a deep March Madness run. Take a look at what we found.
Full-Grown Adult Man Who Is Paid to Talk About Unpaid Workers Complains About Unpaid Workers’ Unhappiness
Raymond Tortuga scooped about a man who makes a living discussing the unpaid work of others complaining about those unpaid workers being unhappy with the current arrangement. We all learned something on this day.
Overweight Man Explains Why Women’s Basketball Players Don’t Need Big Lifty Things
A man with a BMI exceeding 200 had strong opinions on why women’s basketball players don’t need big lifty things like men do, and Raymond Tortuga met him at a local diner to learn more about his nuanced point of view.
