Which are the hottest and coldest teams entering the tournament?
Ever wondered how often a top seed makes the Final Four? Or whether a 12 seed is a better upset pick than an 11 seed? Or a 10 seed? Rece Davis has the answers to those NCAA Tournament questions, and many, many more. (2:17)
Some teams are playing their proverbial "best basketball of the season," some are mired in losing streaks, and of course, the majority of the field arrives here having lost a game the last time we saw them. It can be difficult to track all those narratives, so I've isolated some of the more notable extremes at both ends of the performance-temperature scale.
Here are the hottest teams entering the NCAA tournament:
Hottest teams
1. Vermont Catamounts
With 21 victories in a row, John Becker's team can lay claim to the nation's longest win streak. That's a legit 21 as well -- just five of those games were decided by single-digit margins (including, of course, Saturday's nail-biter against Albany in the America East title game). Anthony Lamb might not receive the same level of coverage as Lonzo Ball or Malik Monk, but minute for minute, the 6-foot-6 freshman has been one of the more productive first-year players in the nation this season.
2. Princeton Tigers
The Tigers join the Catamounts as the only two teams in Division I that have not yet tasted the bitter sting of a loss in 2017. That's not bad at all for a group that started the 2016-17 season just 4-6 after having lost starters Henry Caruso and Hans Brase to injuries. I dare say Princeton has rebounded nicely, and Mitch Henderson's team is once again inspiring paeans for its shot selection, patience and back-cuts. That's what happens when there's an offense named after your program, but just know that this defense also rated No. 1 for per-possession excellence in Ivy play.
3. SMU Mustangs
The last time Tim Jankovich's group lost a game, we had a different president. SMU has won 16 in a row, and the Mustangs have done so with a superior display of versatility. Ask which team was the best in American play this season, in terms of per-possession scoring offense or defensive rebounding or shooting from the field or defensive foul rate, and those answers keep bringing you back to Dallas. Semi Ojeleye is a deserving conference player of the year, and the Ponies are on fire.
4. Wichita State Shockers
WSU hasn't walked off the floor in defeat since mid-January. In fact, the Shockers are on a 21-1 run, and they've done that by combining standard-issue excellent Wichita State defense with some superb shooting on offense. Landry Shamet and Conner Frankamp are lighting it up from outside, and even when they miss, Markis McDuffie and Shaquille Morris are there to crash the offensive glass. Gregg Marshall is 68-4 in Missouri Valley play the past four seasons, good for a win percentage of .944. That'll do.
5. Gonzaga Bulldogs
I suppose one could say Gonzaga is "just" 3-1 in its past four games. Yet even with the (still puzzling) home loss to BYU, the Bulldogs earn a spot here, thanks to that rather stellar 32-1 record of theirs. The Zags' average margin of victory in West Coast play was a healthy 26 points per game, and in those 18 games, Nigel Williams-Goss & Co. shot a remarkable 61 percent inside the arc. Nevertheless, Mark Few's team continues to operate under a two-pronged cloak of doubt fueled by 1) its conference and 2) its exit from the 2013 round of 32 as a No. 1 seed. Doubt all you wish, but know that 1) great teams come from not-so-great conferences all the time and 2) great teams can suffer shocking early tournament losses (see Michigan State 2015-16). Be that as it may, Gonzaga is on a roll.
6. Villanova Wildcats
With the Wildcats, we're getting to the point where one season doesn't do justice to how hot this team really is. So let's say this: Villanova over the past two seasons is 66-8. Or, if you prefer to start that clock at the beginning of the 2016 NCAA tournament, Jay Wright's team is in the midst of a 37-3 run. Basically, unless the opposing team has "BUTLER" on its uniform (the Bulldogs scored two of those three victories against the Wildcats), it is exceedingly likely that the defending champions are going to get a win.
7. Kentucky Wildcats
Can there really be such a thing as a quiet Kentucky season? Maybe we're accustomed to wacky extremes from a program that within the past five years has given us everything from a national title and a perfect record upon arrival at the Final Four to missing the NCAA tournament entirely. Well, this 2016-17 group quite plainly falls somewhere between those polar opposites. Still, be sure you class a team that has now won 11 straight games somewhere closer to the "hot" end of the UK scale. Better defense has made the difference of late, and in particular, Kentucky's defensive rebounding has been, yes, quietly extraordinary.
Ever wondered how often a top seed makes the Final Four? Or whether a 12 seed is a better upset pick than an 11 seed? Or a 10 seed? Rece Davis has the answers to those NCAA Tournament questions, and many, many more. (2:17)
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John GasawayESPN Insider
Some teams are playing their proverbial "best basketball of the season," some are mired in losing streaks, and of course, the majority of the field arrives here having lost a game the last time we saw them. It can be difficult to track all those narratives, so I've isolated some of the more notable extremes at both ends of the performance-temperature scale.
Here are the hottest teams entering the NCAA tournament:
Hottest teams
1. Vermont Catamounts
With 21 victories in a row, John Becker's team can lay claim to the nation's longest win streak. That's a legit 21 as well -- just five of those games were decided by single-digit margins (including, of course, Saturday's nail-biter against Albany in the America East title game). Anthony Lamb might not receive the same level of coverage as Lonzo Ball or Malik Monk, but minute for minute, the 6-foot-6 freshman has been one of the more productive first-year players in the nation this season.
2. Princeton Tigers
The Tigers join the Catamounts as the only two teams in Division I that have not yet tasted the bitter sting of a loss in 2017. That's not bad at all for a group that started the 2016-17 season just 4-6 after having lost starters Henry Caruso and Hans Brase to injuries. I dare say Princeton has rebounded nicely, and Mitch Henderson's team is once again inspiring paeans for its shot selection, patience and back-cuts. That's what happens when there's an offense named after your program, but just know that this defense also rated No. 1 for per-possession excellence in Ivy play.
3. SMU Mustangs
The last time Tim Jankovich's group lost a game, we had a different president. SMU has won 16 in a row, and the Mustangs have done so with a superior display of versatility. Ask which team was the best in American play this season, in terms of per-possession scoring offense or defensive rebounding or shooting from the field or defensive foul rate, and those answers keep bringing you back to Dallas. Semi Ojeleye is a deserving conference player of the year, and the Ponies are on fire.
4. Wichita State Shockers
WSU hasn't walked off the floor in defeat since mid-January. In fact, the Shockers are on a 21-1 run, and they've done that by combining standard-issue excellent Wichita State defense with some superb shooting on offense. Landry Shamet and Conner Frankamp are lighting it up from outside, and even when they miss, Markis McDuffie and Shaquille Morris are there to crash the offensive glass. Gregg Marshall is 68-4 in Missouri Valley play the past four seasons, good for a win percentage of .944. That'll do.
5. Gonzaga Bulldogs
I suppose one could say Gonzaga is "just" 3-1 in its past four games. Yet even with the (still puzzling) home loss to BYU, the Bulldogs earn a spot here, thanks to that rather stellar 32-1 record of theirs. The Zags' average margin of victory in West Coast play was a healthy 26 points per game, and in those 18 games, Nigel Williams-Goss & Co. shot a remarkable 61 percent inside the arc. Nevertheless, Mark Few's team continues to operate under a two-pronged cloak of doubt fueled by 1) its conference and 2) its exit from the 2013 round of 32 as a No. 1 seed. Doubt all you wish, but know that 1) great teams come from not-so-great conferences all the time and 2) great teams can suffer shocking early tournament losses (see Michigan State 2015-16). Be that as it may, Gonzaga is on a roll.
6. Villanova Wildcats
With the Wildcats, we're getting to the point where one season doesn't do justice to how hot this team really is. So let's say this: Villanova over the past two seasons is 66-8. Or, if you prefer to start that clock at the beginning of the 2016 NCAA tournament, Jay Wright's team is in the midst of a 37-3 run. Basically, unless the opposing team has "BUTLER" on its uniform (the Bulldogs scored two of those three victories against the Wildcats), it is exceedingly likely that the defending champions are going to get a win.
7. Kentucky Wildcats
Can there really be such a thing as a quiet Kentucky season? Maybe we're accustomed to wacky extremes from a program that within the past five years has given us everything from a national title and a perfect record upon arrival at the Final Four to missing the NCAA tournament entirely. Well, this 2016-17 group quite plainly falls somewhere between those polar opposites. Still, be sure you class a team that has now won 11 straight games somewhere closer to the "hot" end of the UK scale. Better defense has made the difference of late, and in particular, Kentucky's defensive rebounding has been, yes, quietly extraordinary.
