College Basketball Weekly: One sentence about every NCAA Tournament team

Welcome to the College Basketball Weekly bracket breakdown following the release of the full 68-team field on Sunday evening. In today’s post, we’ll whip around to all 68 teams to give just one sentence on each program post-bracket-reveal — no more, no less.

Take a look at the takes:

SOUTH Region

(1) Auburn: Scorching Louisville or a Creighton team with a Johni Broome foil in Ryan Kalkbrenner waiting in round two — that’s a tough bargain for the No. 1 overall seed.

(16) Alabama State: The SWAC 5-seed took advantage of an open bracket once the Southern Jaguars went down, and former Ole Miss interim and third-year head coach Tony Madlock just led the Hornets to their first NCAA Tournament since 2011.

(16) Saint Francis: A 25-7 Central Connecticut State squad fell in the NEC title as Pennsylvania’s St. Francis mustered just 46 points in the championship game but squeaked three wins by exactly three points each to make the Big Dance after just an 8-8 NEC regular season mark.

(8) Louisville: The Cardinals rolled off a 22-2 record in their final 24 games to close out the season and finished runner-up to 1-seed Duke in the ACC title, and with a 27-7 overall record, were still jobbed with an 8-seed.

(9) Creighton: The Blue Jays have seven-foot+ Ryan Kalkbrenner, who’s a total mismatch against a lighter Louisville frontcourt but a perfect matchup against Auburn All-American Johni Broome in a potential Round Two matchup.

(5) Michigan: An inspired Big Ten Tournament championship run has Ann Arbor rejuvenated after a sour end to the regular season, but now the Wolverines are upset bait against the elite mid-major they’re matched up with…

(12) UC San Diego: The Tritons are 30-4 and haven’t lost a basketball game in two months, winning on the back of the No. 1 turnover margin in the country, forcing cough-ups 10% more often than they commit their own.

(4) Texas A&M: The Aggies finally enjoyed a stress-free Selection Sunday but have a veteran and terrific Yale team that certainly can outshoot the Aggies and will beat them if they can keep up on the glass, which is the titan task.

(13) Yale: Head coach James Jones led a 13-1 sprint through the Ivy League for Yale this season to follow up last year’s thrilling postseason with a big splash back into the NCAA Tournament, where four of the top seven players return from the ’24 group which upset Auburn.

(6) Ole Miss: The Rebels were a relatively quiet SEC team, hanging out in the latter half of the AP Top 25 for much of the year seemingly without suffering huge losing streaks or amazing peaks, but Chris Beard’s steady and extremely veteran group has a real path to the Elite Eight.

(11) San Diego State: Not Brian Dutcher’s finest, but the younger-than-usual Aztecs crawled their way into the NCAA field by a hair, and wins over Creighton and Houston suggest they can wreck brackets.

(11) North Carolina: Oh the spineless NCAA Selection Committee caved and tossed the blue-blood Tar Heels a bone, rewarding a resume featuring a 1-12 Quad 1 record plus zero respectable wins since December, and three snoozefest losses to Duke — what an affront!

(3) Iowa State: The Cyclones aren’t the No. 2 ranked team they once were in January, but TJ Otzelberger whipped another elite defense into shape on the back of forcing turnovers, and ISU has electric guard play — Keshon Gilbert and especially Curtis Jones — who can take over games.

(14) Lipscomb: The Bisons began 2-4 and proceeded to win 23 of their next 28 to end the year and win the Atlantic Sun bid, powered by Conference Player of the Year Jacob Ognacevic’s 20 points and eight rebounds per game.

(7) Marquette: Kam Jones was once front and center in the National Player of the Year debate and the Golden Eagles were top-10 for much of the first several months but have fallen off a bit since as they try to rebound in round one vs. a stout NM club.

(10) New Mexico: Richard Pitino guided the Lobos into safe at-large territory by the end of the regular season to allow for a misstep in the Mountain West Tournament, so now we can all sit front and center for the Donovan Dent show vs. Kam Jones and Marquette, marking the best point guard matchup of the tourney.

(2) Michigan State: The Spartans are a whole greater than the sum of their parts with a deep and exceptionally well-coached roster that could be dangerous now that one of those parts, freshman Jase Richardson, is ascending to star status so far in March.

(15) Bryant: The Martelli family won’t have an issue booing Sparty since Phil Martelli Sr., father of Bryant head coach Phil Martelli Jr., is a former Michigan associate head coach and served as interim coach just last season as part of the Juwan Howard administration in Ann Arbor.

EAST Regional

(1) Duke: The Blue Devils threatened to take the No. 1 overall spot but are nonetheless settled in as clear championship favorites as the No. 2 overall seed while the No. 1 Tigers just suffered three recent losses.

(16) American: It’s year two for coach Duane Simpkins but his American Eagles are dancing following a Patriot League title led by a swashbuckling young hero named Matt Rogers.

(16) Mount St. Mary’s: The Mountaineers spend much of their games, particularly losses against power competition, scoring in the 50s, and will be thankful to reach that mark should they get to face Duke.

(8) Mississippi State: A season sweep of Ole Miss was just what the doctor ordered for an otherwise mild Bulldogs hoops season where MSU simply couldn’t get other big wins in conference, but more chances await this weekend.

(9) Baylor: The Bears haven’t been right since a 40-point loss vs. Gonzaga to open the year, and that’s a way of saying Scott Drew’s club is a step back from the 1-seed contenders of the recent past.

(5) Oregon: Dana Altman just earned Oregon its highest seed in the NCAA Tournament since 2017, when the Ducks made a run to the Final Four to lose to eventual champion North Carolina.

(12) Liberty: The Flames light the nets up with a top-10 mark in three-pointers made this season and are about as elite across the board as mid-majors come (28-6 with one loss all year by 10+).

(4) Arizona: They missed each other after the breakup but Arizona could get a nice Pac-12 reunion playing the Oregon Ducks in a very exciting West Coast hoops game should it happen.

(13) Akron: John Groce has the Zips tourney-bound for the third time in four seasons after a 17-1 domination of the MAC in the regular season.

(6) BYU: The Cougars are absolutely on a heater over the last month or so, playing like one of the most dangerous teams in the country among those seeded on the 4-line or lower.

(11) VCU: No matter the coach or year, VCU always turns the defensive paint into their own Drake’s Passage, snatching the souls of any man who dares attempt a shot at the rim.

(3) Wisconsin: Greg Gard embraced the three-pointer and the three-pointer helped slingshot Wisconsin to tie for their highest seed since Bo Ryan retired.

(14) Montana: If the Grizzlies make a run, one man is sure to become a DJ Burns level of Cinderella celebrity, and that’s Money Williams, lead scorer and assist-maker for Montana.

(7) Saint Mary’s: A tremendous and dominant WCC season ended on one sour note with the title game loss to Gonzaga, and the Gaels could find trouble with SEC athleticism in rounds one or two.

(10) Vanderbilt: Mark Byington completely overhauled the Commodores in year one and did something Jerry Stackhouse never could in his pitiful tenure: make the NCAA Tournament.

(2) Alabama: Pfft, the Tide ought to roll over Robert Morris, would have no fear of Vanderbilt and are liable to completely overwhelm poor St. Mary’s to get to the Sweet 16.

(15) Robert Morris: Andrew Toole is one of the underrated long-tenured mid-major coaches, reaching his first NCAA Tournament in 10 seasons with the Colonials.

MIDWEST Region

(1) Houston: As Duke suffers injuries, Auburn loses games and Florida leaps into the title conversation, Houston remains the championship contender in plain sight.

(16) SIU-Edwardsville: Cousins Ray’Sean Taylor and Brian Taylor helped head coach Brian Barone get over the hump and into the NCAA Tournament for the very first time.

(8) Gonzaga: The Zags didn’t produce in the non-conference but haven’t missed a Sweet 16 since 2014, coincidentally, the last time they were an 8-seed.

(9) Georgia: Part of the big winning day for the SEC on the bubble, Georgia easily got in to give Mike White his first tournament squad in Athens.

(5) Clemson: Brad Brownell made an Elite Eight last year and followed it up with an even better seed heading into this postseason — folks, these are the glory days of Clemson hoops.

(12) McNeee: Wheeeew, Will Wade’s club will certainly test the Tigers, as there’s not a huge gap in these two teams analytically speaking, and you know the former LSU coach will garner plenty of public upset picks.

(4) Purdue: The Boilermakers aren’t the title-winning threat of last March but can easily get back to another second weekend.

(13) High Point: A veteran team full of former high-major transfers could give a mildly-athletic Purdue team some trouble in the first round.

(6) Illinois: The Illini are liable to lose by 30, as they’ve done several times, or pull an upset in a huge spot, as they’ve also done a couple of times this season.

(11) Xavier: The Musketeers snuck in, joining North Carolina as a team that only managed one Quad 1 win but didn’t suffer many blemishes elsewhere in their resume.

(11) Texas: The Longhorns also barely get in, the only 15-loss team, but those seven Quad 1 wins certainly got them over the hump this time.

(3) Kentucky: With Jaxson Robinson out, getting and keeping Lamont Butler back in the lineup is the No. 1 key for this Wildcat group this coming weekend.

(14) Troy: Just know the name of Trojan guard Tayton Conerway, who averaged 16.2 points, 4.9 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 3.2 steals per game in Sun Belt conference play to win the league’s Player of the Year award.

(7) UCLA: The Bruins racked up a ton of Quad 1 wins to earn decent seeding but left Mick Cronin largely perturbed as conference play wore on leading into March.

(10) Utah State: In the great Mountain West rat race, Utah State got ahead by simply avoiding dumb losses and are now back in the NCAA Tournament with yet another new coach.

(2) Tennessee: The Volunteers won’t love a potential third matchup against a Kentucky team that already beat them twice and with unhealthy rosters both times.

(15) Wofford: The Terriers can always be on upset watch against a team like Tennessee, who is liable to lock themselves in a rock fight, even with a lesser foe in the first round.

WEST Regional

(1) Florida: The talk of the weekend, the Gators look like a serious threat right alongside the other 1-seeds after stampeding to a dominant SEC Tournament championship run.

(16) Norfolk State: The Spartans won the MEAC for the third time this decade and are dancing again — and once again are a 16-seed.

(8) UConn: If you’re worried about a Danny Hurley three-peat, don’t be, because while the Huskies are plenty scary as an 8-seed, they just don’t have the horses to bring home hardware this March.

(9) Oklahoma: Porter Moser is finally in the NCAA Tournament with Oklahoma, and his teams have been a poison pill from the 8-9 game before.

(5) Memphis: Penny Hardaway’s darn good coaching job results in a 5-seed as he has a chance to seriously make noise in March for the first time in his roller-coaster head coaching career.

(12) Colorado State: The Rams were the only real question mark in the Mountain West and look to have been on the outside of the bubble had they not won the conference tournament, but Nique Clifford and a surging CSU will have Memphis’ hands full.

(4) Maryland: Kevin Willard has one of the very best starting fives in the country, and thus, the Terrapins are capable of matching up with any team in the country so long as they can keep their primary guys on the court.

(13) Grand Canyon: Bryce Drew has a little WAC dynasty going on at GCU with the Antelopes making three straight NCAA Tournaments while they beat a 5-seeded Saint Mary’s last season.

(6) Missouri: What a wild ride for Dennis Gates, who earned a 7-seed in 2023 as a first-year coach, then went 0-19 in SEC games last season before rebounding for a 6-seed this year.

(11) Drake: One of the few 30-win teams in the entire field, the Drake Bulldogs are revamped and perhaps even better than a year ago but will have a tough time handling Mizzou’s physicality.

(3) Texas Tech: Tech has now earned four 3-seeds in the last eight seasons under three different head coaches, which is darn impressive for a program like theirs.

(14) UNC Wilmington: UNCW may struggle to handle Tech’s pace, but the Seahawks do have athletes and can compete on the glass with the Red Raiders.

(7) Kansas: The Jayhawks’ 7-seed marks their lowest of the Bill Self era, the first year KU came in at higher than a four since the year 2000.

(10) Arkansas: John Calipari is nothing if not entertaining and could now face Bill Self and Rick Pitino on a potential Sweet 16 path.

(2) Saint John’s: 2025 is the 50th season since Rick Pitino became a head college basketball coach, and he’s now gotten SIX different programs to the NCAA Tournament.

(15) Omaha: They are a 15-seed that bangs trash cans on the sidelines, so we can all assume that will drive Pitino toward an outburst if his Johnnies allow their first-round game to be remotely close.