Lessons Learned from the 2023 NCAA Tournament

The 2022-23 college basketball season concluded late Monday night as UConn cut down the nets to cap off an eventful NCAA Tournament with the Huskies’ fifth title. The Big Dance is well-known for its unpredictable drama, that’s why they call it March Madness. However, this year the chaos was cranked up a notch or two. There are lessons we can learn from an exciting final month of the 2023 college basketball season.

The NCAA Tournament Bubble Doesn’t Really Matter

Remember the outrage when Rutgers missed the NCAA Tournament? Nevada and Arizona State took the Big Ten team’s place in the Big Dance, facing off as No. 11 seeds in the First Four. The Sun Devils beat Nevada by a million in Dayton, then fell in the first round to TCU. Meanwhile, Rutgers lost its first NIT game as the No. 1 seed at home.

Making or missing the NCAA Tournament is a big deal for coaches and programs on the fringe, but there’s no need to cause a big stink over a bunch of teams that probably aren’t good enough to win more than a game in March.

No. 1 Seeds are Vulnerable

When UMBC knocked off Virginia five years ago, that felt like a one-off. Virginia’s slow-paced style of play lends itself to upsets, and they lost their top NBA talent to injury just before the NCAA Tournament. Surely wins by No. 16 seeds wouldn’t become a regular thing, right?

Fairleigh Dickinson didn’t even win its conference tournament, but they beat Purdue. Of course, this year’s group of No. 1 seeds wasn’t as dominant as previous tournaments. The Boilermakers struggled down the stretch, yet almost nobody thought the smallest team in the NCAA Tournament could actually eliminate the National Player of the Year in the first round. FDU took care of business and etched its way into history.

There is More Than One way to Win in the NCAA Tournament

Shooting only layups and threes is not the only way to win in the NCAA Tournament. The analytic approach might be the right recipe for the NBA, but there’s more than one way to skin a cat at the college level. Alabama faced its antithesis in the Sweet 16. San Diego State used physicality, offensive rebounding and midrange jump shots to eliminate Nate Oats, the poster-child for this new analytical offensive movement. Over time, Oats’ approach is mathematically the most efficient, but it is certainly not the only way you can win in college basketball.

Can the No. 15 Seeds Keep Marching?

The victory from FDU overshadowed a few more incredible upsets, Furman over Virginia and Princeton over Arizona. For the third-straight season a No. 15 seed has made it to the second weekend. Prior to Princeton’s march to the Sweet 16, Saint Peter’s and Oral Roberts advanced to the Elite Eight. When filling out next year’s bracket, pencil in at least on No. 2 seed to lose in its NCAA Tournament debut.

Transfer Portal Success Comes from Every Corner of CBB

Joey Calcaterra played at San Diego. Markquis Nowell was a fine player for Arkansas Little-Rock. Florida Atlantic had two transfers in its starting lineup.

Over the next few weeks big names will enter the transfer portal that will grab the attention of Kentucky fans everywhere who eagerly want to see an improved roster next fall. You don’t need to come from a big program to be successful at the next stop. How the incoming transfer fits within program matters just as much as the skills the possess in their toolbox.

NCAA Tournament Buzzer Beaters are the Best

Even though it might have cost us a more entertaining National Championship Game, Lamont Butler‘s shot ruled.

College Basketball is Getting Healthier

Typically early upsets lead to stinkers down the stretch. Aside from a boring title game, the later rounds still delivered the theatrics, albeit from programs we aren’t used to seeing have success in the NCAA Tournament. The parity is excellent. The playing field is not entirely level, but it’s not a sport controlled by a few Haves over a bunch of Have-Nots. As we’ll see this offseason, it’s far from perfect. There are obviously shady sides to NIL and the transfer portal, but in the short term the two rule changes have made college basketball more competitive across the board.