It’s the most wonderful and eventful time of the year. It’s also the time of the season when the best games take place between teams that don’t have a number next to their name.
This is a column of the top 25, and we’ll see how these teams fared during championship week, but their contests lacked the juice of conference tournaments where each team was fighting for its life in the NCAA tournament. The stakes of a Michigan State loss to unranked Illinois are lessened when both teams hear their names called during selection Sunday.
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But in the world of unavoidable automatic qualifiers, there was drama.
There was Lindenwood — which made Ohio Valley’s title game despite giving up nine first-quarter 3-pointers in its semifinal run — trying to make an NCAA tournament appearance in its first year of Division I eligibility, but falling short against Western Illinois. Two of the top three players in the country in win shares (both behind UConn’s Sarah Strong) faced off in the Summit League title game, when Brooklyn Meyer and South Dakota State denied Avery Koenen and North Dakota State a chance at their first NCAA berth.
A sub-.500 South Alabama team battled to four wins in the Sun Belt Tournament despite losing players to suspension, falling short on day five to a new-look James Madison team. In the SoCon, a league with a less seed-driven tournament, another sub-.500 team, Samford, punched its ticket to the Big Dance and could be joined by another lucky loser, Air Force, if the Falcons can maintain their run in the Mountain West tournament.
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Boise State needed a mid-range jumper in the final six seconds to keep its playoffs alive, while Radford had two close-range looks for a game-tying 3-pointer but couldn’t force overtime against High Point.
Seeing these players persevere despite the weight of the moment is what makes March special. Even though their playoffs only last one more game, the journey to get that point is so much fun to celebrate.
Now let’s move on to my top 25:
|
Rank |
Team |
Previous rank |
|---|---|---|
|
1 |
UConn |
1 |
|
2 |
UCLA |
2 |
|
3 |
Texas |
5 |
|
4 |
South Carolina |
3 |
|
5 |
LSU |
6 |
|
6 |
Vanderbilt |
4 |
|
7 |
Duke |
9 |
|
8 |
Louisville |
8 |
|
9 |
Ohio State |
14 |
|
10 |
Iowa |
12 |
|
11 |
Michigan |
7 |
|
12 |
Oklahoma |
10 |
|
13 |
TCU |
11 |
|
14 |
Maryland |
13 |
|
15 |
West Virginia |
17 |
|
16 |
Michigan State |
15 |
|
17 |
Ole Mademoiselle |
20 |
|
18 |
Minnesota |
16 |
|
19 |
North Carolina |
18 |
|
20 |
Notre Dame |
22 |
|
21 |
Kentucky |
19 |
|
22 |
Baylor |
21 |
|
23 |
Alabama |
24 |
|
24 |
Princeton |
25 |
|
25 |
South Dakota State |
NR |
Abandoned: Colombia (23)
Also considered: Illinois, Villanova, Washington
Delaney Thomas is Duke’s X-Factor
Toby Fournier is Duke’s leading scorer, Ashlon Jackson leads the Blue Devils in 3s, Taina Mair sets the table and Riley Nelson had the clutch gene in the ACC Tournament. But it’s Delaney Thomas who could have the most impact on Duke’s results. The Blue Devils are 17.7 points better per 100 possessions with Thomas on the court, according to CBB Analytics, and his value was clear as day in Duke’s ACC title win over Louisville.
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In his team-high 43 minutes — coach Kara Lawson says the Blue Devils need Thomas’ communication to stay organized on the court — Thomas had a game-high 19 points and seven offensive rebounds. Those second chances were the key to Duke’s victory; the Blue Devils outscored the Cardinals 18-13 in second-chance points and won by five points.
In the final two minutes of regulation, after Duke trailed by four, Thomas had two offensive rebounds, a putback and the tying layup with four seconds remaining. She started the overtime with four more points (two on a putback) and the game-clinching offensive rebound with 26 seconds left, which set the stage for Nelson’s final 3-pointer.
Thomas and Jadyn Donovan were an often tricky frontcourt duo in 2024-25, as neither had the ball or shooting skills to extend the defense beyond the paint. Thomas excelled from the start alongside Fournier thanks to the sophomore’s perimeter abilities. Sunday’s game was proof that Thomas can also handle her frontcourt responsibilities alone when Fournier is unavailable.
Jordan “Gimme That” Harrison wins two more home games for WVU
Every team would rather play at home than not, but West Virginia seems to have an identity tied to its home arena. “Press Virginia” is most disruptive in Morgantown, where the Mountaineers play six possessions faster, create three more steals and 10 more points off turnovers than on the road.
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Thanks to a defensive clinic from Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year Jordan Harrison, West Virginia won the conference tournament title over TCU and will likely host two more home games this season by placing in the top 16. Harrison, a senior, led the way with 21 points and four assists, but more importantly, led the defensive effort of Horned Frogs guard Olivia Miles. Miles was mostly ineffective starting in the second quarter due to foul trouble, and Harrison committed three of four fouls on Miles. The Mountaineers were +7 when Miles was on the bench.
Harrison told ESPN before the game that she was Jordan “Gimme That” Harrison thanks to her penchant for forcing turnovers, and she had three steals in the victory. She also captured the Big 12 title from the defending champion Horned Frogs.
Harrison followed coach Mark Kellogg to Stephen F. Austin at West Virginia for the 2023-24 season and eventually won his first conference tournament championship in his final season. After the match, she was in tears on the broadcast, saying, “I’m so happy I can’t even think.” » Now Mountaineers fans can shower her with more appreciation during the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament.
What should we think of the Big Ten beyond UCLA?
UCLA put together a dominant performance in Indianapolis, winning its second Big Ten tournament in two tries in historic fashion. Beyond UCLA, many questions linger about the conference’s advantage in the NCAA Tournament.
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Michigan has a problem with Iowa, and the Wolverines hope that doesn’t extend to other teams that have a strong inside presence. Meanwhile, the Hawkeyes can’t be blamed for losing to the Bruins, but the margin of victory does raise some concerns since Iowa was largely uncompetitive in its regular season losses to UCLA and UConn.
Michigan State, Maryland, Nebraska and USC all lost to lower-ranked teams in the conference tournament. The Trojans have struggled in part because of an injury to Jazzy Davidson, and they head into the Big Dance with four straight losses.
The Big Ten has touted its depth all season long, and Selection Sunday will likely validate that optimism. But most of these teams don’t seem to be playing their best basketball in March. As the conference looks to win its first national title since 1999, the Big Ten teams below UCLA must hope that at least being tested by the Bruins will be enough to prepare them for the NCAA Tournament.
Is LSU a threat if it can’t beat South Carolina?
LSU suffered its 19th straight loss to South Carolina on Saturday – another heartbreaker that hung in the balance in the final minutes. It’s definitely a bitter taste to end the SEC season.
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Nevertheless, the Tigers enter March with only five losses: two against South Carolina and one against Kentucky, Texas and Vanderbilt. They beat Texas, Duke, and good SEC teams like Oklahoma (by about a billion points on Friday). They have an elite offense and defense, and those numbers hold up when you filter out LSU’s weak non-conference schedule. LSU is deep, limits shots at the rim and has a multitude of explosive offensive players.
A similar recipe in 2023 led to a national championship, when the Tigers were helped by Iowa eliminating the Gamecocks so they wouldn’t have to face that test. As Oklahoma will attest, this is a formidable lineup. And it helps to have a head coach who’s won it all before — it hasn’t been since 2017 that a first-time head coach won a national title.
Maybe it doesn’t matter that LSU continues to run into the ceiling that is South Carolina if the Tigers can get around their SEC rivals.
This article was originally published in Athletics.
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