The Big Ten improved to 8-0 in the NCAA Tournament while the Mountain West picked up a pair of much-needed wins Friday.
Well, it may not have been the most magical first round ever — no buzzer-beaters to speak of, all of the top-4 seeds advancing, etc. — but the past two days of the NCAA Tournament have provided plenty of fun. While we may not have gotten the true David-over-Goliath upset, we still got a pair of 12-seeds and an 11-seed into the second round. In total, six teams from outside the power conferences made it to the first weekend. That’s not nothing.
There’s also an argument to be made that the cream is rising to the top. With so many of the top seeds advancing in the tournament, the deeper rounds are shaping up to have some truly excellent battles.
There are legendary coaching matchups such as Rick Pitino-John Calipari and Kelvin Sampson-Mark Few, and there are intriguing clashes of style such as the fastest team in America (Alabama) going up against one of the five slowest (St. Mary’s). There are National Player of the Year candidates in Auburn’s Johni Broome and Duke’s Cooper Flagg leading 1-seeds toward the national championship. The back-to-back defending champs (UConn) are going up against maybe the hottest team in the country (Florida) in a quest to keep their crown.
There’s a lot to like.
So, pour one out for the lowest of the low-major Cinderella candidates. We might not have another Oakland, Saint Peter’s or FDU this year, but any of the remaining mid-majors could wind up stealing the nation’s heart over the coming days.
More Heat Check CBB:
- Colorado State: Ascension culminates in tournament win
- Duke’s Flagg ‘100 percent confident’ in ankle
Mountain West stops March bleeding, notches two victories
The Mountain West had deservedly received its fair share of criticism this week after San Diego State and Utah State were ousted by a combined 52 points.
While the league sent 18 teams to the NCAA Tournament over the past four years, March success has mostly eluded the Mountain West. Even with San Diego State’s trip to the 2023 title game, the MWC ranks dead last of all 32 conferences in performance vs. seed expectation since the turn of the century.
Friday was a much-needed bounceback. The afternoon began with red-hot Colorado State — a Vegas favorite despite earning a 12-seed — erasing a halftime deficit against Memphis en route to a 78-70 win in Seattle. CSU entered the day on a 10-game winning streak and received enormous contributions from Kyan Evans, who torched the nets with six 3-pointers and a career-high 23 points.
Next up was New Mexico taking on Marquette in Cleveland, seeking the school’s first NCAA Tournament victory since 2012. Unlike last year’s first-round disaster against Clemson, the Lobos set the tone early and looked far more comfortable on the big stage. UNM played from ahead for the majority of the night, trailing for only 4:05 in total. Even when Marquette threw its punches, the Lobos answered back: Shaka Smart’s team led 58-57 with 6:44 to go but was outscored 18-8 the rest of the way.
The Mountain West entered the day 1-25 all-time as a double-digit seed in the NCAA Tournament's first round, suffering 23 consecutive defeats.
— Eli Boettger (@boettger_eli) March 22, 2025
Today, 12-seed Colorado State and 10-seed New Mexico both advanced to the second round.
It was a momentous day for a conference that badly needed one. Now, the Rams and Lobos look to keep the ride going by advancing to the Sweet 16 — a feat neither school has accomplished in the NCAA Tournament’s current format. —Eli Boettger
Second-round schedule dominated by SEC, Big Ten, Big 12
Since the tournament expanded to 68 teams in 2011, the Round of 32 has never seen more than 17 teams from any three-league combination. But with the (temporary) disappearance of the Pac-12 coinciding with the increased prevalence of the transfer portal, the consolidation of talent at the top has helped shatter that mark in 2025.
A combined 22 teams from the SEC, Big Ten and Big 12 won on Thursday and Friday. That number accounts for just under 70% of the spots in the second round.
The SEC set a new tournament record by putting 14 teams into the field, and despite a rather pedestrian .571 win percentage in the first round, it set another record for the 68-team era by having eight teams advance. In addition to 1-seeds Auburn and Florida, the SEC still has 2-seeds Alabama and Tennessee, 3-seed Kentucky, 4-seed Texas A&M, 6-seed Ole Miss and 10-seed Arkansas alive in the bracket.
Not to be outdone, the Big Ten collectively put together a perfect first-round performance, going 8-0 and tying the SEC’s new record hours after it was set. The Big Ten’s top remaining team is its outright champion, 2-seed Michigan State, joined by 3-seed Wisconsin, 4-seeds Maryland and Purdue, 5-seeds Michigan and Oregon, 6-seed Illinois and 7-seed UCLA.
Rounding out the trio, the Big 12 got six teams into the Round of 32, led by 1-seed Houston. Joining the Cougars in the quest for the Sweet 16 are 3-seeds Iowa State and Texas Tech, 4-seed Arizona, 6-seed BYU and 9-seed Baylor.
An unfortunate side effect, as noted earlier, is fewer “true” Cinderella candidates. After all, only two teams from one-bid leagues (Drake and McNeese) made it to the second round. —Andy Dieckhoff
First Four streak — one way or the other, I’m gonna write about UNC & Xavier
Another unfortunate — and much more indirect — side effect of the SEC and Big Ten dominating the first round is that it stopped another fun streak from continuing. When the final horn sounded in Illinois’ 86-73 win over 11-seed Xavier, it ended a four-year run of First Four teams making a run in the Big Dance.
Before the Musketeers fell, fellow 11-seed and First Four winner North Carolina fell tantalizingly short of pulling off its comeback against Ole Miss. As for the plucky 16-seeds — hey, don’t forget that Fairleigh Dickinson beat Purdue after winning a game in Dayton — Alabama State hung with Auburn for a half on Thursday before the Tigers finally bit down. Meanwhile, Mount St. Mary’s never really stood a chance against Duke on Friday.
It is just the second time since the First Four debuted in 2011 that all four of the opening-round winners fell in the Round of 64. The only other time was 2019, in a group that featured Arizona State, Belmont, FDU (no, not that year) and North Dakota State. In every other tournament, the First Four has produced at least one second-round team — as well as five Sweet 16 appearances and two Final Fours.
Better luck next year, America. —Andy Dieckhoff