March Madness 2025

[Déjà Bru]

Originally Posted by Cobra Mgr

Where every Sweet 16's starting 5 started in college.

Bad news here, though, for the women.

It seems it was rather dramatic and emotional when JuJu Watkins went down with a serious injury in front of the hometown fans on Monday night. Out of the tournament with a knee injury, she is a significant loss to the Trojans.

Watkins has energized basketball fans around the country. She is the sport’s latest icon with her scoring prowess and her stardom, and her absence materially affects the tournament’s success, not just USC’s.

Why? Because of her star power.

The women’s tournament has suffered from the absence of its best players in recent years. Paige Bueckers missed the entire 2022-23 regular season, including the tournament, following UConn’s run to the national title game in 2022 with a torn ACL. Olivia Miles missed that postseason — and the next — after tearing her ACL for a top-10 Notre Dame team in the final regular-season game of 2023. Three-time ACC player of the year Elizabeth Kitley tore her ACL in the last week of the 2024 regular season, denying Virginia Tech a repeat bid at the Final Four.

Only Bueckers can claim to match the star power of Watkins, but the impact of Watkins’ injury will be amplified in 2025. The momentum of the women’s tournament has been building since the historic 2023 national title game between Iowa and LSU. It was on pace for even more record highs with Watkins’ potential rematches against Bueckers and UConn, and the Bruins.

USC was able to put away Mississippi State handily, 96-59. It's not as if Watkins was the only star on the team, but it will be interesting to see if and how they come together to fill the void left by Watkins.

[Cobra Mgr]

JuJu Watkins tears ACL. Man, this sucks huge balloons.

Sorry, didn't know Deja posted about this already

[LD84]

It is even worse because she will probably miss her junior year as well

She was arguably the best player in women's CBB as a sophomore.

[Déjà Bru]

This Cooper Flagg seems to be the real deal. A freshman, I read someplace else that he's one and done at Duke, headed to the NBA draft.

He won both of the U.S. Basketball Writers Association awards for National Player of the Year and Freshman Player of the Year, but yesterday he demonstrated in the clutch with a 30 points on nine-of-19 shooting, seven assists, six rebounds, three blocks and one steal in a close win over Arizona.

To say that Duke would not be in the Elite Eight now without him would be an understatement.

Cooper Flagg sends Duke to Elite Eight with all-around performance to remember vs. Arizona

[Jordan]

The Maine Event as a nickname for a basketball player from Newport, Maine is pretty awesome, in re Cooper Flagg

[Déjà Bru]

One writer called this "the most excellent outcome possible" for the men's Elite Eight "with a No. 1 vs. a No. 2, a No. 1 vs. a No. 2, a No. 1 vs. a No. 2 and a No. 1 vs. a No. 3 . . . the best teams playing each other at the most important time."




It's shaping up to be the same situation in the women's tournament. We will know later today.

[Cobra Mgr]

No cinderellas & the SEC invitational has made this the most unwatchable tourney for me. For the 1st time, I didn't watch a single Sweet 16 game.

[Déjà Bru]

Originally Posted by Déjà Bru

It's shaping up to be the same situation in the women's tournament. We will know later today.

Yes indeed.

[pilight]

UPSET = Any lower seed winning
BIG UPSET = Upset in which the teams are more than four seeds apart
CLOSE GAME = Any game decided by single digits or in OT
BLOWOUT = Any game decided by 20+ points

[Déjà Bru]

Originally Posted by Cobra Mgr

No cinderellas & the SEC invitational has made this the most unwatchable tourney for me. For the 1st time, I didn't watch a single Sweet 16 game.

Well, you are not going to be thrilled with the men's Final Four, for sure! All number 1 seeds:

[Cobra Mgr]

Originally Posted by Déjà Bru

Well, you are not going to be thrilled with the men's Final Four, for sure! All number 1 seeds:

I'm not.

[Déjà Bru]

CONN CHRIS, the march of the Lady Huskies has been inexorable! One wonders, though, whether there would have been a different outcome tonight had JuJu Watkins not suffered her injury. (Audience member sign: "JuJu, you can have my ACL!")

Their 24th appearance in the Final Four. Although, they find themselves to be the technical underdogs in this group of otherwise #1 seeds:



Well, looking at that array of teams, I must follow my regional rooting instincts and pull for UCONN the rest of the way. Which may doom them altogether.

[CONN CHRIS]

That Watkins injury was terrible. I hope that she can play again. Bueckers tore an ACL and lost the 22-23 season but seems to have recovered well.

[Cobra Mgr]

Basketball this year has had more chalk than a police mass murder scene.

[pilight]

UPSET = Any lower seed winning
BIG UPSET = Upset in which the teams are more than four seeds apart
CLOSE GAME = Any game decided by single digits or in OT
BLOWOUT = Any game decided by 20+ points

[Jordan]

This is the hill I'm going to die on, but IMO, it is much more unusual that we basically never get four 1 seeds in the Final Four, and that come next year's tourney, it will go back to having more of the upsets people want to see. I'll probably be wrong, but...

[Ragnar]

When was the last time four number 1 seeds were in the final four?

[LD84]

Originally Posted by Ragnar

When was the last time four number 1 seeds were in the final four?

2008 on the men's side

2018 on the women's side