Top 10 storylines of NCAA tournament

Quinn Casteel
Staff writer

10. Butler’s last second victories
Butler had what many called a charmed season last year when they came within seconds of beating Duke in the title game, but the magic has stayed with them. Matt Howard’s tip-in to beat the buzzer against Old Dominion proved that, but Saturday’s upset over Pittsburgh took it to a new level.

9. Jimmer being Jimmer
Sometimes when a player takes the nation by storm in the regular season, he flames out comes tournament time, or at least doesn’t carry his team as far as expected. Adam Morrison and Kevin Durant are the first two names that come to mind. But Jimmer Fredette has been exactly what he was all season long if not better in the first two rounds. His 32 points against Wofford and 34 against Gonzaga were more than enough to show that he can carry BYU even without Brandon Davies.

8. The Big East is deep, but the Big Ten is strong at the top
The Big East is by far the most represented conference in the Tournament with 11 teams, but their chances of producing a champion are dwindling. Connecticut, Syracuse and Notre Dame are in contention but the Big Ten still has its top dogs in the fight. Ohio State and Wisconsin looked absolutely nasty in the round of 32; OSU laid a 30-point spanking on George Mason and the Badgers grinded out an impressive win over Jacob Pullen and Kansas State. Look out for these Big Ten elites down the stretch.

7. Early exits for some of the top coaches
Frank Martin, Tom Izzo, Bob Huggins, Jay Wright and Jamie Dixon all saw their teams fall short in the early stages of their brackets. But perhaps the most legendary coach from this group is Rick Pitino, the Louisville head coach who saw his NCAA Tournament record fall to 38-13 after his team’s first round loss to Morehead State. Instead of using his wisdom on the sidelines the rest of the way, he will be educating the masses as a TV analyst.

6. Less madness this March
Of the top sixteen seeds, only four will not be advancing to the Sweet Sixteen, leaving most brackets relatively in-tact. Two number four seeds in Texas and Louisville, third-seeded Purdue, and of course Pittsburgh are the only one through four seeds to go down early.

5. Rising stock for potential NBA prospects
Players like Kemba Walker and Fredette obviously crawled up, or at least validated spots in this summer’s NBA draft, but no one got more exposure than Morehead State’s Kenneth Faried. He proved that his astronomical 17.3 PPG and 14.5 RPG this season are legitimate, and definitely indicative of his game. Faried may have just cemented himself as a lottery pick or at least close to it.

4. Coaching jobs won and lost
Shaka Smart is leading one of the best runs any CAA team has ever seen, but he’s also making his already pristine resume even more impressive with every win. When this season finally ends for VCU, Smart may have a plethora of options for head coaching jobs at prestigious basketball schools; the question will be whether or not he wants any of those jobs. On the other end of the spectrum, Bruce Pearl might quickly be wearing out his welcome at Tennessee. The 30 point loss to Michigan will not help his cause.

3. Arizona shows they’re for real
The Wildcats won two games by a total of three points, but find themselves in the Sweet Sixteen after upsetting Texas in the final seconds on Sunday night. In their next game, they get a shot at number one seeded Duke who beat Michigan by just two in the round of 32.

2. The Spiders keep dancing
By taking out Vanderbilt and red-hot Morehead State, Richmond has earned a battle with Kansas. The Spiders were a trendy pick from the start, maybe in part because they had President Obama’s endorsement. But Richmond has shown that they’re more than just a popular upset special; anything can happen when a hungry team gets their hands on a top seed.

1. VCU’s wild run continues
The city of Richmond is well represented in this year’s NCAA Tournament. VCU won its third game of the NCAA’s by smashing Purdue in a game that wasn’t even competitive in the second half. The most highly criticized at large team in the pool has blown through three power conference teams by a minimum of 13 points. The sky is the limit for VCU.