Zach Braziller and Harrison Goodman break down some of the lesser-known bests to look out for in the NCAA Tournament:
Best No. 1-seed slayer
Ryan Odom, the former UMBC coach who famously took down No. 1-seeded Virginia in 2018, is back in the tournament for the first time since that historic upset.
Now at Utah State, his Aggies have one of the most efficient offenses in the country.
Best state
Everything is bigger in Texas, including the chances a national champion will be crowned in its home state.
Houston (the site of the Final Four), Texas and Baylor are all top-three seeds in the tournament, seeking to become the first school since 1975 (UCLA in San Diego) to win the event in the same state in which it’s located.
(Close call: Kansas won in Kansas City, Mo., in 1988.)
Best “Do You miss me now?”
Seton Hall fans were ecstatic to land Saint Peter’s coach Shaheen Holloway to replace Kevin Willard, especially after the Pirates suffered a 27-point blowout in the first round last year.
A year later, Seton Hall isn’t in the field while Willard has led a surprising Maryland team into the Big Dance.
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Best sendoff
CBS broadcaster Jim Nantz, who first began covering the NCAA Tournament as a play-by-play man and studio host in 1986, will be calling his final games this year.
A University of Houston graduate, he could potentially broadcast his alma mater winning a championship in the city where he attended college.
Best comeback
Kansas State’s Keyontae Johnson collapsed on the court while playing for Florida in 2020 and was rushed to the hospital, then placed in a medically induced coma.
He returned to the court two seasons later after transferring, and has led a surprising Wildcats team into the tournament.