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It feels like this March has featured much more mildness than madness.
Through two rounds of NCAA Tournament action, chalk has largely reigned supreme. Upsets have been scarce. Cinderellas have been slain. Heck, there’s only been one buzzer beater thus far — thank you, Derik Queen and Maryland.
The Sweet 16 begins Thursday and will feature a group of surviving squads unlike any other we’ve seen at this stage. Only four conferences — the SEC, Big Ten, Big 12 and ACC — will be represented, marking a record low. Every mid-major participant has fallen, and for the first time since 2007, there isn’t a single team seeded 11 or lower remaining in the dance.
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One of the prime reasons why the NCAA Tournament stands out as arguably the most electrifying event in sports is how it gives the world a new, lovable and unlikely hero to root for each year. There’s always someone surprising who crashes the party and becomes a permanent part of March lore.
But with all the smaller schools having been sent packing, there will be no 2006 George Mason, 2018 Loyola Chicago or 2022 Saint Peters for America to fall in love with this year. Thirteen of the 16 teams left standing are top five seeds, and the lowest of the bunch, No. 10-seeded Arkansas, still hails from the big, bad SEC and has a Hall of Fame head coach on its bench.
With all of the blue bloods and juggernauts in the Sweet 16, it may feel as if Cinderella was kept out of this year’s dance. However, maybe 2025′s version just looks a bit different.
Enter the BYU Cougars.
It’s hard to really call BYU a true Cinderella when the Cougars come from a heralded league and are a No. 6 seed, but compared to their Sweet 16 counterparts, Kevin Young and company may very well have the most compelling case to become America’s tournament underdog darling.
BYU is one of just three remaining teams…
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Publish date : 2025-03-25 03:00:00
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