Maryland suffered a lot of attrition after last season with the likes of Robert Carter Jr., Jake Layman, Rasheed Suliamon and Diamond Stone gone. Some may have even wondered if the Terps could make the Big Dance.
The Wildcats are the ultimate Cinderella in this year’s Big Dance, finally punching their ticket to the NCAA tourney for the first time ever. And Northwestern could win a game. It's a national story that has created a buzz, as NU is dancing just a few months after the Cubs ended a 108-year World Series win dry spell.
This is the most improved team in the nation, as Richard Pitino has enjoyed a breakout in his fourth season on the job going from 8-23 to 24-9. This isn’t a deep team, though. And depth took another hit in the Big Ten tourney when Akeem Springs suffered a season-ending injury.
This is a seasoned team that has played a lot of NCAA games in recent years, winning nine of their last 10 NCAA opening tilts. Wisconsin was the NCAA runner-up in 2015 and reached the Final Four in 2014. Last year, the Badgers played in the Sweet 16.
Few teams have as much mojo as Michigan, which has won 10 of its last 12 games. And the two losses? In overtime at Minnesota and on a miracle play at Northwestern. The Wolverines are coming off an emotion-charged Big Ten tourney title that defied all odds.
Depending on whom you ask, the Boilermakers could be a Final Four team … or out of the Big Dance after the first weekend. Purdue has been unceremoniously dumped after one game from the last two NCAA tourneys, blowing late leads in losses to Cincinnati in 2015 and to Arkansas Little Rock last season.