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The 2023 NCAA Tournament has been one of the most unpredictable in years, if not ever. Granted, there have been many exciting and close contests, but there have also been an unprecedented number of upsets of top seeds.
The lower seeds have already won 11 times, including major upsets of two No. 1 and two No. 2 seeds. A No. 1 seed has won the NCAA Tournament for seven straight years. Houston and Alabama can still win the title, but the chances of a top seed winning the tournament have certainly dwindled, with Kansas and Purdue already bowing out.
The following is a look at the biggest disappointments through the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament.
NCAA Tournament’s most disappointing teams
Purdue Boilermakers
Purdue became the second No. 1 seed to fall to a No. 16 seed as the Boilermakers came up short 63-58 against Fairleigh Dickinson on Friday night. It is the third time the Boilermakers have lost in the round of 64 as a top-four seed under head coach Matt Painter.
As bad as the loss to FDU was, it should not detract from the Boilermakers’ accomplishments this season. FDU deserves a lot of credit for executing a great game plan and playing extremely hard. The setback did highlight the Boilermakers' season-long weaknesses.
Likely Wooden Award winner Zach Edey was terrific against the Knights. Edey totaled 21 points on 7-of-11 shooting, 15 boards and three blocks for his 27th double-double of the year. But as has been the case for most of the year, the 7-foot-4 center didn’t get much help with FDU collapsing on the big man every time he touched the ball.
The other Boilermakers were just 12-of-42 from the field, including 5-of-26 from beyond the arc.
Freshmen Foster Loyer and junior Mason Gillis were the only two players in double figures against FDU, tallying 13 and 10 points, respectively.
Purdue won 29 games and were Big Ten regular-season and tournament champions, marking the first time that the Boilermakers have claimed both titles. This was also the first time they earned a No. 1 NCAA Tournament seed since 1995-96.
Virginia Cavaliers
Virginia, the only other team to fall to a No. 16 seed in 2018, suffered an unfortunate meltdown that cost them a date in the NCAA third round. The No. 4 seed in the East fell to No. 13 Furman 68-67 as senior point guard Kihei Clark inexplicably turned the ball over with seven seconds left, and the Paladins’ JP Pegues hit the game-winning 3-pointer with two ticks left.
Virginia controlled most of the game and led by as many as 12 early in the second half. But its defense, a staple of Tony Bennett’s teams, imploded, and the Wahoos only knocked down 2-of-12 from beyond the arc. Kadin Shedrick, who averaged 6.2 points per game for the season, led the way with 15 points, while Reece Beekman (9.6 ppg) finished with 14.
Part of Virginia’s' problem all season long was that they didn’t have a go-to-scorer and averaged fewer than seven 3s a game. The Cavaliers have lost in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in three of their past four appearances, including a 20-point setback to No. 16 UMBC in 2018.
Arizona Wildcats
Arizona had a fantastic season, finishing second in the Pac-12 and posting 28 victories, despite returning less than 50% of their scoring and 50% of the players' minutes from last year’s squad that reached the Sweet 16. However, Zona made the list due to their (59-55) loss to Princeton as the No. 2 seed in the South in the second round.
The 55 points was a season-low for a Wildcats squad that ranked 19th in the nation in offensive efficiency. While Princeton deserves all the credit in the world, the Cats missed out on many good looks against the Tigers, particularly from the perimeter.
Arizona shot 42.1% from the field and connected on a campaign-worst 3-for-18 (18.8%) attempts from deep. Zona shot 49.4% from the field and 37.8% from the 3-point line for the year.
Texas A&M Aggies
Texas A&M made the list not because it lost to Penn State in its first NCAA Tournament game, however, the Aggies did struggle on the defensive end against the Lions. Texas A&M is on the list because it was thought to be under-seeded and could have made a run to the Sweet 16.
Texas A&M won 25 games, including a school-record 15 SEC victories, and finished second to Alabama during the regular season and conference tournament. The Aggies were in the NCAA Ttournament for the first time in five years.
Marquette Golden Eagles
Marquette has no reason to hang its head despite being eliminated in the NCAA Tournament second round by a good Michigan State squad. The Golden Eagles posted school records with 29 victories and 17 Big East wins. They were also Big East regular-season and tournament champs for the first time. Marquette is the second No. 2 seed and fourth top 8 seed to go out in the first three rounds.
Poll : Biggest 2023 NCAA tournament disappament
Purdue Boilermakers
Kansas Jayhawks
11 votes
